To catcall a woman is not the same as complimenting. Catcalling is sexual harassment. Some people might defend their catcalling in saying that a woman was asking for it because of her attire, which is not a legitimate argument. How a woman chooses to dress does not determine whether other people have to right to violate her both verbally and physically. To call catcalling a compliment shows a severe lack of understanding.
Imagine walking mindlessly walking down the street and having stranger yell out sexual innuendoes. That is bound to make anyone at very the least uncomfortable and most importantly feel unsafe. Catcalling is perpetuating rape culture. The problem with the argument of it being a compliment is that strange men do not yell out to a woman about her body to be respectful. Men do so with the hopes of it leading to a sexual encounter.
A woman could be covered head to toe and it does not make catcalling any less likely to occur. Even if she were to wear less, that does not mean she should be any less in control of what happens to her. There is something deeply wrong with the thought process that anyone is deserving of disrespect.
Women’s bodies are constantly objectified. Women should not have to dress according to this societal flaw. Instead, we as a society need to take a look at how deeply embedded we are in a patriarchy, the real root of the problem, and get to work on fixing it. The issue begins with the thinking that women’s bodies are purely sexual. The solution is not for women to cover up. They should not have to accommodate to men’s inability to control themselves. Instead, it needs to become the norm to think of women as people and not an entitlement.
Women should be able to walk down the street without commentary, and it can be assured that there is not a single woman that has not or at the least will not experience catcalling to some degree within their lifetime. An online survey on the matter taken by Stop Street Harassment concluded that 99 percent of women have been catcalled. Only three said they had not experienced it. Nevertheless, that number is disturbing to say the least.