Today someone catcalled to me for the first time in my life. I am 15 and my friends who were with me are also in high school in a small town in New England. We are on the cross country team and were out in the middle of a run. We were at a crosswalk waiting for all the cars around us at the intersection to have a red light so we could cross. The lane nearest to us was already stopped. A man pulled his car up and rolled down the windows. He looked about 25-30 years old, nearly twice my age. He yelled “Hey, beautiful girls,” in what he seemed to think was a sexy voice.
I looked to my friends to see if they knew this man and they looked just as bewildered as I did. He kept talking, “No answer? Come on pretty babies come see me. I have some beautiful healthy genetics! Wanna see?” I glared at this man, full of hatred. Finally the light turned green and he repeated, “Beautiful healthy genetics!” as he laughed.
I found it so disgusting and offensive, and never would have expected it in the middle of the day in a small New England town. Afterwards I immediately and deeply regretted not looking at his license plate so I could report him.
Now I want to know, is there anything we can do to stop catcallers?
Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?
Make catcalling illegal.
– Anonymous
Location: Massachusetts
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea
