Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Your Wife is Hot” Sign

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I have seen this bill board in random places along I-95 in south Florida for the past few months. Today I was able to get a picture. I’m sure the marketing people of this company are happy with the double entendre they’ve come up with, and while there is no chesty female in the background, it still seems to me to be inappropriate. I guess we all have a “line” in our frame of reference dividing prudishness from good fun to rude and inconsiderate. For me this crosses that line. What about you?

– AK

Location: Florida

 

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Kotex Can’t Tell the Difference Between Harassment and a Compliment

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By: Lauren Schechter

(en Español a continuación)

When I arrived in Lima, Peru, as an American exchange student about two months ago, I thought I knew about street harassment. I had read about it, I had experienced a few catcalls here and there, and I had even had an egg thrown at me out the window of a moving car. But it had never been as constant as what women here experience every day. During my first of many ten-minute walks to school, I experienced endless “piropos” –  honking, whistles, and of course the infamous kissing noises that Limeña women are forced to endure each time they walk down the street alone (and sometimes otherwise).

But apparently Kotex Perú can’t tell the difference between street harassment and a nice compliment. Through the Facebook page of “Paremos el Acoso Callejero,” a Lima-based organization for fighting street harassment, I came into contact with the following Kotex Peru ad with the caption “¡Los piropos me alegran todo el día/tarde/noche!” (Catcalls cheer me up all morning/afternoon/night!)


Ad Translation:

“Kotex Test: If you are walking down the street and you are cat-called, you:

  1. Laugh at the situation and keep walking
  2. Stop and give a look that could kill to whoever is catcalling you
  3. Take your lipstick out of your purse, put it on, and blow him a kiss”

Clearly, the sentiment of this ad is that “piropos,” or catcalls, are a compliment, and something to be appreciated. Listen, Kotex. This is not flirting. This is street harrassment.

A “piropo” isn’t It’s not about the fact that this man thinks I’m pretty. He’s not trying to brighten my day. He’s not trying to pay me a compliment. The smirks and laughter that often accompany these expressions make it clear that they’re meant to make women uncomfortable for the harrasser’s own entertainment.

There was certainly an online backlash to this ad – on Kotex Perú’s facebook page, on Twitter, and on the page of the organization I mentioned above. The company, evidently fearing the bad publicity this might cause, published the following photo.

Apology Translation:

“We ask the forgiveness of all the women who felt affected by the message posted on April 2, 2014. We posted it with the goal of incentivizing women to express themselves freely.”

There are a few reasons why I think this apology isn’t satisfactory. First of all, the company didn’t even remove the original post. Second, they didn’t even acknowledge the fact that catcalls aren’t a compliment, they’re street harrassment.

But then they went a step further. I’m sorry, implying that street harrassment is a compliment, and that it should brighten my day, and that I should blow my harrasser a kiss is supposed to make me feel more able to express myself freely? I don’t think so.

You know what might make Limeña women feel more able to express themselves freely? Equal use of public spaces without fear of harrassment.

Let Kotex Perú know how you feel about their normalization and glorification of street harassment:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KotexPeru

Twitter: @KotexPeru

Want to receive updates on Paremos el Acoso Callejero’s efforts to fight street harassment in Lima?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paremoselacosocallejero

Twitter: @noacosocalles

Website: http://paremoselacosocallejero.wordpress.com

Lauren Schechter is a junior studying Economics at the University of Oklahoma. She is currently studying abroad in Lima, Peru. In her free time she likes to travel, make music, and volunteer with the OU Women’s Outreach Center.

_______________ en Español ___________________

Kotex No Sabe la Diferencia

Cuando llegué a Lima-Perú como estudiante de intercambio hace dos meses, creí que sabía mucho sobre el acoso callejero. Había leído mucho, había recibido algunos piropos hasta alguna vez alguien me tiró un huevo desde un carro. Pero jamás iba tan constante como lo que las mujeres en Lima tienen que soportar todos los días. Durante mi primer de muchos caminos a la universidad, que duran solo diez minutos, experimenté piropos sin límite – bocadizos, silbidos, y por supuesto los infames sonidos de besos – que las mujeres limeñas tienen que soportar cada vez que pasan solas (o no siempre solas) por la calle.

Parece que Kotex Perú no sabe la diferencia entre un elogio lindo y el acoso callejero. A través de la página Facebook de “Paremos el Acoso Callejero” una organización limeña que lucha contra este tipo de comportamiento, encontré el siguiente mensaje de Kotex Perú con el subtítulo “¡Los piropos me alegran todo el día/tarde/noche!”

