Once when my daughter was 13yr old we were walking in public and passed a couple of young men in their late teens. After we passed, one of them let out a low ‘wolf-whistle.’ They weren’t leering, at least not to the point I noticed. We all kept walking and I could tell my daughter was deep in thought. A minute later, she turned to me and asked, “Dad, do you know why they whistled?”
My wife is a very attractive woman and my daughter got her looks so no mystery there. But I wanted to see what she would say so I asked her back, “Why?” She smiled and said, “Because they think I’m pretty enough.”
I’m not arguing for more catcalls and I’ve never catcalled anyone. But like a compliment I don’t think it’s impossible for it to be done in a non-creepy way.