hollllaaaaaaa

Ok, I'm pretty sure that every woman reading this blog has been hollered at in the street... Especially those of us who have lived in metropolitan areas. So you all know that icky, awkward, degraded, pissed off, naked feeling you get when some sleazy, sketch-ball hollers a "hey baby!" or a "shake that ass, baby!" or even something that doesn't even really make sense, (like in the video below), but it's always something sexual. I remember when I was only 14, some guy I passed stopped and waved his arms near me and bent down and yelled, "THANK YOU BABY!" I basically just wondered, for what?!? While I'm sure it is different for every woman, I'm sure it pisses most of us off.

One of the things that inspired me to start this blog happened about 6 months ago. My boyfriend and I were leaving his house, and while he got in the car, I walked out to get the mail from his mailbox. Across the street, his neighbors had construction workers doing their roof, and they all started whistling at me, with my boyfriend right there in the car. I ignored it and tried to pretend I didn't see them all staring me down, and got into the car, visibly upset. My boyfriend hadn't heard them b/c his window was up, and when I told him, I said, "Just drive!!" But he actually got out of the car and started yelling at them.

Why should I have to be degraded like that in my fucking front yard? Or anywhere? Why do so many men, of all ages, think it's cool to treat women like that? Does it make them feel more powerful to see us affected by it? Does it make them feel like real men by putting us "in our place" as women? All that day, I thought about how pissed off I was, at them, yes, but more at myself because I hadn't stood up for myself or given them the finger or told them off or anything. I'm sure many of us can think of a time like this, where we thought of the perfect comeback an hour later.

Well this website is one of my favorites: http://www.hollabacknyc.com/ It's full of women sharing their stories like these, but most of them are soooooo much worse and more degrading and disgusting, like guys exposing themselves to women on the subway, or putting mirrors up their skirts, or actually touching them. But, most of these women do what the web site's title tells us, and holler back at them. Most women take pictures of the assholes and post them on the site. It's fantastic. Check it out, and next time some asshole hollers at you, take his picture and post it. It's not only for NYC, if you go to the site, there's a sidebar with all the sister sites in other cities in the country.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, enjoy the talented Liza Jesse Peterson.