Sin duda, el sentimiento de este mensaje es que piropos son elogios, algo de que las mujeres deben apreciar. Pero los piropos no son un a manera de coquetear. Son acoso callejero.

Un hombre no me manda un piropeo porque piensa que soy bonita. No intenta alegrarme. No intenta darme un elogio. Porque las risas y sonrisas afectadas muchas veces, acompañan los piropos, es obvio que tengan la intención de poner incómodas las mujeres, por nada más que el entretenimiento del piropeador.

Había una reacción fuerte de este mensaje en la página Facebook de Kotex Peru, en Twitter y en lá pagina de la organización que mencioné antes. Las limeñas no estaban entretenidas por este mensaje. La compañía, obviamente con miedo de la publicidad negativa, publicó la foto siguiente:


Hay varias razones por lo que pienso que la disculpa no es suficiente. La compañía dejó en su página el mensaje original y, además, no reconoció que piropos no son elogios, y que son acoso callejero.  Pero hubo algo más. Lo siento, pero al decir que el acoso callejero es un eligió, que debe alegrarme hasta mandar un beso a mi piropeador ¿me hace sentir más libre de expresarme? ¿En serio?

Kotex, ¿saben qué haría que las mujeres limeñas se sientan más libres de expresarse? El uso igualitario de espacios públicos, sin el acoso callejero.

¿Quieres avisar a Kotex Perú cómo te sientes sobre su normalización y glorificación del acoso callejero?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KotexPeru

Twitter: @KotexPeru

¿Quieres recibir noticias sobre los esfuerzos de Paremos el Acoso Callejero contra el acoso callejero en Lima?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paremoselacosocallejero

Twitter: @noacosocalles

Website: http://paremoselacosocallejero.wordpress.com

 

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Take Action: Tell Snickers to Remove Its Street Harassment Ad

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Sign the petition telling Snickers to remove its demoralizing ad!

By Julie Masterine, USA

More than 6,000 people have signed a Care2 petition demanding Snickers’ latest Australian ad be removed.

Have you seen the commercial? It opens by asking, “What happens when builders aren’t themselves?” It then shows a group of construction workers shouting empowering things to unsuspecting women on the street:

“I’d like to show you the respect you deserve!”

“A woman’s place is where she chooses!”

“You know what I’d like to see? A society in which the objectification of women makes way for gender-neutral interactions, free from assumptions and expectations. You go, girl!”

Sure, women used to a lifetime of “Hey baby,” “Nice legs,” “Smile for me,” “Show me your tits,” and any other number of degrading comments often thrown our way in public spaces would certainly find these pro-feminist comments refreshing. One woman in the ad even puts her hand on her heart and mouths “thank you” to the men.

Refreshing, that is, until the ad ends and the rug is pulled out from under the viewer. “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” reads the text.

Taken as a whole, the Snickers ad is sending a message that pro-feminist men are unnatural — men are only feminist when they’re hungry and therefore “not themselves.” When they have junk food on hand, they go right back to being the sexist street harassers they normally are.

This ad isn’t just insulting to women fighting street harassment — it’s insulting to men, particularly construction workers, who are often stereotyped as being street harassers. This isn’t true, obviously — men from all walks of life street harass, and it’s unfair to peg this behavior on just one group, especially blue-collar workers (classist much?) It’s also insulting to project the idea that any man’s default position is anti-feminist.

One thing’s for sure: we won’t end street harassment by keeping men hungry. You can sign Stop Street Harassment and Care2’s petition asking Snickers to pull the ad from the airwaves here.

Julie Mastrine is an activist, feminist, and writer. She is the Activism Marketing and Social Media Manager at Care2, and is a social media volunteer for Stop Street Harassment. Follow Julie on Twitter and check out her e-book, Make Your Own Sandwich: A 20-Something’s Musings on Living Under (And Smashing) The Patriarchy

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Snickers: Men are not naturally harassers & women don’t owe men their attention

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UPDATE: Please sign the Care2 & Stop Street Harassment Petition!

Have you seen any of Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign? They show someone doing something out of character — until they eat a Snickers and then return to their normal self.

They have a new commercial in this campaign that was filmed in Australia that caught my attention.

In it, construction workers who are hungry and thus “not themselves” yell “empowering” things to women on the streets.

“I’d like to show you the respect you deserve!”

“A woman’s place is where she chooses!”

“You know what I’d like to see? A society in which the objectification of women makes way for gender-neutral interaction free from assumptions and expectations.”

