Stop the Dehumanization | Teen Ink

Stop the Dehumanization

January 8, 2016
By kara.a BRONZE, Indianpolis, Indiana
kara.a BRONZE, Indianpolis, Indiana
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Men call women many names on the street--shorty, baby, and sexy’-- or catcall. I think it should stop. Catcalling is an act of the wolf whistle which is a cartoon sound that is supposed to let viewers know when a woman is sexy or not. I believe men should stop verbally degrading women on the street because it is dehumanizing, controlling, and it makes the women feel unsafe.

Men should stop commenting on women because it is dehumanizing. “The imposition of explicit comments can make the person receiving them feel shame for even existing.(Rebolini)” When one comments on a woman, not only does it make her feel unsafe but also embarrassed. She is embarrassed by the man but also because of all the people who are usually around witnessing. The street remarks become more about her as an object rather than a human being.  Catcalling a woman disregards the woman’s humanity and is signaling that the woman is nothing but her body. It can become a way to control a woman as well.

The second reason is that it is all about the control of the caller. “These aren't innocent or playful requests; they are symptoms of entitlement, and messages that women don't deserve control over their own bodies.(Rebolini)” When you comment like this, the woman may feel as if you are commanding her to do something, but you may be thinking something else. Then “You know when a woman declines or ignores your unsolicited, shouty advances and you respond by your screaming that she is a s*** or a w****" (Bates). So when you shout at a woman and they say stop it means they are a s***, I am pretty sure that a s*** is a woman who has many casual sexual partners. So when she says no she automatically has multiple sexual partners? I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. After you catcall a woman they probably are not going to chase after you begging you to date you.  You are just making the women feel unsafe.

The third reason men should stop commenting is that it make women feel unsafe. When commenting “You're making environments less safe, less welcoming, and more of a mind field to negotiate personal freedom.(Moosa)” Let's be clear, you are not complimenting! You are making the women uncomfortable, so they won't feel like they will be able to have a sense of freedom in the place you are commenting at. Whether it be a work, on the street, or on the internet.. Yes, men have the ability to respect and not comment on women that are walking down the street, but they chose to anyway. Men like to make excuses when confronted.

Men make-up excuses when they are told off about why they comment on women on the street. Here are some excuses. The first one is the way dressed she clearly was asking for one. By this you are saying that is she picked out clothes just so someone would catcall on her. I'm pretty sure she didn't wake up and go ‘i wanna get catcalled on today’ then when to her closet and picked out the her shortest shorts and a tank top. Another one is well men will be men. So commenting on a women is a men's natural behaviour. The ones who had rights first? How does that make a lick of sense. That's because it doesn't because if mistreating women is their natural instinct, then try not to follow those instincts and you should be fine. Lastly, the most common one calm down it was compliment if these ‘compliments’ were really compliments women wouldn't go to all cost to avoid the ‘compliment’. Women shouldn't have to talk extreme precaution to avoid getting commented on.
 
I believe men shouldn't comment on women on the street.  I bet that if we could get men to stop the commenting then we could have women with more self confidence and a safer environment for women.

 

 

 

Works cited

Bates, Laura. “Everyday Sexism: Five Reasons Why Men Shouldn’t Shout at Women in the Street.” the Guardian. N.p., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
Moosa, Tauriq. “Hey, Creeps, ‘Compliments’ Are Harassment, Too.” The Daily Beast. N.p., 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 6 Jan. 2016.
Rebolini, Arianna. “8 Reasons A Catcall Is Not A Compliment.” BuzzFeed. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2016.
 



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Guest said...
on Jan. 14 2016 at 4:54 pm
Good job!!