Jeez, people, do you really want folk to despair for the human race? Because making rape threats (and/or rape imprecations) about a woman who had the audacity to share on video the number of catcalls and unsolicited "Hey, mama, looking good!" comments she received while walking around NYC … is pretty despair-inducing.
The video is in the article. And I'll admit my first thought was, "Well, heck, if a guy wants to complement her on how she looks, what's the problem with that?" But the sheer repetition, the sheer intrusiveness, overwhelmed that first thought pretty quickly, even if you ignore the guys who started walking alongside her, or pressing her for conversation. The question is not why should she be offended by a stray complement or two, but why does she have to deal with an endless string of whistles, shouts, solicitations, greetings, or observations about her physical form from people whom she's simply walking past.
That even presenting this information makes someone the target for the kind of language and cursing directed toward her demonstrates that the social problem she's documenting is a lot worse than the video presents.
The woman who made a video about catcalling is already getting rape threats
Roberts documented all the harassment she receives as a woman walking in New York City — and received rape threats for speaking up.
Where were the rape threats posted? Twitter? Youtube? Not that I'm doubting there are idiots out there prone to that sort of thing, but I didn't see the ones featured in the article.
Also, it seems now the race hustlers are taking note because, apparently, "all the white guys were edited out" and they're demanding to see the whole ten hours of footage.
I guess to prove that there are douchebag whites as well as blacks and latinos?
The bit about "donations" has me wondering how much of this is real vs publicity stunt.
There's a lot of comments on the video's YouTube page with folks ranting about how she can't take a compliment or two and, admittedly, my knee-jerk reaction to a couple of them was that they were just being friendly.
Then it just continues on and on and on and I stopped to think how often does that sort of thing happen to me? Almost never, which is probably why when it does happen I'm more flattered than anything (especially given the shape I'm in these days). I can easily understand how tiring it could get if it happened all the time and was often followed by further unwanted and unasked for attention.
Well it can be both real and be done for publicity.
The organization she is associated with has a web page here: http://www.ihollaback.org/
And here's my further thought. Someone walks up to you to transact business or at a party or something like that, it's perfectly natural to engage in banter, including complementing them on their clothing, etc. Someone who'[s just walking past you on the street, not making eye contact, not engaging with you in any way, and it's somehow okay to try to drag them into conversation, comment (even favorably) on their physique or appearance, etc.? That just seems odd, at least, to me.
According to http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/shoshana-b-roberts-threatened-after-catcall-video-1.9556016 the threats on YouTube are being deleted.
Well, that's what the Report button is for.
Look, it may look like harassment and disgusting anonymous threats from the outside, but actually, it's about pedestrian ethics.
It would have been nice, as I finish my 7th decade on this earth, to know that this sort of street harassment was a thing of the past. Not that this video was a shock or a surprise to a woman my age, nor would it be to any young woman who traverses city streets – or these days, the Mall. It wasn’t “friendly,” “complementary,” or “flattering” 50+years ago, and it still isn’t. It’s “Hey! You’re female and therefore a brainless piece of meat I can treat any way I want to.” It’s insulting, and sometimes quite frightening. Alas, some things don’t change, and this is one of them.
That video showed two minutes of a ten hour walk. That is nothing. I can get nearly as much unwanted conversation just walking the ten minutes from my office to the bus stop. Everybody get unwanted conversation walking down the street in a large city, but women complain about it. Stop the world because a woman in uncomfortable for 2 minutes in 10 hours. And that guy who walked alongside of her was well aware of her steady pace behind the cameraman and the fact she remained completely passive while in pace, never looking to the right or left. Phony. If that happened in the “real world”, a smart woman would speak up or take evasive action, but certainly would not keep it going until, in theory, the man is convinced of her passivity then grabs her. Phony. It smacks of vanity to suggest that women are unique to receive unwanted attention or conversation in a big city. And then to complain about 2 minutes in 10 hours is ridiculous. Poor women. And to show a phony non-real situation in that two minutes. Ok, so they fool the dumb ones with this video, but other dumb ones respond to this video with the hate and the threats that we hear about. How surprised can they be over that when they chose the platform of youtube, a public toilet, to make their case? Two minutes in ten hours is nothing. Poor maladaptive women. They have documented a non-issue.
@John — I’m not sure I follow your comments, John, as they seem all over the map.
Yes, because a ten hour video probably wouldn’t have gotten many views. How much footage should have been included. Five minutes? Ten? The closing notes indicate “100+ instances of verbal street harassment took place within 10 hours. … This doesn’t include the countless winks, whistles, etc.” Should all of that have been shown?
Really? That’s remarkable. I walk around downtown in a large city all the time, and I rarely get unwanted conversation, and that which I do get is panhandling or solicitations to sign a petition, not commentary about my looks, invitations to hang out, verbal appreciation of my sexual pulchritude, etc. Is that the sort of thing you put up with, John?
Women complain about it because it’s not just “Hey, buy this newspaper from me” or “Brother, can you spare a dime,” but commentary about how the appear to be desirable for sex. I can see where that would get more than a little wearing, if not stressful.
Why should any person receive any unsolicited approaches of a sexual nature? Let alone 100+ (et al.) in 10 hours?
The camera was, based on the initial setup, hidden. And on a crowded street, people often walk about the same pace. As to remaining “passive,” she was remaining unengaged, not making eye contact or verbal contact with people to invite further interaction.
Really? I’ve seen plenty of advice to women to not engage with people who they feel threatened by, so that they don’t take that as encouragement for further interaction. As well, since she was on a crowded street, there was not an immediate risk of his “grabbbing her.”
I don’t think it’s vanity to suggest that they get the vast majority of catcalls, observations about their sexual attractiveness, and solicitation for further interaction of a possibly carnal nature.
I think we’ve covered this above.
Not quite sure why you consider it a “phony, non-real situation.” Are you suggesting that the guy who followed her along knew she was being taped, or that there was something about her behavior that was false (was she somehow leading him on), or what?
So it’s okay that the woman in the video then received “the hate and the threats” because, well, she was asking for it by posting on YouTube?
Again.
Clearly you don’t consider it an issue. Maybe that’s the issue.
Dave, is it? Yep, show all of the 100+ instances so we can laugh at what women call street harassment. I’m not taking the word of a woman. You agree that you get unwanted conversation but you argue about it! Who cares that what you get may not be identical to what I get. It’s all unwanted. That’s all that matters. So this woman gets her fraction of it in 10 hours. That’s nothing. So what. Then, so what that the camera was hidden, I never thought it wasn’t, but it’s so easy to see there were no other innocent passersby keeping pace with the cameraman, except the woman. That the camera was hidden or not is pointless, but it mattered to you. Do I really to have to explain what you can think if you would apply yourself? You are just pretending to be obtuse to have something to argue. Trying to derail me with pointless details. You think and respond like a woman. I think you are a woman with a man’s username. Don’t reply again with more dumb stuff designed to keep this exchange going. Save it for your boyfriend, honey.
Dave, I just scrolled up to see that you run this blog and that you are a man. Apologies for thinking otherwise. I will talk further, if you want. I don’t expect all 10 hours to be shown, that’s silly. A woman shows me 2 minutes of video content that can intellectually be deconstructed and wants me to believe a typed statement that there are 100+ additional instances? No. Prove it. All 100+ instances. Women prevaricate as a means to an end. Women have no problem telling lies if it gets men to do what they want them to do. This is well known, but is un-PC to say it.
If a woman can walk voluntarily for 10 hours and not seek safety, then she is not in danger and she well knows it and I know it. If she doesn’t call the police, but keeps walking around (for 10 hours!) she is not in danger and she well knows it and I know it. You need to know it as well. I’m not buying this BS that it is anything more than what it is. It is unwanted conversation, we all experience it, it does not have to be identical words. You ask me why should anyone experience it? Because it just is that way in a large city. What can I say? I am not defending it. It is what is. If women think this video can change the behavior of millions of people in Manhattan and anywhere else, to turn everyone they ever pass by into the nice salespeople that greet them in department stores, I laugh at these women. I wish women would grow up and demonstrate more wisdom and intelligence than this video imparts, but I know that’s not going to happen. So that is why I say they will fool the dumb ones. Lots of others that will roll their eyes and keep their mouths shut, for many reasons, including men who want to have sex with these women. I’ll stop this post for now.