I once dated a guy that proclaimed that “cat calling” wasn’t a part of the patriarchy. HAHAHAHA — OKAY DUDE (we broke up shortly thereafter). When girls start going through puberty and walk down the street just as any regular human being would, men start harassing them with a disgusting fervor. It’s an assertion of power and dominance and it really needs to f*cking stop.
Ask any woman that you know and she’ll be able to recount the times she was leered at, gawked at, yelled at from car windows, followed home, was told to smile, had kisses blown to her with d*cks flopped out of pant zippers. If a man’s really feeling aggressive — she will tell you of the times she was groped, pinched, or even worse.
Street harassment is scary — if you’ve never feared for you life or safety while walking down the street, then I am extremely jealous of you. Society tells us that it’s just a part of life, that you should ignore it, and keep your head down. Well I say, f*ck that. We need to teach boys and men alike to respect women even if they aren’t your mother or daughter or sister. We need to provoke societies to stop making such disgusting behaviors “acceptable” and let women feel like they can walk down the street without feeling sick to their stomach.
These 23 women confess the scariest encounters they’ve ever had with street harassment and it will shock you to your core:
Laura is a freelance writer for TFLN. She likes to write about what she knows best — dating, sex, and being awkward, but usually in the opposite order. She is the Assistant Editor and videographer for Peach Fuzz, a sex-positive nudie magazine in ATX.