damn girl.
May 17, 2008
Having worked/lived in 3 major cities (Boston, L.A., New York), I have to say that NYC by far has the most cat-calling. Catcalling is the art of locating a girl, preferably young and good-looking, and throwing verbal enticements her way.
I am not a proponent of catcalling. In fact, I find that 95% of the time it is inappropriate and rude. It also makes women feel unsafe, and women have the right to feel safe while walking down the streets of these beautiful cities.
I have witnessed simple catcalling (a stationary man gawking at a girl and saying one line such as, “Hey beautiful”). I have also witnessed catcalling that could and should lead to arrests. I have seen men literally follow women with a barrage of sexual promises… which is disgusting and inexcusable.
Let me defend one instance of catcalling though: the manual labor/firefighter whistle & compliment. We are all familiar with it. Even if you haven’t seen it in person, you’ve surely seen a movie or show where this happens. Construction workers hammering away and one notices a beautiful lady. He then whistles and might follow with, “Looking good!” or something harmless like that.
As long as the comments and the gawking are minimal and PG-rated, I let these catcalls slide. These men are working hard all day next to other sweaty, dirty men. They do the jobs that none of us office-types would ever want to do. If they can take a pause from their exhausting duties to appreciate the beauty of someone of the opposite sex, so be it.
I cannot speak for the women who receive these harmless catcalls, but I get the feeling that they don’t mind too much. In fact, what’s wrong with getting a compliment? I’d love it if someone told me I look great as I walk down the street. (Then again, this “simple” guy mentality is keeping me back from thinking that ALL catcalling is inappropriate. Maybe I need to take a Women’s Studies class.)
So ladies, don’t take the dirty, stalking barrage of sexual advances from the FedEx guy. But, if a man is hard at work on putting up the city’s next skyscraper and gives you a whistle, feel free to give him a smile back. It’ll make his day.
A GREAT LITTLE PIECE ON THE SUBJECT
LADIES, A PLACE TO WARN ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
