To think that wolf whistling wasn't such a bad thing?

It showed how society viewed women at the time though. Wolf whistling was part of that, a lack of respect for women as people, just bodies to whistle at and legally rape if you were married to them.

But that's not the definition of wolf whistling...it was usually builders on a building site up high.
They were bored...it was merely a type of banter. One walked on maybe feeling a bit chuffed (whilst knowing that they'd do the same to the next young woman).
I never experienced lewd comments

@Bbq1

I've never, ever seen a man whistle at kids and I live in an area surrounded by schools with secondary kids always walking around the area. I don't think you're all lying but I personally have never experienced nor observed this happening. There are two separate issues here :adult men whistling at an adult woman isn't an issue but adult men whistling at "kids"=paedophile is a separate, serious issue. See the difference?

Glad you don't think we are lying.

You really think that the men who whistle at girls in their school uniforms are completely different from the men who whistle at adult women?

You don't see that the two both contribute to a culture in which males feel entitled to comment on female bodies? Where men are emboldened by other men audibly and openly drawing attention to female bodies?

You can't connect the dots between the two?

I was in primary school uniform the first time I remember being wolf whistled with a torrent of suggestive comments. I was having a skipping competition with my best friend so we had gone ahead of our mums. Very obviously young children with hair clips and pigtails and obviously the skipping. I didn’t understand (it just felt like being shouted at) but our mothers soon caught up and told the men how disgraceful they were.

I don’t think it taught me to “handle myself”but it did make me self conscious and nervous around men for quite a while. I’ve never enjoyed it and I certainly never found being groped flattering.

Just because she didn't mind it, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be okay with it. It is done as intimidation. If she didn't feel intimidated, good for her, but that just makes me feel that she in incredibly naive, because it is intended as intimidation. This is evident by the fact that men won't do it when they are alone and they always do it to women (and girls) with the least life experience and who probably wouldn't dare talk back to them.

Back in the day when it was legal to rape your wife you mean? I’m sure that men had such a respectful view of women back then.

That law wasn’t changed until 1991.

I did find power in lots of other things too when I was younger. My brain. My guts. My self belief.
Why was the power all with them? If I didn't mind it, never responded, walked on by head up? Honestly, why was the power in that social situation with them, and not with me? I'm really curious to know what you think?

I'm only speaking of how I feel, and like I said it seems I'm in a minority. I'd happily forgo the tiny bit of power I felt so that others wouldn't have to feel disempowered by it. Like I said, I dont miss it.

A cat call is not a sexual assault or a rape. Like many others I've been a victim of this. I know the difference. To suggest a wolf whistle is akin is really quite offensive.

To me, and wolf whistle was- you look good. It was not- I'm going to rape you.

I don't feel I've made any assumptions. I'm merely sharing my experience.

I've never, ever seen a man whistle at kids and I live in an area surrounded by schools with secondary kids always walking around the area. I don't think you're all lying but I personally have never experienced nor observed this happening. There are two separate issues here :adult men whistling at an adult woman isn't an issue but adult men whistling at "kids"=paedophile is a separate, serious issue. See the difference?

I hate it. In the majority of cases, it is only fun for the men and certainly isn't harmless.

It isn't acceptable. There's no need for men to do it, especially when they should be working which is often when it happens.

I hated it, walking past a building site by myself at 22 and a bunch of men wolf whistling every morning on the way to work on a road with no other people was intimidating.

I thought J L said we should be able to handle ourselves and just slap them if they touched our leg.

Sorry, is a grab of the outside of the thigh ok but inside thigh not ok? What are the rules in your head?

If they weren't on the roof top but close to you and the same group of grown men, in a pack, started heckling lewd comments at you a few yards away would you think that was flirtatious fun? I bet you would feel intimidated.

This is a good question and I'm interested in @aliceinawonderland's answer.

And whether if their daughter called them during a walk and explained the above was happening and it scared them, they'd tell them "don't be silly, it's just flirtatious fun!"

@aliceinawonderland

Yes I do think it’s flirtatious fun.

For the girl minding her own business walking past the men wolf whistling at her in a group? Flirtatious fun for her? Or just for the blokes?

I was only wolf whistled from the age of about 18 so certainly in my neck of the woods everyone played by the “rules”.

I never came across it with 10 year olds

Lucky you. Many of us on this thread have shared that we were routinely wolf whistled by adult men as children. More than one of us have separately explained that we had to change our route to and from school because of it happening to us at 12/13 years of age.

Now that you now it does happen to children, what are your thoughts?

My god daughter is 11 and it's already happened to her multiple times in the last year. She's tall but she doesn't look anywhere near 16 let alone 18.

If they weren't on the roof top but close to you and the same group of grown men, in a pack, started heckling lewd comments at you a few yards away would you think that was flirtatious fun? I bet you would feel intimidated.
Be honest with yourself and ask yourself why.

Ah fab, you had a better class of letch there.

No, I'm out. This is a creep-fest.

Why couldn't you find power from something else when you were younger? Why only now you are older you? The power was all theirs not yours. Can't you see that. Why get flattered by men who don't know you heckling young teenagers? Odd.

1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted or raped in their life time.

How do you square that with your assumptions.

Yes I do think it’s flirtatious fun. I was only wolf whistled from the age of about 18 so certainly in my neck of the woods everyone played by the “rules”.

I never came across it with 10 year olds

Some (in the minority)women enjoy and need that validation. Fair enough. Maybe they could wear some kind of badge to let men know that they're fair game and enjoy that kind of attention? Or just put a spring in their step, strut around and give come hither looks. Or maybe just suck it up and get that validation someplace else.

That way women and GIRLS (some still in primary) can get on with their day without being subjected to sexual harassment.