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I was somewhere between the ripe age of 13 and 14, taking a casual stroll alone down my neighborhood—that I felt particularly safe in, as it was a gated residential community I had grown up in all my life—when a group of construction workers started wolf-whistling at me. It hadn’t dawned on me immediately then, but I later realized that I was being catcalled.
It was the first time I ever experienced anything like that, and I remember not even dressing in anything provocative or tight-fitting. I didn’t know what to do, if I should say anything. I felt like the best option was to ignore them and keep walking, so that’s what I did.
I was uncomfortable and disgusted. And even if no one ever really taught me that I should be wary of myself when I walk on the streets, I have never stepped out of the house feeling completely at ease ever again after that.
That one experience is what made me become cautious as a woman. That made me learn to look down when I walk. To keep myself covered. To never go out when it’s already too dark. As I grew older, I constantly found myself thinking about other women who experienced the same thing I did.
Recently, I was able to talk to a few female students studying at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and hear their experiences and thoughts on the matter.
[Being catcalled] made me feel disgusted. It made me think, ‘is there something wrong with me?’" – Gracia.
Carin and Gracia, both from Indonesia, have been catcalled by groups of men on the streets as highschoolers while still in their uniforms. Gracia, after moving to Japan for university, experienced the same thing while on the way to the coin laundry store, and was even followed by the man who catcalled her after.
Lisa experienced being catcalled in Nepal during her mid to late teen years. She said that the boys would even comment on her body weight and clothes, and tease her if her dress was too short.
Meanwhile Lucille, originally from the United States, has also been catcalled and followed by men in Japan. She also briefly told me about a friend who, after being verbally harassed on the streets, reported the incident to the police, only for said friend to end up almost being arrested herself. The police argued that her friend’s clothes were too revealing and that it was her fault it happened.
Why is it so normalized?
“The problem with catcalling is that it has become a part of culture at this point. And since culture is so internalized, one way to change it is to somehow change the cultural values of a community altogether.” — Carin
Having talked with the girls, I realized that catcalling often happens to women when they are barely of age, usually from men who are much older than them. When asked why, Carin said that it might be because “the men [who catcall] like the kind of power catcalling gives them, and see girls (especially high school girls in uniforms) as weak, easy targets because these girls can’t fight back.”
Another reason could be because a lot of people still dismiss it as a light issue.
Talking with Lisa, she revealed that she had confided about being catcalled to the male figures in her family, but their response upset her a lot. “They just want us to be okay with it, and I don’t understand how they can say that to me,” Lisa explained.
It is this exact attitude that has allowed catcalling to become an everyday problem for women. Not only is catcalling normalized, but the idea that women should tolerate and be OK with it instead of doing something to fight back is normalized too.
But in truth, catcalling puts women like Gracia, Carin, Lisa, and Lucille in positions where they feel gross, threatened, and vulnerable. It makes women perceive themselves—their body, appearance, and the way they dress—quite negatively.
No matter how fleeting or insignificant the experience, catcalling is mentally scarring, and the weight of the experience sticks with them as they get older.
How do we empower people to speak up against it?
“We need to make everyone aware, especially those who catcall, that women are not weak and can fight for themselves.” –– Lisa.
Carin and Lucille advise fellow women and victims to fight back instead of staying quiet, whether it be through giving catcallers intimidating stares or speaking up towards their comments.
Gracia encourages people to talk and educate their close peers, help them understand how pressing and serious catcalling is as a problem.
Lisa commented that behavior like this is passed on from generations to generations. “I think it would be a good idea to teach from a young age that this isn’t something you should be doing, especially to young boys,” Lisa explained.
Furthermore, women across the globe have attempted to eliminate catcalling in their respective societies.
Catcalls of NYC is a project started by Sophia Sandberg that attempts to combat and raise awareness of street harassment in New York. U.S.A. Victims send what was said to them and Sandberg would write these messages on the streets of New York in bright-colored chalk.
In Sheffield, UK, Our Bodies Our Streets was formed to help women feel safer on the streets in various ways. One of the supporters, Kerry Lindeque, took it upon herself to put up slogans and signs to support women’s safety on the streets.
TL;DR
“We try our best to look good, but if we try too hard, we get too much [unwanted] attention.” – Lucille.
Catcalling is not OK and should never be excused.
If you’re still someone who’s on the fence about seeing this as a serious problem, or even a problem at all, think about how you would feel if it’s happening to a person you care about; to your friend, sister, or mother.
And isn’t it ironic how society puts women on the pedestal when it comes to beauty standards and taking care of how they look, but at the same time, looking a certain way and “standing out” on the streets only grants them unsolicited and objectifying comments from strangers?
Women shouldn’t have to feel scared of stepping outside their homes to run simple errands. We need to better strive to give them the safety they deserve.
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