D.C.'s alt-weekly, the City Paper has a package of stories this week on street harassment. One, a catcall diary a woman kept for a year. Two, a very poorly-written essay by that same woman about how now she's a racist because of all the harassment she gets from Latino men. And three, a piece by some dude who was apparently totally unaware that your average woman experiences street harassment on a daily basis. It also has a companion video, in which exactly two people (a male harasser and a female harass-ee) are interviewed. Taken as a package, it's a real trainwreck. [Warning, massive post to follow.]
What I found most remarkable about the catcall diary is that she is careful to record what she's wearing when she's harassed on the street. While it's true that short skirts can sometimes bring a different type of harassment, I find that I get unwelcome attention even if I'm wearing dirty jeans and a bulky winter coat. But I suppose it's nice for those who don't regularly experience street harassment (i.e. men) to read and take note that a short skirt and low-cut top do not necessarily correlate with catcalls. (In fact, it seemed like the subtext of the diary was: Hey guys, this is what it's like to walk outside as a woman.) The male writer seems shocked by this. In his piece, he writes,
I am leaving the Chinatown Metro station when I see a blond woman standing well over 6 feet in platform heels. Her tight black dress hangs inches below her ass and drops deep in the front, exposing a good portion of breasts that are surprisingly large for her rail-thin body. Catcall bait for sure. I step in behind her as she walks.
Isn't his tone disgusting? It's as if he wants to find a slobbering harasser to channel what he wishes he could shout at this woman. And he's then astonished when no one -- not homeless men, not construction workers, not dudes in power suits, not young men at the bus stop -- calls out to her.
The male-perspective piece began like this,
It’s early evening in Adams Morgan, and I’m tracking a nice ass in a pair of bluejeans as it glides down the Columbia Road sidewalk. I’m matching its pace, keeping my distance, 15 steps or so behind, so I can watch, so no one notices I’m watching.
Ew. Set aside for a moment Intrepid Reporter Joe's totally disgusting, sexist language. Turns out that nice, disembodied ass actually belongs to the woman who penned the other two pieces, Kimberly Klinger. He's following her to observe just how much shit women take for daring to walk down the street alone. And then he has some man-to-man chats with catcallers. The patronizing attitude of the guys he interviews is quite telling. A sampling:
“It depends on what she looks like,� adds Daniel Smallwood, a 16-year-old in a red polo shirt and a visor turned backward. “If she’s a slut, you have to treat her like a slut. If she’s not, I say, ‘How you doing young lady?’ Everybody says ‘baby’ or ‘shorty.’ I say ‘young lady.’�
And:
“Yeah, I always do it,� says Contreras [a proud street harasser]. He is happy to explain the process. “What I do is I ask how is their day. I ask to help with their bags. I give a nice compliment to her. I say, ‘You are beautiful. Can I get to know you?’� [...]I ask him about Klinger, the fastball he just whiffed. He’s excited to talk about that, too. “It’s tough in D.C.,� he says. “Especially with white girls. They are stuck up, man. Bitches.�
Contreras thinks it is bad form for women like Klinger to walk by without acknowledging a compliment, to just ignore you like you aren’t even there. It pisses him off. “At least wink at me or wave back,� he says. “Giggle or something. Don’t walk past like you didn’t hear me.� He says it’s different in Texas. He says white women there are crazy about Hispanic guys and yes, they do respond to catcalls.
(Back to the race thing in a second.) Intrepid Reporter Joe's next question is not, "Have you considered that most women, regardless of their race, do not enjoy being hit on as they walk from point A to point B?" Instead, he asks, rhetorically,
So why the hell do you take Columbia Road home and why live in Mount Pleasant, anyway, if you can’t tolerate a few catcalls?
Maybe because it's the fastest route to my apartment, you asshole!? Intrepid Reporter Joe is not quite at the point yet where his reptilian brain can handle the idea that maybe it's men's responsibility to keep their traps shut; that they don't have a right to yell at every passing woman about her body.
Then he writes, "Klinger knows the argument about how catcalling is part of Hispanic culture and how she shouldn’t impose her values on others." I'm sorry, but men of all cultures harass women. And women of all colors are on the receiving end of harassment. In her essay, Klinger writes,
White men don't do this to me with the same frequency, so when I pass a group of them on the street, I don't clench my jaw, tense up, and walk faster. But when I pass Latino men, I assume the worst. Black men, too, sometimes, since after Latino men, they harass me the most. Hell, if you're at all brown, I'm gonna get worried. So I have this conflict every damn day.
