One year ago, Hollaback!, a non-profit, dedicated to ending street harassment posted this video on Youtube:
The reactions were incredible. Friends and friends of friends were sharing the video on all forms of social media. It reached audiences in Europe (which is where I was when the video was published) and beyond. Today the video has over 40 million views.
This past summer, Buzzfeed posted an article about an incident in France where a man was caught publicly masturbating while staring at a young woman in the middle of the metro:
Again, reactions were overwhelming with tons of shares and comments from every which way.
Yet, despite these waves of “concern” about the safety and equality of women, the problem of street harassment still persists today. Don’t let the slang fool you, there is absolutely no difference between catcalling and street harassment. Catcalling still persists today with, from what I can see, very little efforts from government to target and end it once and for all.
I have interned in New York City for the past two summers. While I do love New York and its uniqueness to any other city in the world, street harassment is a major problem that there seems to be no escape from, no matter which streets you walk down, trains you take, or taxis you hail. I know because I have been a victim of multiple cases of street harassment and have watched other women of all different shapes, ages, colors, and sizes become victims as well.
My first experience with street harassment was when I was fifteen years old. I was with my best friend from home exploring NYC for the first time without our parents. Being from New Jersey, we were proud of ourselves for navigating the NJ Transit train, two subways, and a short walk to get to SoHo to go shopping. However, our giddiness was cut short with several comments from various men that made our skin crawl. We didn’t know what to do, so we just kept our heads down, kept silent, and walked faster. Since the men didn’t follow us, we assumed we were safe. When we looked back, we saw the same men saying the same revolting things to the next woman who crossed their paths. She had the same reaction as us. Our silence didn’t solve the problem.
Fast-forward six years, I’m twenty–one years old and working at a startup about a block away from the Empire State Building. I pride myself on knowing the ins and outs of New York, which subways get me where, and have the NJ Transit timetable memorized. In addition, I have become hardened to what was once the “magical” aura of New York. My permanent glare and New Yorker walk warned off some aggressors during my morning commute. One time I was followed from Penn Station to the door of my office by a very persistent man trying to strike up a “conversation” with me. So I decided to change my approach of ignoring these aggressors, hoping they take the hint and leave me alone and to set an example for how women should react to these unwanted comments.
For example, if I was approached at a red light and someone started saying disrespectful things to me in an attempt to get my number/get coffee/go to a bar/go home with him/ introduce me to his “friend” down the street (seriously, what is the success rate of this approach?), I’d turn to the man or women next to me and ask “Did he really just say that to me? Can you believe it!” Usually the man or woman would agree, murmur, then stare. Pretty soon, the entire pack of people at the red light would be standing up for me, scaring the guy off, tail between his legs.
If I was alone, I’d usually look the aggressor square in the eye and shoot down his “sweet talking” attempts and then explain that I was not, in fact, a circus animal who has to smile for him on command. Sometimes I felt I was being a bit too aggressive in my defense tactics, but it got the job done with little more than a “b****” or “c***” comment from the men before backing off, probably because they are used to the women they target being submissive and even embarrassed by their approach.
Most of the time I received compliments from both men and women who witnessed the encounter, many of them hoping that their daughters/girlfriends/friends would stand up for themselves like I did, and others claiming that they would address street harassment situations instead of turning a blind eye in the future. Only about once or twice was I berated for being an “arrogant broad with a stick up her a**” and “embarrassing” a man who was “just trying to give me a compliment.” Sorry, but I don’t take “those jeans make you’re a** look amazing, let’s go back to my place, huh?” as a form of flattery.
I completely understand if, by the end of this article, you think I come off as a raging feminist who thinks all men are pigs. But trust me when I say that I am a feminist in the way that feminists are meant to be understood and portrayed –fighting for equality across the boards for both men and women. For the men reading this article, this is your invitation to acknowledge that street harassment is an almost daily occurrence for women across the country. Over 99% of women admitted to having been a victim of street harassment, according to a study conducted in 2008 and we need your help to address this situation. Just because when you are with a girl walking the streets of a city and you do not hear a catcall directed towards her does not mean it doesn’t happen when she is alone. Unfortunately, when she is with you, some men see her as your “private property” and withhold any comment they would have made otherwise. However, when we are alone, we are unclaimed “property” up for grabs. So, starting now, let’s work towards a future where our mothers, aunts, cousins, wives, girlfriends, sisters, and daughters will no longer be viewed as a public object to be commented on, but instead experience a sense of safety, and above all, respect as a human being while going about their daily lives. No one should have to tolerate unwanted advances from any person. The first step to solving this is just the same as when dealing with any bully – stand up for yourselves for it may spark a much needed movement in this country.
Sources:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/4433299607832768/
http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/sshstudies/
http://everydayfeminism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/street-harassment1.jpg
http://www.vogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/31/holding-catcalling-platform.jpg