# Thoughts on the viral 'New York catcalling' video? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179 "2014-10-31T23:08:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/101 "2014-11-02T02:32:12Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Oddly enough, some people tend to get upset when they perceive somebody behaving in a rude manner. Ignoring someone who’s talking to you is defined as being rude by virtually every parent of a small child since the beginning of time. See also, “Why are you ignoring me–you’re not even hot enough for me to fuck!” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/102 "2014-11-02T02:42:48Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I was trying to use you as an example of what a self-confident woman would do because I think it is justified. Take that as a compliment because it is. > > There is always risk in life. There are no morals involved in my argument. I was just arguing against the unnecessarily timid because life can never be fully child-proof. It is much easier to adjust your own behavior or outlook than it is to enforce a band on innocuous behavior. I don’t think men hollering after women on the street is some kind of unchangeable force of nature. Indeed, it has been nearly eliminated in many areas. And women (half the population) are in near-universal agreement that walking through areas where people don’t catcall is more pleasant, feels more secure, and ultimately leads to more freedom. I’d even go as far as to say streets without catcalls are objectively better. I don’t think women can eliminate catcalls. Lord knows we’ve tried silence, sass and everything in between. I think in the end the only thing that works is having a male escort- which is frankly bullshit., Societies where women have to have male escorts to avoid harassment suck. I want nothing in common with Saudi Arabia. I think what works is men. Men teaching their sons not to do that. Men calling out their mates when they act like idiots. Men taking ownership for not only their own actions, but the actions that they implicitly or explicitly condone. This has to be a group effort. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/103 "2014-11-02T02:53:27Z")
The stated reason for the video is to get all men to stop doing whatever they are doing. That is a flat-out retarded idea and culturally insensitive. How about we move next to Mardis Gras in New Orleans to stop asking women to moderate their alcohol intake and not show their boobs for beads? There are countless women that are victimized in New Orleansi every single year. Men dangle essentially worthless beads for them to pull up their tops and bare their breasts to the world. Men dangle those beads from balconies to get innocent women to expose those knockers and most do as long as the bead payment is high enough. Women get higher and higher status according to the number and quality of beads that they have. At the middle and end of it, it is a literal orgy for beads and every other form of alternate currency. As far as I know, the women went to some serious effort to participate in the first place. Should they be banned for their own protection? The woman in the video is not selling me on anything. She is moderately unattractive and a bitch. She has no idea whatsoever about how to handle herself in a large city. I had a roommate once that looked almost exactly like her. My roommates strategy was to fuck as many men as she could except she knew how to handle herself. She wouldn’t have ever been caught in that situation without taking someone down physically. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/104 "2014-11-02T03:02:10Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The stated reason for the video is to get all men to stop doing whatever they are doing. That is a flat-out retarded idea and culturally insensitive. OK, so women complaining about behavior that makes them feel unsafe and uncomfortable are being insensitive. Got it. > [@](#): > > The woman in the video is not selling me on anything. She is moderately unattractive and a bitch. She has no idea whatsoever about how to handle herself in a large city. Ugh. It’s one thing to be aware that the Internet (and world in general) has a serious problem with misogyny…depressing as hell to see it in a community you like and value. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/105 "2014-11-02T03:17:20Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The woman in the video is not selling me on anything. She is moderately unattractive and a bitch. Thanks for laying bare your misogyny. Hint – firstly, it’s the judgement of a woman’s appearance… especially considering it has _no relevance whatsoever to this conversation._ Secondly, it’s the “bitch” slur – why is she a bitch? Because she dared to be hired by a video creator who directed her to walk down the street without reacting while being filmed? Only a bitch would be an actress and get an acting job and obey the director… what a bitchy thing to do. Damn women getting jobs and obeying their supervisors, and then having the gall to have an opinion and talk about it afterwards! Who do they think they are? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/106 "2014-11-02T03:43:54Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Oddly enough, some people tend to get upset when they perceive somebody behaving in a rude manner. Ignoring someone who’s talking to you is defined as being rude by virtually every parent of a small child since the beginning of time. Were the polite and kind men in the video calling out sweet greetings to other men that they passed? Old women? Young children? Or was it just this one nice looking woman? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/107 "2014-11-02T03:48:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Thanks for laying bare your misogyny. Hint – firstly, it’s the judgement of a woman’s appearance… especially considering it has _no relevance whatsoever to this conversation._ Secondly, it’s the “bitch” slur – why is she a bitch? Because she dared to be hired by a video creator who directed her to walk down the street without reacting while being filmed? > > Only a bitch would be an actress and get an acting job and obey the director… what a bitchy thing to do. Damn women getting jobs and obeying their supervisors, and then having the gall to have an opinion and talk about it afterwards! Who do they think they are? [I think he may be referencing this scenario.