Catcalling

The Disgusting Truth Behind Verbal Harassment Called Catcalling

— Kelsie Hildebrand, Editor-in-Chief

A 17 year-old-girl had just arrived on the first day of her new job, and she was introduced to the 20-year-old man she would be working with. He was very nice and helpful at first until he took things too far. He started joking about a woman that he had interacted with a couple weeks back, until the young girl started to feel uncomfortable. The man started directing the inappropriate jokes towards her such as, “you look cute from behind” and “we should meet up again.” When Precious Red Legs, feeling anxious and uncomfortable, reported the inappropriate conduct to her head boss that night, he told her to keep it to herself and forget about it. Catcalling is unrecognized in today's society by peers, adults, supervisors and sometimes law enforcement. “It has happened before and the guy would say things to others as well, but he took it to me, an underage girl at the time,” senior Precious Red Legs said. “The experience was very heartbreaking.” In workplaces, schools and public environments, we come in contact with people everyday that we may not know, so when a man or a woman gets catcalled, it is comfortable. The problem is not with victims speaking up, wearing clothes with more coverage or watching the way they are talking, because most predators take things too far with certain jokes. “These people who are not comfortable with you do not see the jokes to be funny,” Red Legs said. “People should look more into seeing how they say things first.” Sophomore Trinity Baker spoke out about her friend that would make excuses such as, “I am just a touchy person,” when he would wrap his arm around her. He would not let go even when she told him to let go, and she confronted him about it making her feel uncomfortable. In most cases, the stereotype of girls or boys wanting attention overshadows the issue. “I think it is a really big problem with men and women, because it is not just women who are victims and men doing it to women,” Baker said. “It is immature and gross, making it uncomfortable for people.” Taking action against this type of harassment is hard, because most people require evidence of the harassment in order to act on said accusations. Finding a handful of trusted people or stepping in when you notice anything unusual can aid in stopping catcalling. “We need to be heard,” Red Legs said. “When there is a situation out in a crowd, I think people should not be bystanders, and should get into it so there are witnesses.” The community needs to work on supporting one another instead of tearing each other down. The only way our society can end this harassment is by joining forces and being kind. “Talking about it more and making it known in a class that this does Sophomore Trinity Baker poses in order to accurately Photo by Kelsie Hildebrand happen,” Baker said. “You need to respect each other.” represent the horror behind catcalling.

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