Wow. So is this just honest, or totally racist, or both? I can say that, while I've most definitely been harassed by men of all ages and races, I feel like I receive more harassment from men of color on the street, and more harassment from white men in bars. Is it racist of me to speak to my experience, that street harassment directed toward me is more likely to come from men of color? I don't think it is. (But I do think there's a discussion to be had here.) But I do think it's racist to make general statements that Latino and black men are harassers and white men are not. I like the statement from this site:
Different people may find themselves harassed more by different people, depending on where they live and specifics of their community. Sometimes some groups of people are outside and in the streets more often then other groups. Think before generalizing.
The folks at Hollaback are sensitive to the race issue, and have an antiracism statement on their site. The one time I submitted a cellphone photo of some guys who had harassed me on the street, they informed me that there might be a wait to see my incident appear on their blog, as they make a conscious effort to publish photos of street harassers of all races. And they explicitly ask that submissions not mention race unless it is somehow relevant to the incident of harassment.
A DC street harassment blogger writes,
I came home Saturday feeling hurt, frustrated and just plain angry at the mess I deal with on the streets. I went to the neighborhood I used to live in, Petworth, to check out Domku and Flip It (the former is a sleek restaurant and the latter a sweet bakery...check them out). I had my path blocked by these men, was followed, had men stopping in the middle of the road trying to talk to me, beeping their horns so loudly that I jumped, had men coming too daggone close on the sidewalk, and calling me names such as "shorty," "baby," and other stupid nonsense. The thing that bothers me the most about Saturday's ordeal with the men on the streets is that all of my harassers were black. It upsets me, makes no sense, and had me getting on the Internet to try to find answers. Why do so many Black men do this mess to me, a Black female, on the streets?
Klinger's piece doesn't even begin to do this issue justice. The intersection of race and harassment is a big and complicated issue -- not exactly manageable subject matter for just three paragraphs in a flip essay. Which is also why I'm not a huge fan of Jezebel's take on these three City Paper pieces:
Which is to say, it's what, at most five seconds of discomfort for a lifetime of funny stories? We have fucked dudes to achieve the same result!
Ok, I'll bite and play humorless feminist on this one. I, for one, don't particularly like it when a strange man on the street grabs my elbow and says, "There's a nice pussy." (True story. Shudder.) While I do sort of keep a mental catalog of, shall we say, most original cat-calls I've received ("I'd climb that tree!"), their cumulative effect is much greater than five seconds of discomfort a day. It's a reality of life that affects how I dress, where I walk, how safe I feel. Which is to say it's usually not very hilarious.
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Wow the whole, "why is she there if she can't take it" thing sounds an awful lot like "why was she wearing that if she didn't want it" excuse for rape. They published this? I'm going to go puke now.
I never know what the appropriate response is to street harassment. I was walking across a plaza in the city the other day, and heard a "hey baybee," which I ignored - mostly because it didn't occur to me that it was addressed to me, but also because that would have been my response had I realized it was directed at me.
The next thing I heard was "Are you pregnant? Or are you just FAT?" Now, it happens that I am visibly pregnant, and it was clear to me that the "fat" comment was meant as punishment for ignoring him. I continued on my way and didn't respond, but I couldn't shake the feeling that my response was inappropriate somehow. And that feeling stuck with me. Still has, a bit. I wonder if that same guy is going to be there every time I walk across the plaza now. It kind of sucks.
I've lived in various parts of DC for a few months and I've gotta say I've experienced more street harassment here than in any other city, don't know what's up with that... And I agree the original article is shitty... even the cover of the paper, just shitty...
i'm home with strep today and actually forced myself out of bed to go get orange juice. i'm on the corner when a truck drives by and i hear kissy noises directed at me. i immediately flipped him the bird and then crossed the street wishing i had instead spat my germed spit in his face. asshole.
Just for curiosity, can we all post a quick blurb about the most disconcerting harassment we've ever gotten, and then the most benign street harassment? I'm just curious... I'll start.
WORST: I was walking home late last night and a drunk guy who asked to walk me home grabbed my arm and would let it go. I protested for awhile and then finally told him to fuck off (much to my relief he let me go w/o a fight). A close second might be the 50 yr-old guy who tried to argue me into going on a date with him at a bus stop, using lots of explicit sexual detail. Of course I've gotten "whore" "bitch" "$20 baby" all that too.
more benign: It didn't make me smile, but I didn't mind it that much either. I was walking down the street and the guy across the street yelled "You've got beautiful eyes" and then just kept going. Also the other day an old guy was like "you shouldn't walk on those legs, you might ruin them". A little annoying maybe, but I did think it was kinda funny.
