A typical Monday night: I’m walking to my car late at night. I’ve been studying for an exam for hours, and I’m looking forward to getting home to a cup of tea and my bed.
As I walk through the dark though, there is something different in the air.
There are two or three people roaming about the streets a few blocks from Bloomington’s popular bars.
The smallest of sounds makes me clench my car keys tighter, and when I finally get in my car and click the locks shut, I let out a small sigh of relief.
Immediately after, I feel silly.
Bloomington is a safe area, and the few people I saw roaming around the streets were mostly likely just as excited to get home to their own lives and had no malicious intent.
When I wonder why I get scared at times like this though, the answer is pretty clear to me.
After a woman has experienced being catcalled while walking alone, it changes everything.
I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but that is part of my point.
This is a serious issue, and women shouldn’t be deemed silly for complaining about catcalling.
A few of my male friends have admitted to me they are confused about why catcalling is so awful.
Most of them end by adding, “I’ve never really felt afraid walking alone, though. So I think it’s hard for me to grasp.”
I don’t mean to suggest that every male takes this view.
In the same way, in no way, shape or form, do I think that a majority of men are out to scare and jeer at women.
This issue though, is not about all men.
This is about the woman.
This is about the woman who has grown up being told to be careful walking alone in parking lots, in elevators and in street corners.
Instead of growing up to find this fear is unwarranted, she is often confronted with situations that make her feel like she was not prepared enough.
This is about the way her skin crawls when the catcalls are filled with grotesque and detailed sexual advances, or how sometimes, all she wants to do is respond and defend herself, but freezes up in fear.
The words are bad enough, but when alone, their maliciousness feels much more threatening.
When I hear many girls talk about their experiences with catcalling, they too often struggle to find words for the unpleasant feelings it brings.
Often though, many say something such as, “it’s amazing how just a few words can make you feel like just a body walking around.” This is not a pretty description of catcalling, but it is not a pretty issue.
I want to acknowledge that compared to many other countries, the average woman in the United States is in many ways, safer.
Here in the U.S., rape and violence against women are both illegal.
Issues of women’s safety all around the globe continuously remain very important, but I also think it is okay to deal with what is going on in your own personal life as well.
Apart from working on this issue as a culture, I really wish people would just believe that women have legitimate reasons for hating the catcall.
Proof, in this situation, should not be needed.
sdloughr@indiana.edu
