Walking as a Woman

One of the lovely perks of being a woman is dodging the whistles and hollers when walking down the road minding our own business. Movies love to portray the classic scene where a woman walks by a construction site and gets badgered but that’s actually the reality a lot of the time.

I am an extremely positive and happy person and I love spreading that joy with strangers through smiles and hello’s but sometimes when you’re a woman walking alone, it’s best to just keep to yourself and avoid eye contact. Sometimes, your niceties can be interpreted as an invitation.

Cat Calling

There’s nothing more annoying than being cat-called. It is not flattering, it is not a compliment.

It’s nothing but an unfriendly reminder that women can’t just merely exist without feeling like an object under the male gaze. You don’t see women walking around yelling, whistling, and harassing men, so why is it happening the other way around?

We’re used to the whistles, the comments, the one-liners from across the road. But, the other day when I was walking across the road in Portland, it was taken to the next level. I was cat-called by a vehicle.

I was walking across the sidewalk in the Old Port with my headphones in and over the sound of my Bee Gees I heard a car honking. I look up and they are honking at me crossing the road. I took out my headphones and pointed to the sidewalk and said, “you probably shouldn’t be operating a motor vehicle sir if you can’t see. Do you know what this is? It’s a crosswalk. For me to walk across.”

The man then stuck half his body out of his car window and yelled, “I WAS HONKING BECAUSE YOU’RE HOT. BUT I GUESS YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER DUMB F****** B****.” And peeled off.

I, along with a handful of bystanders, just stood there in awe. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Of those three adjectives, he’s right about one and wrong about two.

What I would love to know is what was the objective with the honk? What was he planning on getting out of that? What was the satisfaction?

Ugh. I just don't get it. Just don't comment on people's appearances, don't yell at them, don't whistle, don't HONK. Just let them be!!!!

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