By: Erin McKelle, SSH Correspondent
As we know, street harassment is a serious problem and the vast majority of women will experience street harassment at some point in their lives. It’s a product of sexism and bigoted attitudes that say women are sexual objects. But not everyone sees it this way; in fact, many people accept it as a normal experience and something that is just part of being a woman.
The media is one of the worst perpetuators of street harassment normalcy. There are so many instances on television that show women wanting to experience harassment or who are disappointed at not being catcalled or leered at. Think about it….the classic scene of two women walking by a construction site, one being harassed and one not. The one who’s not then proceeds to think she isn’t attractive, is getting old, etc. I’ve personally seen this particular scenario play out many, many times on television.
Just look the 2012 Fiat Super bowl commercial. A man is staring at a woman, she sees him and slaps him for his behavior. Then, she acts very seductive and is touching the man sexually. But the twist is as she leans in for a kiss, the woman in the commercial turns into a car! Advertisers trying to make this instance a joke perpetuates the idea that street harassment isn’t something to take seriously and that it’s perfectly acceptable to leer and gawk at women that you see on the street!
Or take a look at this Noxzema advertisement. Clearly, it is promoting the idea that there is something sexy about being harassed on the street. It’s not really anything to be concerned about, in fact, it’s flattering! This is clearly a very disturbing and infuriating ad, as it is selling the idea of being harassed. That is how they are trying to convince you to purchase their product. With Noxzema, you too can be harassed on the street!
Obviously, we have to eradicate these ideas and as a culture stop buying into the idea that street harassment is in any way normal or okay. It just perpetuates the harassment by making people think that there is nothing wrong with harassment when clearly, there is. It’s called harassment for a reason. Normalizing it is going to make the problem not seem like much of a problem and from this, will ultimately make it worse. Let’s stop street harassment and let’s stop consuming or buying into media that has other ideas.
Erin is an e-activist and blogger based in Ohio. You can find more of her work here and here.
