Fear, disgust, and extreme discomfort are just a few words to describe the response to a huge epidemic in today’s society: catcalling.
Street harassment has been a prevalent issue for many decades, yet has never received much attention or discussion. While this harassment can happen anywhere, it’s far more common in large urban areas and at colleges/universities.
“I think it is offensive and borderline sexual harassment,” Riley Brown, a sophomore at Temple University said. “I have experienced it a lot. An older man stopped me and said, ‘damn’ and checked me out. It made me feel very uncomfortable.”
Unfortunately, many girls live in constant fear of leaving their apartments late at night because of the constant catcalling they are exposed to.
“I have experienced street harassment many times. A specific incident was when I was walking down Broad Street at night to go back to my dorm, White Hall and even though I was walking with a male friend, boys pouring out of the frat houses were commenting on my appearance, making jokes that I was about to have sex with the boy I was walking with, and trying to invite me into their parties. In just one ten minute walk through Temple’s campus, I was harassed and catcalled at least five times, and it felt very unsafe for that to happen so close to my home,” Jamie Cohen, a Temple sophomore shared.
The action of catcalling and street harassment is more than just trying to get a female’s attention. It’s about males asserting their power and dominance over females.
“Catcalling and the failure of witnesses to object, naturalize the belief that the bodies of those catcalled belong to the catcallers, who can use and consume these bodies as they desire,“ Corey Waters, a sociology instructor at Temple University explained.
While we continue to see forms of female degradation today, more light is being brought to the sensitive topic.
Organizations against street harassment are popping up all over cities such as Philadelphia. One group in particular, Hollaback Philly, is a non-profit group that aims to stop street harassment.
Hollaback’s website urges girls to speak up about their negative experiences and states, “responding to street harassment can reduce the impact of trauma”. Their website offers forums for support and discussion, a place to donate to the cause, and a petition for anyone to sign. Other suggestions and helpful links also are posted in effort to gain more recognition.
Many people believe that street harassment is inevitable and that nothing can be done to stop it. However, by acknowledging it instead of ignoring it, one big step has already been taken.
“Start kicking people in the junk. Video or audio record interactions and share the recordings. Provide a venue for the narratives of those harassed. Provide a venue in which they can articulate their emotions, their interests, and their forms of resistance,” Waters said.
If more people are taught about the severity of the issue, it could more easily be prevented. Most of the time it is not discussed enough.
“I think that more people need to be made aware of how harmful it is, and how it feeds into rape culture and degrades people,” Cohen stated. “Just as people are taught safety precautions, we should also be expected to all be victims, and also be taught about how not to harass people and why.”