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/10/29/catcalling_video_hollaback_s_look_at_street_harassment_in_nyc_edited_out.html) > [@](#): > > . But you don’t leave with that icky impression of a white woman under assault by the big bad city. Plus, she has the group demonstrate the armor they wear while walking down the street, which turns into a glorious mosaic of bitch face ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/108 "2014-11-02T03:51:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > :dubious: A come-on is “normal social behavior”. At any old time, at whatever place, with whichever complete stranger happens to flit into your field of vision for two seconds? No, of course not, there are limits. Of course there are times & places where it is acceptable to make an advance with a stranger, but that’s not the whole world. And the difference is not some inscrutable mystery, with “Oh, women expect men to be mind-readers.” The sidewalk is not a singles club. It’s not hard. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > The stated reason for the video is to get all men to stop doing whatever they are doing. That is a flat-out retarded idea and culturally insensitive. How about we move next to Mardis Gras in New Orleans to stop asking women to moderate their alcohol intake and not show their boobs for beads? > > There are countless women that are victimized in New Orleansi every single year. Men dangle essentially worthless beads for them to pull up their tops and bare their breasts to the world. Men dangle those beads from balconies to get innocent women to expose those knockers and most do as long as the bead payment is high enough. Women get higher and higher status according to the number and quality of beads that they have. At the middle and end of it, it is a literal orgy for beads and every other form of alternate currency. As far as I know, the women went to some serious effort to participate in the first place. Should they be banned for their own protection? “Ok, hold on, that doesn’t make any sense. How can someone like going to a huge street party where everyone is getting drunk and dancing and flirting with each other, and then NOT like it when a bunch of random strangers make unwanted and often disgusting sexual advances out of the clear blue sky as she walks to the deli on her lunch break? How are those scenarios at all different?” Sorry for being snarky, but it’s baffling to me how so many otherwise smart people can have no apparent idea about the ways in which context matters. “Hey, how’re you doing today?” means one thing when a bank teller says it to a 40 year old man at his window, but something completely different when the dumbass on the stoop says it to the 20 year old girl who happens to pass by him on the sidewalk. Acting like it’s some normal social pleasantry and women are freaking out over nothing suggests a stunning degree of blindness, as does comparing everyday catcalling to what goes on at the biggest party in the country. Again, there are times & places for flirting with strangers. Mardi Gras is one, a nurse’s lunch hour is not. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/109 "2014-11-02T04:08:18Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Joke all you want with intellectually compromised responses. The fact remains that there are women, including all of them in my family, that can navigate through all of the U.S. and even most of the world without a problem. We have posters like **Even Sven** that can do that as well. Any strong woman or man should be able to do that. If you can’t, it means you aren’t really equal. This stuff irritates me when people claim that they can’t do it because of some superficial and external constraint. It isn’t that hard unless you are literally locked in a dungeon somewhere. My own mother is huge in the Middle East and Asia. She just hops on a flight from Dallas to Dubai like it is a road trip and never has any problems. > > I will say it now because it needs to be said. There are weak people among us who will complain about anything they can latch on to. There can never be a good solution because the problem mainly exists in their minds only and make themselves intentional victims of something. It is not responsible to support that behavior. You can love the person but not their flawed views and utter lack of self-sufficiency. I don’t know what magic stare you have but if someone started pacing me after making lude remarks I would reach for a weapon. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/110 "2014-11-02T04:11:08Z")
I think the main issue with the video is that that catcalling out to random women walking down the street is not something most middle class men (black or white) do. Once you get out of the underclass neighborhoods and avoid drunk crowds it reduces to the point of being something only mentally disturbed people would do. The video is trying to make the point that this is something that women walking down streets in the US have to deal with ALL THE TIME and it’s really not. Outside of poorer neighborhoods and away from bars it’s very rare behavior. This is not to say that you won’t get occasionally get some whispering middle class creepazoid muttering disgusting things to you, or pressing too close in crowded circumstances or doing something else furtive and disgusting, but that’s not street shout outs which is what the video is claiming. The video is premised on a the big lie that this is common everywhere for women when in fact you have to hunt for it for 10 hours in one of the most crowded places on earth then edit it down to a few minutes and still keep in the “How do you do’s” as harassing statements and 99% of your catcalls are black and Hispanic men in poorer neighborhoods. The worst part of it is that white racists are going to love this video to pieces and will point to it again and again as evidence that non-whites are sexually aggressive animals. No one’s consciousness has been raised by this boondoggle and all you have is a ready made racist cannon to point at minorities. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/111 "2014-11-02T04:30:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Two things – what did I say that’s obnoxious? And are you saying that the men (several of whom were white, as I noted a few times after multiple focused re-watches of the video) were _not_ harassing her? A very few were; most weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/112 "2014-11-02T04:41:01Z")
