Can we label cat calling as an objectivication? Can we compare it to telling cheesy pick up lines? Maybe. I got off the plan in NYC for my very first adult vacation. I got in the cab and departed to my friend’s Manhattan apartment. Of course I was caught up in the city’s splendor while obviously listening to “New York” by Frank Sanatra on repeat. As I stepped out of the cab, I was catcalled. Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it. I felt a little flattered. Being in the Big Apple, I didn’t expect anything less and of course it was a construction worker. But as I thought about it, I didn’t feel threatened or in danger. I wasn’t offended. I’ve only been cat called a couple other times but I’ve never felt like I was in a hostile situation. On the flip side I know that there are bad people in the world and how it can be dangerous for a young woman to walk alone on any city’s streets without being aware of her surroundings. A girl should know how to protector herself. But I don’t think I personally would go as far as to say each and every boy who has cat called a woman has done it in a threatening manner or with intent to objectify that woman. Fact of the matter is we don’t live in the early to mid 1900’s anymore. A man is not going to come up to me with charm and charisma to tell me how he thinks my eyes are the color of the sea or the way I walk makes me look to be an angel floating on clouds. If a real dude came up to me in 2018 to tell me those things I would definitely be weirded out. So what do girls want? Even if you’re a feminist, you still want to be found attractive and be flattered. Right? So what is a dude who thinks I’m attractive supposed to say or do? First scenario: I’m sitting in a bar and a guy sits down next to me, tells me a cheesy pick up line, smells of cologne, introduces himself, and offers buys me a drink = sure, maybe a wee creepy. But 97% of nice guys don’t have the courage to do that and don’t know how to talk to girls anyway. So then where does that leave them? Second scenario: I’m sitting in a bar and a boy comes up to me, invades my personal space, smells of booze, tells me an inappropriate pick up line, and offers to buy me a drink = go away creep. This is 1% of guys who have the courage to do that. The other 1% are the really bad guys who take things to another level. These are the stalkers, the followers, name callers, and obscene gesture guys. These are ones we focus on. These are the men who have given that 97% of nice guys a bad rep for choosing not to talk to girls so that way the avoid being labeled as a creep. I think it’s naive to think that there isn’t a difference between good and bad cat calls. Obviously a girl can tell when it’s some rando being disgusting, but aren’t we supposed to take into perspective the guys who just may not know how to give a girl a compliment? I don’t think we should immediately jump to conclusions but we should definitely be able to read the situation and stay alert. So do I think cat calling overall is a means for objectivication? No. However, I do think it presents an importation conversation that we should be having between both men and women.