I got a whole ten steps outside of my building this morning before I heard my first cat call of the day. "Da-yum, ma!" a man yelled from his car. "Look at you lookin' all sexy, giving me morning wood and all." So my day of fielding gross cat calls and disgusting hisses began. Oh Joy.
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Like many women around the world, I dread going outside for fear of being harassed by strange men on the street. Day in and day out, women are subjected to gross come-ons and unwanted cat calls. To be precise, 65% of American women have experienced some form of street harassment in her lifetime. Crazy, huh? Even crazier is the fact that street harassment is often brushed off as a non-issue, with people downplaying unwanted come-ons as compliments.
Let me be clear: unwanted attention from men is not, and never will be, flattering. It's infuriating, especially when you consider the kind of filth men spew at women. Here are just a few examples of the most deplorable comments real women have had the distinct displeasure of hearing from men who claim to be "complimenting" them.
- "'He said, "Hey b****, I wanna wear your tits like a hat.' All the while doing the whole V fingers licking motion. It was absurd and gross."
- "You look like you could take a big D."
- "Heard this one on my way out of the subway, looking at a map on my phone to go to a job interview: 'Why these chicks gotta be so cute but don't get out of your way?'"
- "He said he'd like to use my hair as handle bars (when it was long) to ride me. Gross."
- "I was once told by a kid that he liked that I was thick because he'd have something to grab on to in the middle of the night, and our babies would have that good hair he could pull on. Such a charmer, that kid."
- "I wish I were a pair of your pants so I could wear you out."
- "You need something hard and long to make you smile honey!"
- "I yelled at a guy when he said something gross to me on the street, and he said, "See if you can talk back with my d*** in your mouth.'"
- "You with all those curves and me without any breaks."
- "But, damn, ma."
- "If I were your man, I wouldn't let you walk out here looking all fine. I'd take care of you and keep you at home, tied up to the bed."
- "One guy yelled, 'You won't be able to ignore me when I'm f****** the s*** out of you,' when I ignored him."
- "I was walking with my boyfriend when this guy walking towards us started licking his lips at me. It was creepy and totally disrespectful—to both of us."
- "I want you to be my next baby momma."
- "Even just 'Mmm, mmm, mmm, girl,' is enough to make me feel like a piece of meat."
Image via Thinkstock
