 |
| Photo of Cat Callers. Image taken from thefeministwire.com |
"Mmm...baby, where you goin' with that hot lil' bod?"--This is what one man thought was OK to leer at me at three o' clock on a Tuesday afternoon, with three little kids in tow, I might add.
Lips smacking and eyes scanning every part of me--except for my face, of course--this man succeeded in making me feel extremely self-conscious and humiliated--two feelings that NO ONE should have to endure at any time, let alone while walking home from class in the middle of the afternoon.
After the humiliation had worn off, I become infuriated. What gives anyone the right to comment about my body, objectifying me and making me feel like less of a person? And furthermore, what is he teaching the three little boys that he had presumably just picked up from the bus stop? That is is OK to objectify women? That it is OK to humiliate women for your own self-gratification?
Some might say, well, what's the big deal? Its not like he touched you or anything. You just need to not be so sensitive and have thicker skin; others might say, well, what were you wearing? You were probably 'workin' it.
Such thought-processes, such frames of mind: these are a problem. A Big One.
It is a problem that this wasn't the first time that something like this has happened to me. It is a problem that some people don't find this offensive behavior to be harassment and it is a problem that this type of thing seems to be becoming the norm, a problem that this type of behavior is "OK."
Yes, women have made tremendous strides in overcoming inequality and gaining equal rights, but shouldn't those rights include the right to walk down the street without being harassed?
Apparently, they don't.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this blog a lot. I think it touches on a particularly relevant issue with the recent cat-call video experiment has been released, as well as Lauren's blog on the same topic.
More importantly, you are providing the reader with an incredibly valuable--no, rather, the most valuable--perspective in instances of sexual harassment: i.e., the victim's. The reader begins to understand the implications of cat-calling have on the victim--it is tough to overstate the importance of this. You also do this in a passionate, witty, and engaging mode.
Finally, you articulate a very clear and concise interrogation of the arguments presented by cat-caller apologists.