I was walking down the street, and ran into some friends who were waiting at a bus stop. We chatted for a couple minutes, and then I continued walking. I was about 30 feet away from them when a man yelled something unintelligible from a passing car. Reflexively, I turned around. He yelled, ʺHey! Are you going to go ‘do’ something? Your friends are looking at you like you’re about to go ‘do’ something.ʺ
He said the phrase ʺdo somethingʺ in a suggestive tone, and was staring at me creepily. I glanced back at my friends, who had witnessed the interaction, and we all kind of shrugged in confusion. I turned around and kept walking. I guess I was cracking up a little from the absurdity, and a man walking toward me yelled, ʺDamn, that’s a beautiful smile!ʺ I flipped him off (which probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but there were a lot of people around), and he yelled, ʺWell f*** you, too!ʺ
And that’s how I got catcalled because I got catcalled.
Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?
Raise boys to be respectful of girls and women. Educate men that it’s never, EVER ok to make any sort of comment to a woman you don’t know.
– Anonymous
Location: Seattle, WA
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea
