"Aren’t Issues With Catcalling Really About Money?" by @hobdragon
Catcalling, or “hollering at females” is the new target of attack as the continued march against everything male picks up steam on the internet. While I have personally asked the catcallers in our fellowship to stop—since it’s more demeaning to them than helpful—it is still being touted as an “all male” problem, instead of a “certain type of guy” problem. What I’m seeing is that it’s demeaning, it makes women uncomfortable, and it’s annoying UNLESS that guy is someone appealing.
Let a 6’5” Boris Kodjoe looking dude with a $1,000 suit on catcall a woman and I bet she wouldn’t be rushing off to complain about it on her blog. It’s like when a celebrity with a big penis gets put on blast for a sex tape or selfie sent to a mistress. You would think that his female fans would be disappointed at his infidelity right? Not quite, scan the comments and many women looking at the photo go from acting appalled to quickly commenting on how “nice” the package is along with many other “positive” comments that will blow the average male mind. We are wrong unless we are phenomenal. Is this behavior any different from a woman hearing “hey sexy”, then turning around to see Ryan Gosling, suited and booted, smiling slyly at her? I wonder how annoyed she would be.
Catcall a woman from a Mercedes Benz and dare to be handsome…
I want to see the metrics on how many women would truly be upset (not counting the full on man haters) if a baller was the man catcalling them. Catcall from your bike, while shirtless and broke, and I can tell you how that will turn out… you will instantly be labeled a devil and an agent of the patriarchy, hell bent on reducing women to objects of desire and belittlement. Let me be clear in saying that I don’t agree with catcalling, but I wonder if this wave of anger at it is really a dislike for men of a certain class daring to talk to women they like?
Recently a photographer named Hannah Price became the adopted bff to feminists everywhere when she took photos of men for a project and claimed that they were catcalling (some men who saw photos of the photographer debated the facts in her story but let us take her word for it). The men—who seemed like average black dudes—did not display the look and stature that many women begrudgingly admit to having a weakness for. Going further, I would argue that these blue-collared brothers (as they were) came off as the very image that victims to catcalls want us all to conjure up in our minds when we imagine it happening.
So when I saw Hannha’s work, I wondered, why were all the photos the stereotype that I assumed them to be? Where were the white-collared sharks that were on their way to work, saw her, lost their damn minds and couldn’t resist hollering. Where were the corporate hounds who complimented Hanna and in turn got their pictures snapped? Are we to believe that salaried men are above this sort of behavior so are excluded in this “stop street harassment” plea? Does money make the urge to holler at a bird diminish? I find that hard to believe. What I think that this is—like many other things—is that certain acts are only okay if you are attractive to the person that you are doing it to.
Women don’t like being catcalled by “a certain type”, is that fair? Women want the right to pick and choose the guys that pine for their attention and when that guy—who knows that he is wanted—chooses instead to ignore the woman for a better prospect, it becomes a whole other thing. But I want to be proven wrong on this, please – are there any women out there being street harassed by men with money and hating it?
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