Did women used to enjoy being catcalled?

I’m mid 40s - I know the correct answer is it’s wrong / intimidating / objectifying but I have to admit I quite liked it - but I do have terrible taste in men!

It's not the same, no, but when you do this to a stranger, you are forcing them into an exchange of a nature they haven't asked for and might not appreciate. It's a passing judgement on someone's appearance by a total stranger.

It's great that YOU didn't/don't mind it. It's rather inconsiderate, don't you think, to impose it on a random stranger who doesn't have a choice to not hear it and might have their own reasons for feeling very differently about it? If they mind, there isn't much they can do about it after you have said it/whistled, is there?

Fine if it's among your social circles and you are all comfortable with it. Not fine to total strangers who may just not want to hear it for the tenth time on their way to Sainsbury's.

I was in my 20s and walked in to my work building and the workmen outside, doing construction for my building and one did loudly say ‘things are looking up lads’, I did not mind that as it was low grade, until I heard that they said various things to other women inc. she’s ugly or smile etc, and I was a manager so I told security to tell them I would report it to their employer. I thought that they’d not take that seriously but it would at least stop. Next day not a peep. This was 25 years ago.

When it was a wolf whistle, or a throw away comment, nothing too graphic. I did used to just laugh, and take it as a compliment. Like bored builders reacting to me being young and pretty and wearing a short skirt. Nothing deeper.
Now I think it's totally not acceptable. I guess back then I didn't really understand misogyny and sexual inequality as much as I do now.

No, I hated it.

I'm only just 55 though. Maybe the slightly older women viewed it as reflecting just about the only power they had?

I'm 52 and I found it predatorial. It was usually white man van or groups of men whistling etc. Come ere darling, give us a smile sort of thing which made me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.

There was one occasion which frightened me more than most when I walking across the campus of 6th form and a man walking in the opposite direction said as I walked past that he could smell me. That freaked me out a bit tbh.

No, it was fucking awful.

Never bothered me!

some teens shouted milf at me a couple of month ago & that bothered me more!

I am the same age. I have exactly the same feelings as heldinadream. I always hated it. Always thought it was threatening and disgusting.

I liked it. High school mid 1980s.

I'm 56. I hated it. Ditto: 'cheer up luv, smile luv, don't get many of those to a pound', etc etc All men bothering me when I was trying to go about my day. It was a trap too. Ignoring then makes you a 'stuck up bitch'. Smiling is 'leading them on'. Smart retort 'invites' violence. You can't win. Just horrible.

Same lol I still am if it happens.
Life's too short to be offended by it.

About 40 years ago I had a hospital appointment with a consultant. There was no nurse present ,I did not think that was an issue. I was told to strip to my underwear ,which I did. I was told to sit on the couch with my legs dangling ( I am not very big and remember feeling rather stupid and I guess ,vulnerable) .The doctor then ran his hand down my back which turned into him stroking me. He then complimented me on my underwear. My reaction now would be very different but at that time I was having unexplained neurological issues ,had a young baby and was very worried.
My friend was waiting for me in the waiting room . I rushed us out of there . It was the misuse of his power that upset me so much .I felt like an object .

I hated it - used to change my route/cross the road to avoid building sites. I didn't feel flattered at all - it was very threatening.

@Snackingandacupoftea no-one on here has said it's the same.
I certainly haven't, and I can't see that anyone else has.

I didn't mind it when I was younger, sometimes it was flattering, but only if it was younger men driving past etc- I wouldn't have liked a bit group of men at a building site catcalling that would be intimidating. I'm 36.

A bit younger than the group you are asking but my answer is yes, but only if they were good looking🙈

I'm 43 and remember being catcalled from men in vans etc while age 16/17 at school! I didn't enjoy it no, but wasn't that offended either.

'Accidental' groping etc is definitely sexual assault.

I just don't see it as being in any way the same as adults (like I said, women as well as men) making a brief passing wolf whistle or "hello gorgeous" (but not "get your tits out") type comment.

I think it's important to differentiate. It's harmful to lump in brief flirty throwaways (from women to men as much as from men to women) with genuine harassment or assault.

Looking back to late seventies and into the eighties it was just what happened but I was never comfortable with it.

when I was about eighteen I had a boss who drank a lot, all the managers had a whiskey in the afternoon (or earlier) where I worked.

I had one very uncomfortable proposition by our top boss, he must have been about 55 then. Gross. I make my feeble excuse and legged it. He’s probably dead now but if I were to come across him now I’d be calling out his vulgar behaviour.

It's proveably a continuum. Sex offenders don't jump straight to rape. This has ben well documented for decades.

It starts with a feeling of entitlement, it progresses through comments, 'accidental' groping through to indecent exposure and sexual assault and worse.

A culture that allows men to regard women as objects not people, to publicly comment and judge, to see women as lesser or as having value in direct relation to their perceived attractiveness to men is a culture that turns a blind eye to misogyny, sexism, abuse and ultimately assault.

As the majority of women who were in the workplace during the 70s, 80s and 90s were sexually assaulted, I think we know what we're talking about.

It wasn't thought of as sexual assault then. It was part of life in the workplace if you were powerless and we were expected to put up with it.

"Smile, avoid this bloke on the stairwell, never get in a lift alone with that bloke, never accept a lift home from work, make sure the filing roomn door can't close, watch out for that one, he gets handsey..." the older women tried to warn us or look out for us where they could.

Not just patting our asses but sliding a hand up a skirt or down a blouse, groping our backsides or 'accidentally' brushing against our breasts, tipping things over to peer down our tops... making sure any young woman who kicked up a stink was let go or 'difficult to work with' and had prospects curtailed and promotions passed over.

I've been sexually assaulted in the workplace in bars and restaurants (drunk punters aren't the only ones) but also working in a supermarket, civil service, office jobs in heavy industry and in PR jobs in media. In volunteer roles in hospital and the third sector.

There's a lot in society that's worse for women and girls now, but I do thank the gods that this worksplace shit is largely a thing of the past.

These days, it doesn't seem to be that innocent, vans slowing down and shouting "get your tits out" to 14 year old's or shouting fat comments to women running

To be clear, that's very different to what I'm defending and what I experienced when younger. Wolf whistles or "hello darling" type of brief passing thing - when an adult. Adult men shouting "get your tits out" to a child or making nasty fat comments to women is definitely not ok or harmless.

I did once as a young teen experience a flasher. I was with my friend at a bus stop. We unfortunately gave him what he wanted - attention. Although maybe not what he wanted. We started laughing and saying "it's that small?". He covered up and wandered off quickly. As an adult I realise we probably should've called the police but we were young teens and didn't think about it afterwards.

That sort of perversion/harassment is imo completely different to adults (men or women) wolf whistling or saying "hello darling/gorgeous/handsome" briefly in passing to other adults.

Totally agree. We were supposed to be flattered but I found it very uncomfortable, embarrassing and intimidating. I would cross over the road rather than walk by a building site well into my 20s (up to mid 80s)

It's all connected. Women being seen as sexual objects and it being okay to view them like prey opens the door to anything goes. There are a lot of men in this world who are messed up, unintelligent, predators.. the clear message that none of it is acceptable is what's needed and thankfully it's slowly going that way.

Thank you! Also, I hope it's clear that no-one is equating it.