I conclude that street harassment is the worst in my view when someone is insulting and/or persistant.
I've also lived in various parts of DC - including Mt. Pleasant - and in my experience this kind of racist talk about street harassment has been increasing. I've heard descriptions of Latinos "loitering" and "harassing" and more - but I didn't see so much of that. It seems like street harassment in DC is turning into racist code language that has as much to do with people's discomfort in non-white-dominated areas as anything else. Which is why pieces like this don't bother to focus on any women's experiences, any feminist critique, or any recommendations about how to fight street harassment. And for the record - street harassment was worse in Georgetown, in my experience.
Great post, Ann. I'd just like to add that, along with catcalls and obnoxious shouts for attention, men who stare and "rubberneck" absolutely set me over the edge. I know it's not quite as bad as being verbally harassed, but it's extremely uncomfortable just the same.
i've seen so many hot dogs in the subway you could open an Oscar Mayer factory in the 5 boroughs.
cindyliz,
I also am not a proponent of using street harassment as a forum for racist discussion. However, I lived in PG Plaza and have got to say that I received far more frequent harassment there (from primarily latino immigrants) than I have at anytime in my life, like, anywhere. My three female roommates all said the same thing. And truth be told, modern Mexican culture does tend to be extremely macho. Plenty of latinas will agree. I agree that street harassment period should be the focus of discussions on street harassment, but don't just assume that any woman saying they get harassed more by people of a certain group/culture are just being racist.
I can't fucking stand street harassment. And I am not at all desensitized to it because for the most part when I leave the house it's with my large Scottish-descended fiance. There was a time period of six months where every time I left the house without him I got cat called at least once. It made me want to wear bulky sweatshirts and just put my head down all the time. I want to flip them off but I just ignore them because honestly, who knows when one of them might turn out to be a total psycho? And it doesn't seem to matter what I wear at all. I'll wear an ankle length hippie skirt and t-shirt and get it, or jeans or any number of things. I tend to think the ones who actually give me compliments ("Hey, that's a really pretty skirt" as we pass each other) are fairly harmless though it still makes me uncomfortable. But the whistling and "hey babys" really get to me for some reason.
I'm not trying to be racist, but I have to say, most of the harassment I've received is from Hispanic men. According to my stepsister, who's travelled extensively through Latin & South America, it's more common for ment to shout shit at women, so I guess it's cultural.
Either way, it's not cool. I just got a camera-phone & I plan on snapping the next street harasser & sending his ugly mug to HollabackNYC.
Worst/scariest: "You're fucking dead." (I had never seen these men before, I crossed at the green light when all traffic was stopped and had not crossed any driveways since then, so I could not have been engaging in 'bad pedestrian behavior' and the guy who yelled, the passenger, stuck his head out of the window and turned it so he could continue yelling as the car drove by. Had my ipod in, so it took a while for it to sink in.)
Best/funniest: "I love you, punky brewster!" (HS kid.)
Occasionally, I get a guy trying to get me into his car, which I find frightening. I also hate HATE HAAAAATE men who insist that you smile for them on the sidewalk. And I want to destroy every idiotic frat dude is ever shouted at me from a car. Interestingly, a male friend of mine gets it once in a while from men which includes a very disturbing episode in a Target bathroom.
one of my favorite recent threads on the topic:
http://williamsboard.com/topic/38898/&r=125
it gets even funnier when one of the guys jokingly asks, "sheesh, what noises do we have to make to get a stranger to sleep with us?" The answers include, "hubba hubba!" "Heavens to Betsy!" and, "boop-boop-boop reversing noises while walking backwards to look at me again."
Keep in mind, lots of us are so immune to it at this point that we don't even give it a seond thought. they're gonna have to be more clever than a "HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS," kissy sounds, or "you got a minute?" for us to even notice their existence.
one that did make me laugh once, a very smooth, "don't break too many hearts tonight." also, the other week when my bf and I were walking, this guy walked past and said, "you're the LUCKY guy." I turned to my bf and said, "why yes you are!!"
Hum, I agree with Nina. Street harassment takes on a whole new area of scary when they're stalking you from behind, following you for a few blocks... and that's even before we get to what they like to say during it all.
The part I hated the most is where that 16yo kid actually got offended when a stranger refused to acknowledge his presence. What is up with that? How is just being out in public, a valid reason for this guy to size you up and insist upon having some of your time and attention?
