A New York woman has taken to social media to vent about a catcaller who sexually harassed her in the street and has perfectly summarised everything that is wrong with this disturbing habit.
Christen Brandt, a 27 year old from Brooklyn, was followed by a man commenting on her body as she made her way through New York’s 34th Street subway station.
Furious Christen took to Facebook to get her feelings off her chest and posted a photograph of what she had been wearing that day along with an explanation of what had happened to her.
Christen wrote:
“This is what I was wearing this morning as I made my way through a crowded 34th Street subway station, and a man passing by me said, “Damn, you have some great legs.” When I ignored him and kept walking, he turned around to follow me, to get closer, even as I was moving away. “Did you hear me, honey? I said you have nice legs. Damn! Thank you.””
Christen continued her rant and perfectly summarised the feelings of many women when it comes to catcalling. She wrote:
“It was the “thank you” that got me. As if my 5 inches of legging-covered skin were there for him. Given as a gift wrapped in brown tights. Existing in the world for him to appreciate, or not.
Next time you wonder whether your skirt is too short, next time you ask your teen daughter to change her clothes, or the next time you hear about school dress codes in the news, remember this photo.
I am in a f***ing parka and boots.
And it. doesn’t. matter.
All women have these moments. All of us. And yet the world acts as if it’s still our problem to fix. Get your shit together, guys.
I, for one, am sick of dealing with it.”
Brandt’s perfect summary of this incident has resulted in the post receiving over 130,000 likes on Facebook and many women have messaged her to share their own experiences of being sexually harassed while simply walking down the street.
Women who experience similar harassment are too often held responsible for it with people annoyingly attempting to justify the catcalling by claiming a revealing outfit provoked it.
This victim blaming attitude is something Brandt addressed when speaking to ABC News. She stated:
“Like most women, the episodes differ in the level of intimidation and severity, but the common thread is that often, women who share their experiences of harassment are told, ‘You shouldn’t have dressed that way, been there, said that, done that.'”
Brandt states she “couldn’t have been dressed more conservatively” yet “still got followed,” demonstrating once again that it is the men and not the outfit who are at fault when catcalling occurs.
Image by Christen Brandt via Facebook.
