CMST small assginments

Sterling, Li Shy English 101 Hemmen 22 November 2021

Argumentative Essay Topic 40 Word count: 979

Your “Compliments” Aren’t Wanted

“One in ten American girls had been catcalled before her 11th birthday. That’s right, we’re talking about fourth graders getting wolf-whistled and potentially worse” (One in Ten Girls is Catcalled Before Her 11th Birthday. Here Are 6 Things Parents Can Do About It). With girls as young as eleven being verbally harassed by men, it is in no way ok. The men who comment these derogatory remarks are leaving women horrified. Amy McClure, a sociology professor makes the point, “There's a constant tension between trying to espouse some sense of empowerment while understanding that your actions could trigger violence” (Santich). McClure uses this to elaborate on her point that street harassment is a power issue. Women don’t have the power to prevent a man from saying something about her body; neither do they know how far those men are willing to go to get the attention of a woman. Street harassment objectifies women, creates body image issues and emotional distress.

By definition, catcalling is “a loud whistle or comment of a sexual nature made by a man to a passing woman”. Not only is it disrespectful but it is a form of sexual harassment. In the Canadian Violence Against Women Survey, over 12,000 ladies participated. This survey found that forty-seven percent of women experience unwanted sexual remarks once every couple days and eighty percent experienced unwanted sexual remarks at least once a month. There have also been many more studies showing that street harassment may lead to behavioral impacts/ changes such as altering their normal route to feel safer (Fisher, Lindner, and Ferguson).

Catcalling objectifies women because the men are doing it based off the appearance of the woman. As Brittany Soto puts it, “It makes women feel as though they have no rights or values. Women are not dogs to be whistled at and they are not sexual objects” (Soto). By degrading women to be nothing more than a mere sex tool, it completely ignores the years of fighting and hard work women took to gain their own independence and rights. Even in television shows and movies, there are depictions of street harassment, but most don’t show the severity of it. The dangers that could come from ignoring the catcallers, the emotional distress and more.

Following objectification, it can lead to severe body image issues. Due to street harassment being so common, it can make women warry and insecure about what they wear out. Fredrickson and Roberts explained how self-objectification and insecurities were linked from experiencing sexual objectification from things such as catcalling. This constant thought relates to the objectification theory which, “creates a continuous stream of anxiety-provoking experiences, requiring women to maintain at least part of their concentration on their physical appearance and safety at all times in order to better anticipate the perceptions and actions of others” (Rooney). In another sense, catcalling has also indirectly shamed bodies that don’t fit societies expectations. Jamie Cattanach used to be a bit overweight. She was bullied through out school and sometimes thrown backhanded remarks on the street. After she lost eighty pounds, she found herself in a vulnerable position. More men were catcalling her and sometimes even followed her for a bit. But during her weight loss journey she even said, “Having so long had strangers avoid looking at me entirely, I have to admit: it was refreshing at first” (Cattanach). Seeing catcalls as a sort of refreshment is extremely degrading and it was disrupting her own perceptions of her body.

Catcalling may instill extreme emotional distress. Catcalling holds a significant amount of power over the victim. Amy McClure explained, “20 to 25 percent of female students become victims of sexual assault or rape during their college years. In that environment especially, catcalling can feel like a threat”. Just by walking down the street, or even on campus, their guard must be up. A viral activist group called, “Hollaback” got ten hours’ worth of footage of a young woman walking in New York. There were over one hundred incidents of street harassment in this film. When the young woman didn’t respond, some would get angry or even go as far to follow her until there was a reaction. (Santich).

However, there are some comments that may be appropriate. For instance, read the body language of the women, if they seem preoccupied or distressed back off. Unless the woman is hinting that they’re ok with any appropriate comments (emphasis on appropriate), then your comments could get in their way (How to Talk to Women). There are also ways to approach a woman without using comments such as, “hey baby”. A simple hello or even a question about their day would be better. Using aggressive and diminishing remarks puts the woman at a state of discomfort (Fabello).

Although there are more appropriate ways to address a woman, it could still make the woman worry. She may not always know your intention and that’s what makes the interaction more intimidating. With the right environment, it could work out better; overall, catcalls and other forms of harassment by men has pushed women to keep their guard up high. There have been to many issues regarding catcalls to just allow women to feel comfortable with not being wary.

All in all, commenting on women on the streets, on campus or anywhere is something that is inappropriate. The objectification ignores women’s history. It disregards the hard work that women put in everyday to make themselves feel powerful. It pushes body standards onto women. It creates the idea that no matter what they do, they are never going to be seen as more than just a sex object. Lastly, it puts a tremendous amount of emotional distress onto women. Although some intentions could be pure, there’s too many risks associated with it. Catcalling is never ok. Think about how you would feel if random people on the street made you sound like nothing more than a mere piece of meat hanging on the wall.

Works Cited

Cattanach, Jamie. "How Catcalling Changed As I Lost 80 Pounds (And How It Didn't)." Ms. More Than A Magazine, A Movement, 3 Jan. 2017, msmagazine.com/2017/01/03/catcalling-changed-lost-80-pounds-didnt/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

Fisher, Sophie, Danielle Lindner, and Christopher J. Ferguson. "The Effects of Exposure to Catcalling on Women’s State Self-Objectification and Body Image: Research and Reviews." Current Psychology, vol. 38, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1495-1502. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.bellevuecollege.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/effects-exposure-catcalling-on-women-s-state-self/docview/2322058885/se-2?accountid=35840, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9697-2.

"How to Talk to Women." Stop Street Harassment, stopstreetharassment.org/resources/male-allies/how-to-talk-to-women/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

McKee, Amira. "Catcalling Compromises women's mental health." Bearing News, 20 May 2019, www.bearingnews.org/2019/05/catcalling-compromises-womens-mental-health/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

"One in Ten Girls is Catcalled Before Her 11th Birthday. Here Are 6 Things Parents Can Do About It." Girl Scouts, www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/happy-and-healthy/happy/stop-catcalling-girls-and-sexual-harassment.html. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

Rooney, Emma. "The Effects of Sexual Objectification on Women's Mental Health." Applied Psychology Opus, wp.nyu.edu/steinhardt-appsych_opus/the-effects-of-sexual-objectification-on-womens-mental-health/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

Santich, Kate. "Catcalling Becomes Issue on Campuses." TCA Regional News, Nov 08, 2014. ProQuest, https://ezproxy.bellevuecollege.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/catcalling-becomes-issue-on-campuses/docview/1621841235/se-2?accountid=35840.

Soto, Brittany. "Catcalling is not a Compliment, it's Harassment." UMKC, 2 May 2019, info.umkc.edu/womenc/2019/05/02/catcalling-is-not-a-compliment-its-harassment/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.