I remember the first time I got catcalled. I was 12 and walking to CVS with my friend. We were wearing huge winter jackets. A latino man, probably around 50, whistled and stared as he passed. I felt disgusted and bewildered, especially because I was only a 12 year old girl. It made me afraid to leave my house, since this happened on my street. I don't see how this can be taken so lightly by males AND females. When I got flashed on my way to school when I was 15, my mom was comforting but told me, frankly, that it's something that all women have to deal with. She told me stories about men masturbating on the DC metro into her jacket (it has happened to her twice). I'm in college now, and walk everywhere, so I'm even more wary of street harassment. Just yesterday on my way back from class, a guy called me "shorty" and asked my name. I told him I didn't have to give him my name and walked quickly away. I could hear him say "Damn, all I wanted to make was small talk" as if I was OBLIGATED to be nice to him. I swear, the next asshole that tries to "compliment" me while I'm walking, I'll give him an ear full.
Check out "Back Off! How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassment." Great, practical, helpful book for women.
pretty convoluted, confused post. i'd suggest a little more consideration before pulling the trigger next time.
my anecdotal experience has been that darker girls (black, brown) get harassed a lot more than white girls. not sure if that's true or not, but has seemed like it to me. i feel like men just think that darker (non-white) women will either be more accepting of the abuse b/c of the whole hip-hop culture thing, or maybe because minority women just have less rights than white women, so will have less power to fight back in any number of ways.
i was shocked to see a black, uniformed UPS guy in DC, in broad daylight, mackin/catcalling on some honey in broad daylight. I remember thinking, 'wtf' - like, astonished. i thought UPS was better than that, somehow. did it matter to the story that the dude was black? no idea now, but i felt like it was important at the time - not sure why now - maybe because she was black and if it was a white girl I can't imagine a black UPS driver harassing a white girl in broad daylight - just wouldn't happen. but there's a whole new standard applied to non-white girls - they're fair game for some reason.
and i've seen dirty cops of all colors catcalling and all sorts of stuff to all kinds of girls. fd: i hate cops.
I was walking back to my office after lunch today and a really old man (I mean, wizened, toothless and walking with a cane) grabbed my arm, gave me a really obvious once over then licked his lips and said "you're a bit of all right, aren't you?". Depressing to know they don't grow out of it.
Interesting. I think about this issue everyday, as in my neighborhood (I am not exaggerating) I get harassed every five seconds on average, no matter what I wear and despite the fact that I am of average looks. It's usually pretty harmless- leering and honking, but some are nasty and it happens so often I get progressively more annoyed. Plus, I have anxiety and the surprise of the honking or shouting has often scared the wits out of me. I really don't know what to do or say about it.
In response to some of the previous comments, I guess the more charming ones are when the attitudes are non-threatening. A non-aggressive, self-pitying "will you marry me?" has made me smile. The scariest time was actually when I was twelve, in Italy, and two men wouldn't stop following my friend and me for almost an hour, making lewd gestures and saying god knows what (we ended up running through some streets and alleys, making unexpected turns, to "lose them," because loitering by the policemen for half and hour didn't deter these assholes - stupid, I know, but we had to meet our mothers).
I wish I knew what to say or do about the issue. And that article you quotes was extremely offensive.
I was filling up gas in a gigantic red sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and sandals. I wasn't in a bikini dry humping my car and using the gas pump as a whip, so I guess my shock was justified when a man in a bright gold Jeep Cherokee with pumping rap music pulls up next to my parked car, rolls down the window and screams out, "WHAT'S HAPPENIN', BITCH?" I gave him the dirtiest look I could, ignored him, finished pumping gas, got into my car and sped off. It wasn't until I was safely away I burst into laughter because it reminded me of the "Holla" guy on the Chappelle Show. Then I had a seriously existential "Am I feminist without humor?" moment because I found the Holla guy annoying and mildly funny...*on tv*. Some of the most notorious comedic sexists (Zapp Brannigan from Futurama comes to mind) are my favorite to watch as long as I believe they are fictional satires of ways human beings never should be. Then I go for a walk in the city and that fragile belief is shattered quickly.
Adam's Morgan is by far one of the most harasser-dense areas I have ever been to. At night, men reach out and grab your ass, your arms, and pinch you constantly. Because the streets and sidewalks are so crowded, you can't even confront or see your harasser. It's horrible!
