Women do not deserve to be catcalled or harassed while walking down the street, or told to smile “because it looks good on them,” by a man who thinks he has the right to view them as an object.

“Boys will be boys,” is the dumbest quote ever stated. There is no reason boys’ actions should be sanctioned just because they’re stereotyped to act this way.

Just imagine how women feel when they hear that whistle when walking down the streets.  People always defend boys by saying not to worry about it, or it’s just how they are. Men think their opinions are needed when they’re not. 

 Women do not seek the validation from men on anything. Being catcalled is a form of sexual harassment. Everyone overlooks this situation. This makes girls feel embarrassed for yelling or for getting upset when someone comments about them. Women and girls should not have to cover up their outfits or body because men see it as an invitation to comment.

Even many teenagers have experienced this. Forty-eight percent of surveyed middle and high school students said they were sexually harassed at least once, according to www.usnews.com/ Typically, 1 in 9 girls is harassed by peers or an educator. The #metoo movement is gaining momentum and bringing attention to sexual harassment. I’ve experienced unwanted attention myself while with my best friend at an amusement park. The men had to have been around 30 years old. They followed us around the park making distasteful gestures behind us. Eventually, a worker saw this and told them to them to stay away from us. You never know what a simple comment could lead to.

Some seem to think catcalling is empowering and women should be grateful a man finds them attractive, but it’s not. It’s actually quite unflattering, and it’s harassment. These verbal attacks make women feel unsafe to walk the streets alone or to wear certain outfits in their wardrobe, and it’s not fair. 

Men seem to think that when a woman says no, they don’t mean it. Self-empowerment is empowering from within. It is not being empowered by the inappropriate innuendos made by men on the streets.

When men make these vulgar comments, it makes women feel uncomfortable. Men need to realize that what they’re doing is not okay. Girls don’t deserve to be harassed while on the streets.