Dallas Women Deal With Catcalls, Too
vonderauvisuals You want to walk alone down the street during the day? Better prepare yourself.
The other day, while I was at Kroger buying laundry detergent and frozen waffles, a man came up to me, leaned in close, and said, "Come on now, baby. Let's see a smile on that nice little face of yours." Before I could stop myself, before I could rebuke this man for violating my space, my privacy -- or even just flip him off -- my Texas manners took control, and I cracked a polite grin. Like some mannequin doll or trained circus animal, I unquestioningly obeyed this man and provided him with a plastic smile. He walked away, satisfied.
This week Hollaback!, a nonprofit that wants to end street harassment, issued a video in which one of their staffers took a 10 hour stroll through Manhattan and recorded how many times she was catcalled. She was winked at, verbally harassed and otherwise creepily approached more than 100 times.
Watching the video, it's tempting to dismiss the narrative as unique to New York. Dallas, after all, is an incredibly car-obsessed city. Dallas women are far less likely to walk an extended time down a busy city street than to drive. And as a Southern city, we are filled to the brim with chivalrous braggarts. Still, men in this city are just as guilty of catcalling women. And to that end, Dallas men are just as guilty of making Dallas women feel afraid.
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