In the past few years, catcalling has become a bit of a controversial subject. You may remember the following video posted by a woman in New York, showcasing all the times she was catcalled in the span of 10 hours.
Most recently, a Netherland-based student and artist named Noa Jansma came up with her own project aimed at shedding light on catcallers.
During the entire month of September, Jansma took flat-faced selfies with all the men who catcalled her. These photos were then posted to a dedicated Instagram account called dearcatcallers alongside captions describing the men’s behavior and words.
Jansma’s first post introducing her project reads: “#dearcatcallers, it’s not a compliment. This Instagram has the aim to create awareness about the objectification of women in daily life.”
In an interview with Good Morning Britain (via Express UK) she says, “I made this project about respect and how you deal with people.”
Jansma’s first photos originally did not contain any captions, featuring only the hashtag #dearcatcallers. By the fouth post, however she began adding the captions that made the project all the more powerful.
“…after following me straight for 10 minutes “sexy girl Where you goin?? Can I come with you?…
“Mmmmmm beautiful sweet girl”
“slowly following me 2 streets shouting “sexy!” and “wanna come in my car?”
*honks at me 3 times with his scooter, approaches from behind and cuts off my way* “God bless, When I see you, all I get is wild thoughts, wild, Wild Thoughts!! Darling” *honks again 3 times*
“weheeee horny girl”
Since Jansma’s first post on August 29th 2017, the dearcatcallers Instagram account has gained over 303,000 followers.
Jansma was even featured on Good Morning Britain where she drew headlines for swearing while quoting a few critics of the project. You can see the clip here (via Express UK), but beware, there is harsh language, obviously:
As mentioned, catcalling has become controversial in today’s society, dividing men and women, and women and women alike.
When Jansma was on Good Morning Britain, hosts Piers Brosnan and Susan Reid even got a bit snippy while debating the topic, with Susan seeing it as a genuine problem, while Piers stated that most men “would know not to cross the line”.
“i know what I would do with you, baby”
Some women consider catcalls to be compliments, and there are even entire videos on the subject:
The month of September has come and gone, and Jansma is no longer chronicling her catcalling experiences. However, in her most recent Instagram post, dated September 30th, she writes:
“To show that it’s a global phenomenon and that this art-project is not only about me, I’ll pass on the account to different girls around the world. This will be a process that will take some time, so please stay tuned. “
So, what’s your stance on catcalling?
Sexual harassment or a simple compliment?
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