S
OPINION
October 31.2014
Catcalls and street harassment are not compliments
BY JULIET
MAGOON
Staff Writer
Catcalls, sexually explicit comments,
sexist remarks, homophobic slurs, groping,
leering, stalking, flashing and assault are
all considered forms of street harassment,
according to the Stop
Street Harassment
Organization.
For most women, and
some men, receiving
vmwanted attention
from the opposite sex
is just anotner normal
part of their daily lives.
Whether it is walking
down the block, taking
a jog around the
neighborhood or going
out with friends, at times
it feels impossible to go
a day without imwarranted once-overs or
comments.
Acceptance, or overlooking, of catcalls and
other forms of street harassment perpetuate
male rights of instilling their opinion of
female existence throughout their lives.
"It is a way men attempt to reassert
the hierarchy of worth by sexually
subjugating women and LGBTQ
(people) for daring to exist in
neutral space," said feminist writer
and blogger Allison Moon in an
interview with the Guilfordian.
"Catcalling is usually considered
a verbal attwack, one which often
escalates into physical attack."
Acts of street harassment create an
imcomfortable environment for women
in public spaces. But how can you tell
when a situation will lead to extreme risk
rather than something you can brush oflF
and walk away from?
"Allowing for itj-tq .bother ynu is,
giving them the power to control
you," said senior Rebecca Bonilla. "In
most cases, in the moment, I ignore
(the harasser). But I do not forget to
acknowledge the issue in my mind,
being sure to remember that (street
harassment) can lead to dangerous
results.
"(Some women) may want to stick
up for themselves, but I feel that by doing so,
you are giving them the upper hand."
This issue is prevalent in most highly
occupied public spaces in the U.S., but it is
also a prominent issue here in Greensboro.
I know that I myself have experienced
many instances of harassment outside
of campus. Whether it is blatant assault
or an uimecessary comment on the
street, I experience these instances
almost every day.
"People act like it's an innocent
thing, and it's not," said senior Chelsea
Yarborough. "1 was walking to CVS
(when) a random man and I bumped into
each other by mistake. I said, 'Excuse me,'
and he said, 'wait.'
"I ignored it and went to get my
prescription. After I came out, 1 was walking
back to campus, and he followed me down
the road in his car to ask me on a date. It was
a romantic gesture," instances such as
these cloud whether or not one should
be defensive in these situations. At any
moment you could be one false move away
from perfl.
"Another time, I was walking near
campus, and a car full of men slowed down
near me and started barking at me for no
reason," said YarboroUgh. "Tliey eventually
pulled off, but it was just weird."
It can be difficult to gauge when a
situation is going to turn dangerous. Once
you realize it is, and calculate a defense, it
may be too late.
"I think it depends on the disposition of
the person," said senior Benjamin Matlack.
"Most of the time, I feel that it is taken as an
insult or act of objectifying women."
Although catcalls, looks and other
unnecesary attention from strangers are far
more widely disputed than sought after by
women, some feel flattered.
"When I know I'm looking good, I
brazenly walk past a construction site,
anticipating that whistle and 'Hey, mama!'
catcall," said Doree Lewak, in her article
"Hey, ladies — catcalls are flattering! Deal
with it." "Works every time — my ego and
•I can't fit through tne door. For me, it's
nothing short of exhilarating, 3delding an
unmatched level of euphoria."
For this woman, catcalls and other
conunents from random strangers are
welcomed. But there is surely a difference
between a genuine compliment, a polite,
"Hello, how are you?" and a blatant or rude,
remark made based off of appearance alone.
However, this gender-based form of flattery
only preserves male dominance and gender
role stereotypes.
"The d^y fact of street harassment
places spatial restrictions on women's
lives that change the time, frequency and
length of forays into public space, leading
to a gender-based
exclusion from shared space and dvic life,"
said Woodrow Wilson Sdiool of Public and
Intemational Affairs student Jarrah O'Neill
in her senior thesis.
'Too often, this barrier to gender equality
is disrrussed as a mrmdane fact of women's
lives, an unforhmate reality that is both too
trivial to be addressed and impossible to
prevent."
Although catcalling may not be considered
a severe form of harassment, it can be more
damaging than you think.
"Catc^Uing affects everyone differently
and differently based on the day," said
Moon. "A person who's been harassed may
just feel a twinge of pain and brush it off, or
they may be deeply triggered and have to
adjust their entire routine. Most people can
take genuine, respectful compliments kindly.
"Ignoring or sassing aren't responses to
compliments, they're responses to disrespect
and abuse."
"s -t T I
scary.
Although some may say.
Ihis Weel('s
'Wow what
Ebola outbreak spreads more misinformation than infection
Lately, the media has been in
an uproar over the spread of the
Ebola virus. With as many as 2,705
confirmed deaths in Liberia as
of Oct. 25, panic is high, despite
assurances from the White House
of the incredibly low likelihood of
American infection. Public opinion
seems to be confident that anyone
from the Global South could be
infectious. If you try to Google
Ebola currently, the first thing
you'll see, above the other results,
is a release of information from
the CDC about the disease saying,
"The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the
largest in history, affecting multiple
countries in West Africa. The risk
of an Ebola outbreak affecting
multiple people is very low."
So low, in fact, that the as of Oct.
23, only nine people in the U.S.
have been diagnosed with Ebola,
and only one has died; the other
six are reportedly recovered, while
the last two are in treatment. And
yet, despite these low numbers, our
entire coimtry is frantic over the
idea of infection. President Obama
has even been pushed to elect an
official, Ron Klain, former chief of
staff to Vice President Joe Biden, to
be his "Ebola czar," a figurehead
position to show that the White
House is involved. According to
statistics posted by The Telegraph,
the U.S. has pledged, and actu^ly
paid, a third of funding for fighting
against Ebola among the other
11 donators tracked by the U.N.
There is still more that can be
done, however while the U.N. is
organizing clinics and quarantine
zones in Africa, coimtries have
not delivered enough doctors to
effectively staff them.
Ebola is infectious, but not
highly contagious because it
isn't passed through the air. To
transmit the disease, one has to
be exposed to contaminated body
fluids or objects that have been
thusly contaminated. Right-wing
politicians have begun to suggest
we dose our borders to protect
us from the outbreak or, rather,
our borders. Apparently, it is the
U.S.-Mexico border that poses the
threat, despite Mexico having no
outbreaks so far. Closing off the
Canadian border has not been
discussed.
This crisis has become less
about the disease and one of radal
prejudice. Suggesting we dose
the Mexico border is not about
protecting the U.S. from infection
but a political attempt to take
advantage of the current panic.
Qosing the U.S.-Mexico border
would not be about protecting us
from disease. That could as easily
come from the north as it could
the south. Instead, it would be
"protecting" our country from
j^eople of rolor. Considering the
infections in the U.S., Ebola is
not such a danger to us that such
extreme measures need to be taken,
but it is quickly becoming a scare
tactic to be used against us. We,
as a news organization, want to
acknowledge these discrepandes.
In the spirit of Halloween, there
is something out there that should
make us shiver, but it isn't this
disease: iLs how we treat it.
Refleqing Guilford College's
CORE Quaker values, the topics and
CONTENT OF STAFF EDITORIALS ARE
CHOSEN THROUGH CONSENSUS OF ALL 14
EDITORS AND ONE FACULTY ADVISER OF ThE
Guilfordian's Editorial Board.