Final Semester Project: Catcalling

Stop Street Harassment: Catcalling Edition

As an activist, I am taking a stance on how men project 
their unwanted comments onto women who walk down 
the street. I can go out on a limb and say that every woman I have encountered can recall a situation where a man catcalled her in a public setting. According to urbandictionary.com, catcalling is the act of "saying a rude,sexual remark to a girl passing by as a way to get her attention in some way. Typically done to boast about to other male-peers for so-called social recognition." The first time I was catcalled on the street was when I was walking to the corner store. An older man standing by the door said "nice boobs," I was thirteen. How could women be involved in my project? I automatically thought of an Instagram account. My account is called Itsnotjustblacknwhite, and I went around campus asking women their experiences with catcalling. They wrote down the quote that was said to them when they were catcalled, and I photographed them holding it. In addition to taking their picture with their quote, I asked them how that quote made them feel. Women should be able to walk down the street in whatever they want, without criticism from random men. Catcalling is not a compliment. Catcalling is not just black and white. It is about how men feel entitled to a women's time, attention, and space by merely existing. That is why I also created the hashtag "#NotForYou."

Hollaback! proclaimed catcalling a "culture of sexism." Hollaback! concentrates on the negative impact of street harassment. In 2005, four woman and three men created a blog addressing street harassment in New York City. Women started sharing their experiences in record numbers, eventually it became a nonprofit organization. Later on, Hollaback! launches an iPhone and android app, allowing men and women to share their encounters by the touch of a button. In 2011, Hollaback! launched an intervention where they trained and provide workshops for bystanders on street harassment. They have also trained over 2.500 middle and high school students on how to respond and prevent street harassment. Emily May, one of the founders of Hollaback! was named "50 fearless Minds Changing the Word!" Blogs like this are essential for men and woman because it can educate both sexes on how they can be a factor in potentially ending the horrendous act of catcalling in our community.

"My name is not baby, shorty, sexy, sweetie . . ."
Tatyana Fazalizadeh (2014)

Tatyana Fazalizadeh was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but she currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.  She is a painter that is primarily known for her oil paintings that are revealed on streets corners for public view. In 2015, Fazalizadeh was featured on Forbes 2015 "30 Under 30." She is an Interventionist because her art produces public action against a certain topic. She is the creator of "Stop Telling Women to Smile." It is an art series that address' the gender based street harassment by creating and displaying women, with captions that directly speak to the offenders of catcalling. In 2014, Hollaback! interviewed 500 woman and found that a staggering 99% of them experience verbal street harassment in their lifetime. Although street harassment is something that happens worldwide, Fazalizadeh is taking women's voices, faces, and experiences and putting them onto the street. A simple action like walking down the street should not make a woman feel self-conscious.