Ninapendamaishi,
I didn't mean to imply that women weren't experiencing street harassment (from any and all races), or to invalidate others' experiences. But for many people, and the media in particular, street harassment is rarely brought up, and usually seems a cover for racist fears about integration and white women walking the streets unsupervised. And I see that discourse happening more and more in DC.
I will never forget my first week of college when I was walking from my dorm to the gym to work out when I had a would-be street harasser staring at me in the most obvious way, and about to make a comment to me when he walked into a parking meter. I couldn't stop laughing. Served him right!
From the original article, about the 16 year old - who the hell does he think he is to call someone a young lady? Young lady sounds like my parents scolding me when I was 12 - 16 year olds do NOT get to call me "young lady" under ANY circumstances (nor do they get to call me or treat me like a "slut" but that should go without saying).
This is so timely, my boyfriend and I were just talking about it the other day. We often run together, but I was getting ready to go out by myself and mentioned that I wasn't going to run by the local (popular and crowded) beach because he wouldn't be there and I just didn't need the harassment that day. He couldn't believe it actually happened (probably because I look like a hideous purple-faced beast when I exercise) and then I realized just how often it does - and the shit I do to avoid it.
My worst one - one that really stuck with me - happened by a construction site at breaktime (I know). One leering guy leans over to his buddy and loudly says "I'd fuck that bitch. I know you wouldn't fuck her ugly ass, but I'd do it". I think the reason it was so awful is that it removed me from the whole conversation - like normally I would tell someone to fuck off or whatever, but it's like I wasn't even there. Gives me the creeps, and the rages.
I've been cat called twice in LA, both by latino men. The first time I was walking home from the subway when the sun was setting and when I was a few blocks away this car starts cruisin me. The guy pulls up and asks me if I want a ride and I tell him no. He doesn't go away just keeps tailin me for another block and asks me again. Again I say NO and this time he pulls him front and turns right and I worry that he's going to block my path at the crosswalk. He doesn't he just keeps going , making me think he's going to come around again so I took off running until I got to my apartment.
The next time I was walking to the grocery store which is a block away and this kid on a bike rushes past me and I hear "oooh, pussy" as he passes by, looking back at me. I will admit that had I known he was going to do that I would have accidentally deliberately kicked his ass off that bike instead of moving to the side to give him room. It might not have been the best thing to do but I wished I could have done it.
Though when I've been home in MO I've had a few black men "roll up" on me. Most memorably when I was washing my car and I was dressed in the worst possible get up (I was washing my freakin' car) and I saw them drive past and pull around and come back (hence my fear years later) and tried to "holla" at me. It was pathetic but I was polite and lied about my name and where I was from.
It can be scary and mostly it's a pain in the ass, I and echo the fears commented earlier that you want to fight back but are afraid of what men will do in retaliation.
I remember once being "hit on" as they say, by a male. Now, I'm no Brad Pitt or... uh... Gregory Peck, so I'm not used to that type of thing. When it happened it made me feel absolutely terrible. It may have been a fleeting encounter but it was enough to ruin my mood. I felt less like an individual and more like an object. I wasn't disgusted because it was a male, I would have felt the same way if it was a female who said the same things to me. I soon began to realize something. Women have to deal with that type of thing nearly every day!
After realizing that, I felt even worse. I felt disgusted at how society treats women because I had experienced a small taste of what they had to deal with. It made me glad that I've never done the same thing, only I never did it because I was shy. Now, I don't do it because it is dehumanizing.
Worst: (race card) I used to have black guys of verying ages come up to me to "talk." Usually while I was very clearly on my way some where, walking through the mall or whatever. They had a tendency to stand way inside my personal space bubble, and got really huffy if I walked on with a mumbled "gotta go." As if I were obligated to stop and talk with them so they could pay me a compliment. I guess it's a cultural thing, (I'm white).
The most entertaining/non-threatening: I was in NYC for the first time, walking towards the statue of liberty with my mom. I was probably 15 or 16. We were at a traffic light and one guy half way runs the light, almost getting broadsided by a guy in a delivery truck. The driver of the truck sticks his head out the window, looks straight at my mom and me, then looks at the driver of the car, still stopped in the middle of the road. Then in pure Brooklyn, hollers, "Hey! You should be watching the road not looking at the beautiful women!"
Ah, New York.
it all makes me so angry. However it's intended, it comes over as inherently threatening, and I'm never sure if that's unintentional, or if that's the whole point. Fact is, 99% of the guys I walk past on my way home are harmless. But I have no way of telling if the guy yelling at me is part of the majority, or one of the 1%... I don't care if they think it's a compliment, I should be able to walk home without having to deal with this shit.
