Catcalling: when a man shouts, whistles, or sexually makes inappropriate comments to a woman walking nearby.
I was 15 when I was catcalled for the first time. I was walking with a friend out of our local Starbucks and back to school when my drink started leaking. Since I didn’t have any napkins on me, I decided to lick the side of my cup. That’s when a group of college students packed in an SUV like clowns at the circus honked their horns with one yelling, “Yeah! Lick that good!” and the others cheering him on. I’m honestly surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. Many girls get their first catcall at the early ages of 10 or 11.
At 16 I was coming out of the nail salon when an old man in his white truck honked his horn at me then winked. Was he expecting me to be flattered? Rather I was disgusted and revolted. Less than 5 minutes later while driving home, I came to a stop sign and a man in a red pickup truck uttered the words “How you doin’ beautiful?”.
Women don’t like being catcalled. They never have and never will. Catcalling has been around for centuries and has gotten men nowhere except in the girls group chat late at night during the discussion of “random perverts we meet on the streets”.
Catcalling is not only unnecessary and uncomfortable, but it can even be scary and terrifying. I shouldn’t have to be afraid when walking to my car alone at night or when I want to go on a run. I shouldn’t need to be in a big group or escorted by a man in order to be safe. This fear goes beyond this. It controls our everyday lives. I’m always being told that my skirt is too short or my top is too revealing. I’ve been dress coded because my midrifet showed when I lifted my arms up just a bit. Why, because men don’t know how to keep it in their pants?
I always wonder, when men got the idea that it was okay to treat women the way they do? Was it when they were told that a women’s shoulder was a “distraction” for them in school? Or was it when any and all adult figures in their life excused their actions with the phrase, “Boy’s will be boys”. Was it when we were taught as kids that when a boy is mean to a girl it means “he has a crush on her.” Or was it when boys were made fun of and called a “simp” whenever he treated her like a human being?
Regardless, this needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. We are strong and important. We have minds and ideas and are not toys for men to just look at and play with. Change starts at home; it starts with your sons and brothers. Change starts with you and your voice, so use it.
Written by Lana Eldjoundi (@lanaeldjoundi)
If you enjoyed this article, you can find more in issue one!
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