Did women used to enjoy being catcalled?

"I found barking idiotic and hostile."

I think "barking" is the operative word in your posts on this thread...

does it still happen on building sites? I thought the big firms were all signed up to the courteous sites charter now...not sure if that's what its called.

I hated it! That’s why I walked by with a resting bitch face, then I was told to ‘cheer up love, might never happen’! Fuck off!

This, exactly. Pestering and harassment are quite different. But most people know that.

Your inability to distinguish between 'light flirting' and unwanted pestering is what's annoying many on this thread. HTH.

I don't hate it. I like going out and about without commentary, unsolicited comments, rude remarks, or sexual harassment.

I am 45. I have always hated it. On holiday in Italy in the week of my sixteenth birthday, I became very upset by it. It was constant. I'm no great beauty. Averagely pretty teen. One guy took it further, pinning me against a wall to tell me how gorgeous I was. I was FURIOUS. I kneed him in the ball but I could just as easily have froze. The anger had been building so I was like an animal ready to defend myself. I knew at that age that there was a fine line between a shouted compliment and a sexual attack. I always felt like women who enjoyed it had kind of missed the point. I am feminist through and through.

I hated it and wanted the ground to open up as I'd be so embarrassed.

However, when you get older you then hate the fact that you're invisible!!!

I think they probably targeted schoolgirls bc they were easy prey - not so much in a sexual sense but they could show off and have a laugh with their mates ‘safely’ (ironically) without fear of back chat or reprisals. Don’t forget it would rarely be one builder - usually a gaggle who’s prime propose wasn’t to woo women/girls but to bond with and impress the other men. That was their motivation. If it was one builder they would usually be at such a height that they didn’t risk a slap. Same as boys/men who do this in groups or from the safety of cars where they can make a swift getaway and not put themselves at any risk. Pathetic.

When i was with dh and got catcalled he didn’t know what to do with himself, he wasnt chill with it at all

although when we went to Australia he was ‘catcalled’ by a group of prostitutes and was mortified 😀

@ViewViewsaremyown

Yes, literally the 'cat calling noise'! I know exactly what you mean, so that's where the expression is from 🙃

British blokes were trained in the loud finger whistle.
In southern Europe, they cat- called.

I never used to mind it. But it carries different connotations today.

I got it regularly even when with my dh. We were both aware of the heads turning, the staring at traffic lights and beeps from cars with the occasional shout. We weren't upset and I was flattered. Nobody wanted to attack me or stop the car and I wasn't intimidated when with dh or alone.

I'm in my 40s and it happens more now than it did then, and disgusts me more now than ever.

I don't understand the mans mentality about the pregnant woman either? So it's okay to disrespect women.. unless they have a bump and suddenly they are treated respectfully.

Adding another perspective to it which maybe hasn’t been touched on but haven’t RTFT and maybe it has. I’m late 30s and My anxiety walking past say builders or just groups of men in 90s Uk (not London ) was unfortunately more that they were going to hurl racial abuse or insults rather than catcalling. And sometimes it would be both. So sadly it would be a relief if I was catcalled giving the alternative of racial abuse, but I wouldn’t say I liked it as such.

I did get approached by randoms a fair bit from age 17 onwards, which I actually preferred since they’d at least be more respectful but actual crude catcalling from groups of men was more rare for me . The builders would usually not say anything but they’d all go super silent and stare at me /smirk at each other or I’d hear a whisper and a horrible snigger or something. So many vile racists sadly.

I spent some time in another country for a couple of years after graduation in an area that was very ethically diverse where white people were the minority, and for the first time I experienced lots of attention from groups of men and I realised I hadn’t been missing out. I could barely walk down the street without some man saying something.

I hated it. I was 22 but looked like I was in my teens with a very curvy body, so often I would get basically 11-15 year olds hitting on me or grown men would ask “are you legal?” 😵‍💫 and actually I soon learnt the only way to get rid of the older ones was to say that no, I wasn’t legal.

But why would it be upsetting to you as a (soon to be) mother when it wouldn't to a non-mother? Or why would he be apologetic for upsetting a mother and not a non-mother? I wouldn't be bothered by that either, and would probably find it funny, but there is something weird happening in his head for him to first whistle then apologise.

You are clearly ironically challenged. Unbelievable level of cluelessness.

Nope. Re-read the thread. Many are saying they used to enjoy it because those were different times and women were taught to accept it.

Nobody's saying it's assault, just that it's disrespectful and creepy. You seem to have massive comprehension problems. No wonder you think meowing and whispering is sexy. I bet you have to beat them off with a stick with moves like that. 🙄

You definition of flirting is utterly delusional. It's one thing to ask to buy somebody a drink and give her a compliment. That is flirting. It's quite another to make weird noises and rude comments to women on the street. That is harassment.
Even if 50% of women in 2024 actually did enjoy it, you would still be a complete asshole to 50% of women. In what world is that okay?
It's no different that just walking around randomly commenting on people's clothes, weight, hairstyle, etcetera. It's cretinous behaviour. Grown ups leave people they encounter on the street in peace and mind their manners. No exceptions.

I think builders have to do an apprenticeship in catcalling and wolf whistling before they qualify.

It was always when I was young. Mostly from building sites. WTF
Horrible

God! You’ve made me remember when I was a child and my father was driving the family somewhere he’d lift his finger off the wheel to point at ‘crumpet’ walking along. The ‘crumpet’ would never have known about it, but looking back I wonder how it made my mother feel. In fact he other hand Joan Bakewell was known as ‘the thinking man’s crumpet’ at that time.

I hope your look trumps your serious lack of intelligence love ;)

You can see votes here.
Almost 50% finds it flattering.
But no.
I was soooo wrong to observe that some women were flattered.

I suggest you take a step back and understand that different people do have different preferences about social interactions.
Many people take light flirting as a fun interaction, not as a sexuall assult ffs.

It depends how it was done. I remember being in Italy and a man walked past, did a double take and said “Bella” to me with that Italian look and I have to say, that hit a little different to “nice tits love” in a Bristol accent (where I was living at the time).
I was also once serenaded in a tube station to “that loving feeling” by a group of men who just sang to me and then all got onto a separate tube carriage.
So context is there for me. I did feel flattered in those situations and if I got a wolf whistle but nothing else.
what is unpleasant (to me) is gross sexual comments that seem designed to make women feel vulnerable.

In my 40's and yes I liked it, it was an ego boost walking past, and never had any disgusting comments, so was always secretly pleased