By Shonel Perera
When I told my female friends about this article and asked them if they would be willing to share their own experiences with catcalling, I received this powerful text from a friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous. It not only presents some examples of typical forms of catcalling, but also draws attention to its possible psychological effects. What I find interesting is that many men don’t even seem to be aware of the fact that constant, ongoing street harassment is a social reality for women – something that happens to women of different shapes and sizes, ethnicities, ages, and with different styles of clothing. My experience is that it is hard to find a woman who has not been exposed to some form of catcalling, and I personally don’t know of a single woman who feels flattered or complimented by that sort of behavior. I think it is safe to say that catcalling can be seen as a form of structural violence right?! This is why I decided to critically discuss the phenomenon of catcalling from a feminist perspective.
Let’s start with a definition: catcalling means making insulting and most oftensexual remarks in public which mostly women suffer from. Those remarks are mostly coming from men and are directed towards women. The main argument of people defending this kind of behaviour is that women need to “learn to take a compliment” and should stop being “overly sensitive”. The logic behind this train of thought is that all women should have the same reactions to being catcalled, while ignoring the (very high) probability of making women (or anyone for that matter) who are leered at, feel uncomfortable and unsafe. If that kind of behaviour was really based on the need to give an attractive person an innocent compliment, it would stop then as soon as women started talking about how it made them uncomfortable. Instead, this behaviour continues. Why so? Do guys catcall because they think it will somehow lead to them having any chance with the woman? I have never seen this strategy work and all I hear from the women in my social environment is that it is an annoying behaviour, making them feel unsafe and insecure.
Some men persistently claim that they are just trying to “brighten a woman’s day” by making remarks about a stranger’s appearance on the streets. This fact hints to the possibility that not all catcalling necessarily has to come from a place of malice, but rather from ignorance. But: an interaction which might be sweet, lovely, and charming to one person might be perceived as highly intrusive by the other party. And although it has to be acknowledged that catcalling is nuanced, I argue that generally this kind of behaviour not only reveals a lack of respect and understanding for another person’s boundaries and their comfort zone, but is also based on the underlying assumption that it is appropriate to be sexual towards any woman, and that one has the right to say anything to them. In my opinion, anything that could potentially make people feel unsafe is not flattering and should not be treated as a compliment.
Another argument by which catcalling is often tried to be justified is that there are women who “know how to take” this kind of behavior. I agree that some who are catcalled might enjoy the attention, and might use it to gain self-confidence. What is problematic in this regard is to automatically assume that every woman feels the same way, to assume that they should feel flattered by the attention and that they aren’t allowed to name it what it is: aggressive and belittling.
And this is where the aspect of power and the concept of the male gaze comes into play: catcalling can be interpreted as one example of how the male gaze plays out in day-to-day life. The concept of the gaze was developed by Jacques Lacan and refers to the anxious state that comes with the awareness that one can be viewed. Lacan argues that the psychological effect of this is that the subject loses a degree of autonomy upon realizing that it is a visible object. This concept is bound with his theory of the mirror stage, in which a child encountering a mirror realizes that he or she has an external appearance. In this way a subject comes into being, gains its identity, within the already existing framework of power relations.
In his work “Discipline and Punish” Lacan’s work is extended through the theory with regard to power relations and disciplinary mechanisms by introducing the concept of Panopticism to highlight how a sense of permanent visibility ensures the functioning of an un-verifiable power:
Panopticism is one of the characteristic traits of our society. It’s a type of power that is applied to individuals in the form of continuous individual supervision, in the form of control, punishment and compensation, and in the form of correction, that is, the molding and transformation of individuals in terms of certain norms. This threefold aspect of Panopticism – supervision, control, correction – seems to be a fundamental and characteristic dimension of the power relations that exist in our society.”
In my opinion, claiming that catcalling is merely about power and dominance, and not about sexual desire and attraction at all, would be oversimplifying a social reality. Power and sexual relationships cannot be thought of independently from each other. The question is how one defines power. I am convinced of the fact that, yes – existing hierarchical social structures may be grown by means of (direct and indirect) aggression and oppression, but those forms of violence are always interwoven with an aggressively charged lust and desire, aiming at pressing others into a passive role by denying them agency through objectification and by reducing them to their outward appearance.