Since Snickers is saying they are saying these things while they are not themselves, it suggests that when they are their normal selves they, what, yell crude and harassing things to women? Ummm, why would we ever feed them, then?

Also, holy crap — this is the answer to our problem — we can solve street harassment by starving men!

HA.

In all seriousness, there are two main reasons why this commercial is problematic:

1 – The trope that street harassment is only perpetrated by construction workers is OLD. Yet, companies and media continue to love to use it, with recent examples being SNL and Lego. In reality, men of all social classes, races, and professions street harass and there are many construction workers who do NOT street harass. Let’s try to at least be accurate in the representation of street harassers.

2 – Even though the construction workers are saying positive, non-harassing things, they are actually still engaging in behavior we do not support. They are singling women out and demanding their time and attention as they yell at them. Men are able to walk by the site and go about their business and keep thinking their thoughts, but the same is not true for women. They are interrupted, their attention is demanded. That is not equality. If you wouldn’t yell it at a man, you probably shouldn’t yell it at a woman. Remember: women do not owe you their time or attention!

You can contact Snickers to let them know why you’re #NotBuyingIt!

Also, a few suggested tweets:

@SNICKERS the way to stop #streetharassment isn’t to starve men. it’s to leave women alone on the streets!

@SNICKERS not all construction workers are street harassers when they “are themselves.” stop promoting that tired trope

@SNICKERS women do not own anyone their attention, whether it’s for “positive” or harassing attention

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We’re #NotBuyingIt This SuperBowl Sunday

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Kendra Corbin. SSH Intern

Via iTunes

This year’s Super Bowl XLVIII will air on Sunday, February 2 at 6:30 PM. Millions of viewers will lounge in front of their TVs with junk food and beer. Instead, I will be parked on my couch, rolling my eyes and making that, “ugh,” sound under my breath, awaiting the inevitable sexism that plagues Super Bowl commercials.

In the past, Super Bowl Sunday has been a breeding ground for sexist ads. Go Daddy notoriously receives backlash for its ill-fated attempts at making Internet domain names sexy. Take a look at last year’s cringe-worthy commercial. As a warning, it’s painfully awkward to watch. The slogan is, “When sexy meets smart, your small business scores.” Aside from being genuinely gross, this commercial implies that beautiful people, women in particular, cannot be smart and smart people cannot be beautiful.

In 2012, Teleflora released a steamy commercial with questionable implications. The flower company’s commercial features a beautiful woman slowly slipping into lingerie. She looks into the camera and seductively says, “Guys, Valentine’s Day is not that complicated. Give and you shall receive.” Get it? If you buy a woman flowers, you’ll automatically get laid. What an adorable message to send to millions of Super Bowl viewers.

Also in 2012, Fiat released a commercial that features a woman that catches a man gawking at her in the streets. At first she is angered, though her anger quickly turns into heated passion. The man then wakes up from his daydream just as the beautiful woman turns back into a car. This commercial is problematic because it objectifies women while simultaneously making light of street harassment. Leering at women in streets is not a sexy turn-on. It’s creepy.

Luckily, this year viewers can combat sexist commercials by using The Representation Project’s new #NotBuyingIt app. During the Super Bowl, viewers can publicly call out companies for their offensive advertising tactics. Although #NotBuyingIt has previously been available on Twitter, it is now easily accessible via the iPhone app. The goal is to spread the word about sexist advertisements, grab the attention of the offending companies, and spark a positive change within the media and society.

Stop Street Harassment’s similar operation Campaign Against Companies calls out offensive ads that specifically trivialize street harassment. Along with using the #NotBuyingIt app, we encourage viewers to submit offensive ads related to street harassment, as well. In the past, Stop Street Harassment and supporters have been able to convince several companies to refine their distasteful advertisements.

During the game, I do not want to see any scantily clad women used as a marketing ploy. I do not want to see women objectified for profit. I do not want to see female actresses pretending to be strippers. The hypersexual Super Bowl commercials say a great deal about how the public views real life women. The media has the influential power to make us view women as sexualized objects. This alarming mindset can have a tremendous impact on the amount of street harassment that real life women experience.

This Sunday, take note of the messages that companies are sending to their consumers. If you spot sexism in a commercial and it offends you, tell someone about it! #NotBuyingIt is a great way to start spreading the word. If you plan on traveling to Super Bowl parties, stay safe.

Kendra Corbin is senior at Shenandoah University. She is majoring in Mass Communications and minoring in Women’s Studies.

 

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