NPR’s Michel Martin hosted a segment about street harassment today.
On Monday, NPR put out a call over social media for stories and thoughts about the topic and they received more than 100 emails and 1000 Facebook comments in the first hour. It’s a timely and important issue.
Fast forward to today, and I was one of four women invited on the show to talk about street harassment. I had prepared a bunch of talking points (some of them are in the image on the right).
I barely got to use any of them because the conversation stayed focus on whether or not street harassment is okay. I guess I need to improve my “bridging” skills.
Anyway, I felt thrown off and disappointed that we had to have this basic conversation on a media outlet I respect so much. I would expect that kind of conversation on a morning radio show hosted by guys trying to get ratings (and I’ve been on those frustrating shows with those men who really don’t “get” the issue) but not from NPR.
While there were good points made during the segment, I wish the conversation could have focused more on “why does this matter” and “what we can do about it.”
But perhaps general America is not yet ready for that…
I am also very disappointed in the title of the show, “Catcalling: Ignore it or Enjoy It?” This title suggests that street harassment is okay, when in actuality, it is not.
Anyway, here is the show description and you can follow this link to hear the recording and read the transcript:
“Many women have gotten unwanted attention from men on the street; but are the whistles and catcalls harmless attempts at flirting or verbal abuse? Host Michel Martin gets the opinions of the Beauty Shop ladies: blogger Viviana Hurtado, writer Tracy Clayton, activist Holly Kearl and journalist Jasmine Garsd.”
What are your thoughts?