While I agree with Astro I think the video is endemic of large cities. For whatever reason you see men standing around doing nothing. You don’t see this in public in small cities and the suburbs. Of course there are exceptions but what we’re looking at in the video is poverty which inevitably results in a loss of the family unit. Proper parenting is severely absent. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/113 "2014-11-02T04:43:14Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t know what magic stare you have but if someone started pacing me after making lude remarks I would reach for a weapon. “Yo Magiver, man, seven FOURTEEN yo ROHRER yo you hear me dog! Hey! Hey! What’s with the gun man! Yo SEVEN FOURT-oooooph!!” ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/114 "2014-11-02T05:24:23Z")
They ought to take more of these videos around the gay community. On one board a woman said she went to a large lesbian gathering and lesbians have no problem not only propositioning each other, but occasionally grabbing some butt. I head its the same at gay male events. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/115 "2014-11-02T09:36:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > “Yo Magiver, man, seven FOURTEEN yo ROHRER yo you hear me dog! Hey! Hey! What’s with the gun man! Yo SEVEN FOURT-oooooph!!” For anyone who doesn’t know: [http://www.714movement.com/](http://www.714movement.com/). It’s based on 2 Chronicles 7:14 > [@](#): > > If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/116 "2014-11-02T09:47:37Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > What if she’s tall, or just not short? I don’t believe it matters. And, if you want to have some fun, here’s Hugh Laurie trying to guess what it (and other rap lingo) means on Ellen: [www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5OFhfdvrzk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5OFhfdvrzk) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/117 "2014-11-02T15:04:43Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Men and women brush up against me all the time. There’s a mutual “sorry” and we move on. While I have no doubt there are perverts out there who do this it’s not a great thrill to touch someone’s ass or boob . > [@Shagnasty](#): > > Isn’t some of this hyper-awareness going to cause all kinds of attribution problems though (paranoia basically). I am a 41 year old suburban white guy and people brush up against me all the time at work and otherwise. I would have to be severely flattering myself if I chose to think that there is anything sexual about it rather than someone being rude or just in a hurry to get things done. So, when these people innocently brush against you guys, is it often your arm or shoulder, or is it predominantly your ass and crotch? Once someone has brushed against you, do they move along or move a little away or otherwise make an attempt to not brush up against your ass and crotch anymore? Or do they stay exactly where they are and keep accidentally brushing up against you? Because when you make repeated contact with a woman’s buttock or breast but never any other part of her and make no attempt whatsoever to move away or reposition yourself to stop said contact…that’s not an accident. > [@](#): > > All I had to provide good company and endure a few drunken attempted kisses and an occasional crotch grab to make it work. It sounds terrible but it really wasn’t. I thought it was funny at the time and I became really good friends with the New Orleans gay aristocracy at the time. I would never touch another guys dick outside of a medical emergency but I got to hear over and over what they wanted to do to me and it was a serious offer sometimes with cash payments. I passed on those and no harm, emotional or otherwise was done. So, you willingly signed on for this knowing what it would entail, did it as a paid part of your job, and the people making passes at you unfailingly took no for an answer. Yeah, women who get grabbed at under those circumstances don’t really find it harmful either. If being grabbed at and propositioned under those circumstances were damaging, strip clubs wouldn’t have such a stead supply of dancers, ya know? But those circumstances are the complete opposite of what we’re talking about here. Women getting catcalled or otherwise harassed on the street trying to get to work or the grocery store, they’re not willing participants in this shit, they’re not getting anything out of enduring it, and a lot of guys aren’t willing to take no for an answer. Some of those will stop at just calling you an ugly bitch (gee, sound familiar?) but some of them will try to physically harm you. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/118 "2014-11-02T15:24:21Z")
It’s crazy to me, and very telling, that most of the women in this thread are saying this is a problem they’d like to stop, while many of the men are saying it’s not and that the women are being too sensitive. Don’t you think that’s sort of fucked up? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/119 "2014-11-02T16:02:59Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Were the polite and kind men in the video calling out sweet greetings to other men that they passed? Old women? Young children? Or was it just this one nice looking woman? We don’t know. There is only one camera, and it’s trained on only the one person the whole time. Speaking for myself, I personally have greeted both men and women in passing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179/120 "2014-11-02T16:07:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t know what magic stare you have but if someone started pacing me after making lude remarks I would reach for a weapon. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > “Yo Magiver, man, seven FOURTEEN yo ROHRER yo you hear me dog! Hey! Hey! What’s with the gun man! Yo SEVEN FOURT-oooooph!!” > [@BigT](#): > > For anyone who doesn’t know: [http://www.714movement.com/](http://www.714movement.com/). It’s based on 2 Chronicles 7:14 > > > [@](#): > > > > If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. O rly? :dubious: No. Not really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-viral-new-york-catcalling-video/703179.md?page=7)