In this context a phenomenon such as catcalling can be interpreted as to reflect, and at the same time reproduce, the current heteronormative societal order. Simultaneously, catcalling as a means of sexualization of women also fosters the reproduction of a certain type of hegemonic masculinity. For this reason, please keep in mind that catcalling is more than innocent complimenting, before belittling or rejecting it as irrelevant.
The other side of the argument is Harassmentand abuse andis a big issue at present. The definition of harassment can be interpreted in many different ways, but sexual harassment is relatively specific because it is based off of fear and discomfort. Most issues about sexual harassment are happening to women. It is sad to think that most women thinks that sexual harassment are just a part of their daily routine because it keeps on happening. A specific type of sexual harassment that is especially demeaning is the“Catcalling” that we were discussing.Some women thinks that being catcalled is fine but it is actually terrifying. Catcalls aren’t compliments. Catcalls should be taken seriously because it is an issue where women’s rights are being trampled. However, it is being argued that women should wear less revealing clothing to prevent being harassed by men. Some of them thinks that the woman being catcalled herself, should avoid wearing revealing clothing so that she won’t be verbally harassed.
We all have to disagree with their reasoning— because it is just not about women’s clothing. Sometimes, it is about the behavior of the man who needs to curb his own desire. We, women should not adjust; because it is not about what we wear, catcalls shouldn’t be took as a compliment, and we deserve freedom and respect.
Being harassed is not about we wear. Women’s clothes are not an excuse for harassment. Most women complained that even though they are wearing sweatshirts, long-sleeved blouses, long pants— they are still experiencing harassment. If they do dress conservatively and they still get harassed, what more if they’re showy? Even though we wear a less revealing clothing, if a man can’t control himself, they’ll still do it. In this kind of situation, women all feel uncomfortable. If women are not in this situation, they would think that they shouldn’t wear this kind of clothing but what if it is needed? Why do they need to judge women by the way they dress? If a woman got harassed or got catcalled in public, some will say that she deserves to be catcalled, she was asking for it, or she should feel lucky. It’s a proof once again that some people just don’t get it. In short, we women get catcalled, honked at and harassed no matter what we wear or how we act. The responsibility to curb catcalling lies solely with the catcallers and not with the victims.
A compliment makes someone feel good about themselves. A catcall is a harassment. There was a piece that is written by a woman, stating that girls shouldn’t get upset about getting catcalled. It is also stated that catcalls are flattering so all women, need to deal with it. The idea that women should appreciate catcalling is weird because it’s implying that catcalling is done with respect which is not happening. Not even close. Of course, it’s disrespectful! Many women complained about it, yet it keeps happening. If it was meant respectfully, then as soon as women started talking about how it made them uncomfortable, it would’ve stopped. But many times, those men still continue catcalling even though it’s obvious that what they’re saying is causing women to feel uncomfortable. Additionally, catcalls aren’t meant to brighten women’s day. Men shouldn’t say that they are only complimenting women when they are harassing her by the use of words which just sexualises her like an object.
Women deserve freedom and respect. They deserve to wear what they want and to choose what they want. Their wants in life shouldn’t stop just because there are men who can’t give respect to them. Women deserve to walk in a public space without being bothered or harassed. Men, another woman or anyone shouldn’t dictate how a woman should look or behave. Learning to accept that women are solely responsible for their individual appearance and behaviour will be a big step in the right direction. Just because rape culture, shaming women for their sexuality, and judging them negatively for less modest fashion choices have been the norm doesn’t mean they have to be. Why should we have to hide our bodies if they’re a natural part of who we are as people and as a species? And if men still view women as objects when we’re baring skin, maybe it’s time they consciously work on their own behaviour for that.
In conclusion, we shouldn’t blame what a woman is wearing just because men can’t curb his own desires. Women are not sexual objects. If you wouldn’t like to see something happening to women you love like a mother, grandmother, sister or daughter, then simply do not do it to other females. Just don’t do it, stop catcalling, stop harassment. Men should treat women with respect, and of course women should respect men too. We should value each other..we should value one and another.
