If you are a female Johns Hopkins University student, it is likely that you’ve experienced catcalling. Whether it ‘s from the stoop of a frat house or the questionable neighborhoods of Baltimore, it is a reality of both college and urban environments. “I don’t like being catcalled and I never feel like it’s a compliment,” says junior Alannah Lejeune. “It makes me feel insecure and unsafe.” I myself find it difficult to react to catcalling. First of all, it’s scary. It’s hard to know whether the person doing it is harmless. Secondly, sure, you can call the guys repulsive or just straight up tell them to shove it (charming, no?), but just how effective is that? Will that really drive the offenders question their actions?
“I don’t want the catcaller to have the satisfaction of knowing that I was embarrassed or frazzled by his obscenities,” says Kate*, a sophomore whose experience with aggressively sexual verbal harassment occurred on North Charles Street, right in front of campus. Admittedly, she felt unsafe just walking back to her home after the encounter. “I was feeling a bit paranoid to walk back to my apartment in the Halstead because I was afraid that the car would circle around and harass me again.”
Flavorwire.com recently published an article on Hannah Price, a young, female photographer from suburban Colorado who documented her transition to urban Philadelphia in a series of photographs called “City of Brotherly Love”. Upon moving to Philadelphia, Price noticed an increase in verbal harassment and decided to take photographs of the very men who catcalled her. How ballsy is that? On her website, she describes her personal connection to the project: “These images are a response to my subjects looking at me, and myself as an artist looking back.”
For this, I give this woman innumerable props. I admire Price not only for her strength and beautiful artistry, but also for her ability to expose her subjects without blatantly shaming them. It allows the audience to question the issue at hand rather than preoccupying the audience with assumptions about the assailants themselves. The idea of “looking” simply reminds both parties that they are dealing with other humans, not objects. In my opinion, this is what makes this project particularly effective. It is a beautiful visual commentary on community and a call to action for both women and men everywhere.
So what else do female Hopkins students have to say about catcalling?
“I’ve heard of the woman who photographs her catcallers and I wish I was bold enough to confront them. Usually I just ignore them and keep walking or look away because I don’t feel comfortable.” –Alannah Lejeune, 2015
“I was more embarrassed, though, because there was a family with a prospective student waiting at the light with me…I know that guys tend to catcall girls who they think is unattractive or want to make fun of, so I started feeling extremely self-conscious and uncomfortable…”–Anonymous, 2016
“…although I know that some guys DO mean it as a compliment, I don’t know how to react, and sometimes when I just do my usual reaction- smile and nod- it leads the man to ask me for my number or say something else that I’m not okay with—I would just rather it didn’t happen.” –Serena Durrani, 2016
Hannah Price, the ladies of Johns Hopkins thank you for calling attention to this issue. Keep doing what you’re doing.
*Name has been changed.
Image: Hannah Price, http://www.hannahcprice.com/cityofbrotherlylove.html
Visit Hannah’s website to see the photos in “City of Brotherly Love”: http://www.hannahcprice.com/cityofbrotherlylove.html
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