Catcalls. Sexy or offensive?
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How does a sudden cat‑call on a jog affect a woman’s confidence to exercise?
One day I was jogging near my house at a really busy intersection and a guy pulled down his window and yelled out at me, bounce baby, bounce. And yeah, that comment had a massive impact on my ability to exercise in front of other people. And I had and still have like quite a lot of anxiety about exercising around other people.
The hookup. Love and f***ing.
On Triple J. Does this sound familiar?
It
can be a bit of a blur. You're walking down the street, doing your thing, and suddenly there's a rush of rude, stupid or incomprehensible words coming your way. In your head, you're like, who said that? Did they just say what I think they said? And then it's all over. You've been catcalled. Nearly all women have or will receive some form of sexual harassment on the street. The Australia Institute says 87%. And there are varying degrees of this. It's a sliding scale. It could be a whistle out of a car, which some people say is a compliment. Many would disagree. And people feeling like they have a right to verbally harass you on the street could even escalate to physical harassment. And in the words of presidential candidate Donald Trump, feeling like they can grab them by the pussy.
Producer Alice Moldovan got out and about to hear your experience of catcalling.
The hookup. In a sense, it makes you feel good. The first few times, yes, but after walking down the street and having every single car stop and catcall you, it gets a bit annoying, I'm not going to lie. A compliment has mean behind it, a catcall, they want you in their bed. Pretty much, they're looking at you as an object and not as a person. And that's just, it's offensive, because I'm not an object. I have stepped in. I saw a 16-year-old girl being cackled by a 50-plus-year-old man. Commented saying, Miss Legs, come here and show me what you can do with them. You could clearly tell she was very young.
What statistics reveal how common street harassment is for Australian women?
No one else was doing anything, and I said, that's not on, and you're not allowed to do that, and you should take it back. The last time I heard someone catcalling was on the weekend. There was a group of guys that yelled out to a chick a comment about her behind. And in my opinion, I feel like guys only would do that in a group because they feel constant with everyone around them. But when they're an individual on the street alone, they don't have the courage to do that because they know it's not right. But in a group, they feel like they have protection around them. Some girls will take it as a compliment and some will be a bit scared or shocked. I remember being 14 or so and I was walking home with my little sister.
She would have been nine years old. And someone yelled out a quiet, vulgar things out of the window. But I remember just being totally shocked because I was with someone who was clearly a child. And when a guy catcalls me, I literally mutter under my voice, fuck off. That's how it is. In a nightclub scene, I've said to people, that's not on, but never on the road, because I guess it makes you feel slightly threatened, that you don't know who is doing it, and if you turn around and go, get lost, you don't know what can come at you. Cat calling can be pretty funny. I don't think it's meant to be taken seriously. I think cat calling might make certain girls offended, but I think if I was a girl, I'd be flattered.
Like, if it was the other way around, guys wouldn't care. I believe it's just a compliment, but girls don't see it that way, right? I think girls see it as offensive. Like, they feel objectified, perhaps. Triple J.
Yeah, I think maybe perhaps he's right. You'll soon be able to hook up with Hannah Riley on Triple J. Anastasia, thank you so much for calling us. Catcalling has affected the way that you can do exercise.
Yes, yeah. When I was around 15, I used to be quite sporty and I did dance classes and played netball and volleyball. And then one day I was jogging near
my
house at a really busy intersection and a guy pulled down his window and yelled out at me, which I assumed was in reference to my pretty large chest, which I was, as a teenager, already pretty sensitive about.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does a sudden cat‑call on a jog affect a woman’s confidence to exercise?
0:01–2:32
2
What statistics reveal how common street harassment is for Australian women?
2:32–5:12
3
Can a whistle or “compliment” ever be considered harmless by the person being catcalled?
5:12–7:00
4
Why do some women feel threatened while others see cat‑calls as a flattery?
7:00–9:15
5
How does group dynamics influence men to catcall more than when they’re alone?
9:15–10:45
6
What are the risks when a cat‑call turns into a direct threat or rape warning?
10:45–13:57
7
How do listeners describe the line between a playful whistle and a predatory comment?
13:57–16:03
8
What practical advice does the show give for staying safe after a threatening cat‑call?
16:03–19:02