Women Share Selfies Of What They Wore When They Got Catcalled (Clue: They Weren't 'Asking For It')
Women Share Photos Of What They Wore When They Got Catcalled
Brogan Driscoll— The Huffington Post UK
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When a woman is catcalled, 99.9% of the time people want to know what she was wearing. As if wearing a short skirt or a skimpy top on the street means she was "asking for it".
In reality it doesn't matter what a woman is wearing, she has the right to walk down the street without being harassed by men.
Kati Heng grew so sick and tired of the victim-blaming status quo that she decided to take a stand. She set up But What Was She Wearing?, a Tumblr documenting what women really wear when they get catcalled.
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"I was finding myself getting so upset about the amount of street harassment I get, and knew I had to do something with it besides letting the anger build," she told HuffPost UK Lifestyle.
"One day, I got cat called in the slubbiest outfit and thought 'man, if guys knew what I was ACTUALLY wearing when this happened...' And then it all clicked."
Unsurprisingly the majority of women are wearing regular clothes when they get harassed in the streets, but even if they were wearing skimpy clothing - it doesn't warrant getting hollered at by men.
Heng's aim is to get people to forget about what women were wearing and start focusing on their stories. Because at the end of the day they are victims. And they've had enough.
Women share what they wore when they got catcalled
(01 of06)
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"I work at a popular, largely family-oriented Greek restaurant in my town of Lilburn, Georgia. This is what I usually wear to work. Black pants, a t-shirt layered over with a tank top, high tops, and a friggen apron. The other day at work, an older white man (who wasn’t even my customer) ended up walking behind me as I went to the wine room to make drinks. As soon as he was behind me, I kid you not, the pig started making slurping sounds and tasty noises while staring at my ass. I don’t care how many beers you’ve had, that is NOT OKAY. Especially not at WORK. My male co-worker and friend almost jumped the guy."
(02 of06)
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"I’m tired of living in a world where it’s okay for men to say these things to women & everyone just stays quiet & lets it happen."
(03 of06)
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"I never feel safe walking alone anymore. Since it has escalated the past few months my family had to request that if ever I leave the house, to have my boyfriend with me at all times for my safety because these grown men had started following me."
(04 of06)
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"I was at an outdoor dj set in germany when a man started grinding on me from behind. i turned around and told him to leave me alone and that i wasn’t interested, in english and german. he continued to try and engage me in dancing with him - when i turned around to confront him again he grabbed my arms, pulled them behind my back and spun me around, pushing me out of the crowd. he was telling me what he was going to do to me, and putting his hands down my shirt and into my bra. i was screaming, begging the people he was pushing me past for help, and no one looked twice. i pretended i wanted to go with him, but that i wanted to get a drink first in the hope that he would let go of me. it worked and while we were stood waiting to be served, he looked in the opposite direction and i ran away."
(05 of06)
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"I was living in Shanghai, China. In China, as a foreigner, I stick out much more than I do in America. Not to mention, a lot of Chinese men have expat fever, which basically means they are more apt to catcall me as opposed to my asian friends, simply because I am white."
(06 of06)
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1 man screamed at me “Come here girl”"Smile girl""Hey, I’m talking to you. don’t ignore me""Stupid bitch"