This is so timely, my boyfriend and I were just talking about it the other day.
Hey, us too!
I was in disbelief and pumping him for an explanation as to why I might have been harassed 4 times in the 4 blocks I had just walked to the Stop-N-Rob and back.
The puzzler to me was that I had not combed my hair at all, was wearing clothes selected solely on the basis of their comfort and propinquity to the bed, and was enduring vicious, bloating diarrhea at the time.
Worst: Guy sitting next to me on a Greyhound bus puts his coat on his lap and it slightly overlaps my knee. Proceeds to put his hand on my knee under the coat for about 15 minutes. This was when I was much younger and timid, and I just let it sit there uncomfortably. What the hell was I thinking? I've received much more offensive catcalls in my life, but this one bugs me because I was too cowed to respond appropriately, and he totally got away with it.
Entertaining: I found myself committing a catcall one time. I was on my bike and had passed this guy jogging in the bike lane. I stopped at a red light and he passed me when traffic let up. The light took a long time to turn green. When I finally caught up to him again, it was quite far down the road, and I felt compelled for some reason to yell "Wow, you're fast!" as I whizzed by.
That episode may or may not have crossed the line between friendly and harrassment. I don't know. But in retrospect, if it had been some stranger yelling at me from a faster-moving vehicle, I would have considered it a catcall. It was weird being on that end of things. I'm never going to do it again.
Most disconcerting harrassment? Oh there are several that are about equal to me. Starting when I was 17, in Boston, walking down the street with two girfriends. Two guys slowed down in their car and scoped us out, then parked, got out and began to follow us. "what's your name? Where are you going? Where do you live?" We walked, crossing the street, taking random turns, anything we could to drop them, but they followed us until we came upon a taxi at a stop light and jumped in.
Another scary one, in London: I can't remember what the guy said to us, but my flatmate and I were walking home late at night. After we ingored him, he managed to follow us and see what building we went into, and then spent the next 1/2 hour or so pounding on the door of our building, screaming for us to let him in.
There were lots of scary ones in London. Men yelling at me to get into their cars, demanding it really. Following me for blocks, saying the most disgusting things. I quickly learned all the places that I could easily duck into to get away from them, got to know the people working there so that I could trust them to help me if I needed it, got to know the bouncer at the club up the street so that we could go get protection from him when men tried to follow us home.
Now I live in Seattle and I haven't had nearly as bad stuff happen, but cat calls frequently, lots of "hey beautiful" and "smile for me." One very drunk man trying to got grabby and tried to get my friend or me to get into a cab with him. We were outside a club, with tons of other people around and no one said anything to him.
I can't remember one humorous one. Is it ever humorous to be harassed?
Reading this thread, I find myself embarrassed to be a man. I just don’t get the whole cat-call thing. I guess it is a cultural thing (blaming it on race is simply inane).
"Just for curiosity, can we all post a quick blurb about the most disconcerting harassment we've ever gotten, and then the most benign street harassment? I'm just curious... I'll start."
The closest I've received to street harassment was "You have nice legs" in a semi-quiet tone of voice. So that's my entry for worst.
These comments about what we're wearing when we're harrassed (ugly clothes, messy hair, bloated pimply face, etc.) just show that it's not about "admiring beauty" or "being overwhelmed with biological sexual urges" or other ridiculous excuses. It's the same old power and control motivations behind rape, belittlement, and objectification.
Read this today on the Red Line on the way into work in Pretentia, er, Farragut North, and was thinking all the while, "Feministing is going to unload on this."
An interesting fact about Washington is that blue-collar white people are almost non-existent here. Unlike in fairly nearby Baltimore, you just don't see broke-ass white people inside the Washington Beltway, period. You want to find a redneck bar or Archie Bunker bar, you pretty much have to go 15-20 miles almost halfway to Baltimore up Route 1 to Randy's California Inn in north Laurel, where they've got a Hank Williams' "If the South woulda won the War, we would have had it made" Confederate Flag on the wall. Point is, if catcalling is blue collar courting, aggression or both, you won't likely see a bunch of white lawyers doing it on the street. They will be committing more well-planned sexual harassment not of strangers but of subordinates and even colleagues, inside. (Sexual harassment is theoretically disbarrable in DC, I rule I respect; in my mind, it's worse than putting slugs in a parking meter and they disbarred for that in Maryland once.)