Verbal Street Harassment of Women, a Daily Annoyance

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
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USA
Many girls or women who spent any time in a big city especially, have experienced some degree of verbal street harassment from men. It's true, there are a few women who like it, but I'm not one of them. And I could have spent time behind bars if looks could kill, when while hitting on me, they told me to smile. :p

Have you been harassed like this at all, how do you feel about it?


 

I agree that the majority of those shown in the video were black men, but in my personal experience, the verbal comments have come from men of all races, ethnic backgrounds and ages.
 
Par for course, especially if you've ever lived a widely populated area and NY, fugetaboutit, that was all of my years from pre-teen on. Now it's not to that degree, but even in the area I live in now, I've experienced some incidents that were quite uncomfortable and believe me, I was dressed quite modestly. Oh and there are very few men of color in my area. There are some types of men more prone to the behavior, but, I've witnessed it and experienced from all socioeconomic levels and environments.
 
Many moons ago, but I knew that I was no longer considered tasty when the garbage men stopped the wolf whistles and approving comments.
It was irritating at the time but not meant to be demeaning. Then the second wave of feminism pointed out that such behaviour is not always appreciated and as far as I know it all but disappeared. It certainly did as far as I was concerned.

I can't speak for my grand daughters, although the youngest has had to deal with a man on a public train who was masturbating at her.
I'm assuming that is not what this thread is about. Such behaviour is criminal.
 
Yes I've had all of these comments and more my entire life...well not so much the last 10 years but I absolutely can identify with this lady, and she is wearing the exact same face I always wore...

I was not happy with the constant comments and when I didn't/don't smile at them then derogatory comments are occasionally called out too. I understand men are showing their appreciation in the animal way they know how..I really do understand that, what I don't think the majority of them who cat call and whistle like that realise that to a woman it's demeaning, embarrassing and downright threatening .
 
AprilT said:
Par for course, especially if you've ever lived a widely populated area and NY, fugetaboutit, that was all of my years from pre-teen on. Now it's not to that degree, but even in the area I live in now, I've experienced some incidents that were quite uncomfortable and believe me, I was dressed quite modestly. Oh and there are very few men of color in my area. There are some types of men more prone to the behavior, but, I've witnessed it and experienced from all socioeconomic levels and environments.
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yeah me too... and when I was young, it bothered me to no end. It was horrible. NOW? come on admit it... wouldn't a little whistle be nice?
 
You can't blame men for looking, but that's all they should do, unless the woman decides to flirt with them.It happened to me [in the long long ago] but it wasn't what I would term harrassment, more a comment like 'hello darling' or a whistle.I was ok with that.I never felt uncomfortable, I knew it was meant to be appreciative, and I found that a smile at them and walking by was the best thing.Things may well have changed though, and become more intimidating, I really don't know.
 
I watched the video and that was harassment most of the time in that the woman was expected to respond and when she didn't, they kept it up. It was tantamount to torment and could be very intimidating to very young women.

The only time I had a persistent follower was when my sister and I went window shopping one evening. I was about 21 and she 4 years younger. We picked up a couple of young punks on our tail who were very annoying and very persistent. I don't think they realised how old I was, nor the fact that I was already a mother and a high school teacher. In the end, I had had enough and turned on them and barked "Get lost" at them. They did. My face was probably as menacing as my tone of voice. A new mother is usually sleep deprived and often cranky.
 
QuickSilver said:
yeah me too... and when I was young, it bothered me to no end. It was horrible. NOW? come on admit it... wouldn't a little whistle be nice?
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I don't mind a whistle or a simple compliment, but, the guys would get really nasty and sleazy about it at times, those are the types I didn't appreciate, which happened often while living in certain cities. And if you didn't pay them mind the harassment went beyond just yelling out comments to surrounding you and getting up in your face. More than once, I've had guys get into fights protecting me while I'm just waiting for a bus to get home after getting off work. My experiences were really bad, so, no, I don't often welcome the comments, no matter how old I'm getting. And at my old age, I still run into harassing situations I haven't had them happen as bad as years past, not even close to it, but, it still happens. I don't mind men flirting with me, though I am so happy for the invention of headphones and ipods gadgetry, it has made life so much more pleasant all around as far as dealing with unwanted intrusions.

I know some people would be happy to have any attention and yes there are times when it's fun, like when I'm planning to attend a function where I get all dolled up and it's kind of expected some will pay compliments, but, having experienced some real intense harassment for most of my life, I don't get giddy over the idea of it continuing into my 70's for that matter into my 60's. I've dreamed of invisibility my whole life.
 
She seems to have hit a nerve

Woman receives rape threats after recording 10 hours of harassment in New York

An actor who recorded 10 hours of catcalls and remarks from passersby in New York City has received rape threats in response to a video detailing the harassment, the advocacy group that commissioned the video said on Tuesday.

In a two-minute video, actor Shoshana B Roberts was told to smile, told, “Somebody is acknowledging you for being beautiful – you should say thank you,” and comments were made about her clothes and appearance.

At one point in the video, which has been viewed nearly 10m times in fewer than 24 hours, a man walked alongside her silently for five minutes. Another followed her, while offering to give her his number.

“The rape threats indicate that we are hitting a nerve,” Hollaback director Emily May told Newsday. “We want to do more than just hit a nerve though, we want New Yorkers to realize – once and for all – that street harassment isn’t OK, and that as a city we refuse to tolerate it.”

Hollaback!, an international group that has been fighting street harassment since 2005, said people were reporting threats to YouTube, where the video is hosted, and that the website was taking them down.

There were more than 100 instances of verbal street harassment recorded during the 10 hours. “This doesn’t include the countless winks, whistles, etc,” the video says.

Shoshana B Roberts records 10 hours of harassment walking through New York Photograph: YouTube

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...-hours-of-harassment-walking-through-new-york

The comments here are interesting: http://mashable.com/2014/10/29/street-harassment-psa/
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I don't really think so. This kind of harassment is not dissimilar to little boys jeering at little girls and tormenting them until they react. These men are an example of arrested development IMO. Very likely a lot of them have their mates watching on and sniggering.

The only effect porn might make is convincing such boy-men that women are as fixated on their joy sticks as they are themselves. How could any woman refuse them ?
 
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