Oh, catcalling.
How is it 2016 and we still have a society that thinks it is acceptable to yell obscenities at female passersby? I have news for all of you: despite what you have been taught or told, it is not OK.
Recently, I was walking home after an exhausting day. It was still daylight, so I felt more than comfortable walking alone. Then, two boys hiding behind the half-opened windows of their car yelled at me “Hey, beautiful,” and, of course, I ignored it.
I continued to walk.
A few minutes later, I was met with the same boys in the same car hiding behind the same half-open windows and heard, “Oh, there she is, hey! Hey! You too rude to respond?” Then they sped off and I made it to my home.
To those boys: no, I am not too rude to respond. Personally, I think I am a ray of sunshine once I get to know someone properly. While I can be friendly in the right situations, I am still a self-respecting woman who values herself more than saying “Hey” to some boys hiding behind their half-open windows, especially in an incident that borders on stalking.
In America, we are used to a society built upon the fact that men are entitled to women — in some cases, women are even considered to be men’s property. Women are viewed as objects, not people. I don’t think this makes any sense in a country where we have so many freedoms or in a society that is tolerant, for the most part.
But there are places where experiences like mine can turn into something worse. For women in other places where honor killings or marriage auctions are still the norm, simple words can lead to rape or worse.
If America is striving to be the front-runner in production, economics, social freedoms and justice, we should learn to treat our women not as objects, but as people. People who have thoughts and feelings. People who will stop and say hello if you approach them like a human being instead of something you like in a shop window.
For those of you who are interested in “making America great,” perhaps we should start with correcting our societal imbalances instead of condoning those who promote treating women as things to have instead of people to know.
For those of you who are “with her” during this presidential election, how about standing with the millions of women in America and the billions throughout the world by treating women with respect.
I will not stop dressing in a way I think looks good. I dress for myself, and if I want to be comfortable in leggings, I shouldn’t be worried about people yelling at me on the street regarding the way I look in them.
I will never change the amount of makeup I wear because I want to avoid the hoots and hollers from boys who have no self control. I want to be able to walk around without worrying about being approached by strangers in offensive tones.
So to the boys in the car who cat called me: What does this accomplish for you? Perhaps these people wouldn’t have to resort to yelling cheap words out of car windows to get a woman’s attention if they would treat the ones they do know with respect.
I hope we are entering a day and age where catcalling and inappropriate language toward women becomes less of the norm and more of the exception. As for me, I guess I will continue to be considered rude and standoffish for being able to respect myself enough to not flaunt my body for every boy who passes by and whistles.
Myia Hambrick is a 21-year-old mass communications junior from Temple, Georgia.