The film "War Zone" by Maggie Hadleigh-West really inspired me to confront men on the street about how they treat women, both in regard to myself and other females. This weekend I went out to one of the local bars and vowed to respond to and acknowledge remarks made to me and other women by strange men.
Well, as fate would have it I was spoken to by males I didn't know. Some said, "hey girl!" or "hello beautiful", and the occasional "hey...hey...HEY!" to get my attention. To their surprise, I reciprocated their cat-calls with exactly the same language and attitude that they initially directed towards me. I responded with, "hey boy!" and "what's up lil' mama?"...their faces were priceless. Men really detest when women do not adhere to the precedent placed on socialized silence. They expected passivity in an area usually reserved for shy smiles, frowns, or a frustrated blush. I saw another woman being harassed by three male individuals who were all trying to get her number at once, yet, she did not appear to know them. I took her aside and said, "you should give them more information than they truly expect, just start talking about menstruation, ovulation, or any-ation for that matter." I didn't stand around long enough to watch the outcome, but I hope it helped.
Here is another article that discusses cat-calling's irritating effects by Emmie Mears:
She aptly sizes up the harmful effects these types of remarks made towards women and girls in a PG-13 post that I think all of you will find horrifying but very very informative.
http://emmiemears.com/2012/09/09/why-catcalls-feel-threatening/
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