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

I hate it and I always have. Is it too much to ask to just be left alone to go about your day?! It’s not a compliment to me.

Oh come on OP don't be disingenuous

Back in the day not everyone had smart phones. Widescale availability of the Internet has resulted in increased porn use much more than the change in attitudes to wolf whistling

And also, wolf whistling goes hand in hand with other comments, and wolf whistling to young (teen and pre teen girls).

Maybe some women learned to develop a thick skin due to the prevalence of Perry bustards. But many other women learned to avoid situations that they had every right to be in (walking past building sites etc), many women are scared to stand up for themselves due to the possible repercussions, many women learned to put up with sexual harassment, assaults and abuse because they didn't want to 'make a fuss'.

I am from an era of wolf whistling and am glad that young women don't have to eb Subject to unwanted 'compliments' on their body. If they do crave the validation of creepy men, there are plenty of online / safer ways of inviting this

I absolutely hated it and am glad it’s deemed in the main unacceptable now. Women that need validation from creeps in the street need their heads examining.

Of all the forms of sexual harassment, wolf whistling was the one I minded least but it was still unwelcome and still sexual harassment.

By that line of thinking (which is not my line of thinking), would you blame yourself if we were attacked while your midriff is on display? Would you expect the police to defend you, or are you asking for whatever you get?? And following your line of thought to it's end - you are not safe exposing your midriff, or any skin really, as it incites male violence.

Your thinking is very very flawed, and sad

Fwiw as a teenager I loved being wolf whistled at. But if i had a daughter I'd want to bring her up not to crave validation on a superficial level.

You can say what you want, who is going to stop you? They may form a certain opinion of you based on what you say, but you’re still allowed to say it.
Who has been telling you that you’re not allowed to say it?

Yes I used to enjoy it but I know I’m not allowed to say that.

As for the "availability" of it you have heard of that Little thing called the Internet 😂smh

YABU. For every woman who likes the crass validation of a random bloke indicating he finds her sexually attractive, there are many women (and girls) who are embarrassed by it, who find it disturbing for men to be loudly advertising that they are sexually attracted to them, and who actually find it quite threatening. I used to be so intimidated by groups of men doing this when I was alone. Interestingly it didn't happen so often after I joined the sixth form and didn't wear school uniform any more 🤢

Not every woman or girl who is subjected to this, or to the wandering hand on their thigh, is confident enough to speak up. Nor should they have to. Lots of us were panicked and frozen and just prayed it would stop.

I can't imagine for the life of me why any woman would advocate for society to accept this behaviour from men. Really disappointed in JL.

That's the most messed up convoluted logic I've ever heard 😂 so cause us evil naughty women won't let the big boys touch us any more it's driven them to look at depraved stuff online (and yes to me things like double a*al is depraved and I highly doubt any woman enjoys it)

I do think that some men feel so constrained nowadays, they are scared to even look at a woman

Poor men. It's so sad. I do hope you get picked soon.

Yes, it was pretty rank!

Joanna Lumley is a misogynist. I can't imagine how desperate for attention you must be to consider street harassment flattering.

To be honest I prefer a wolf whistle to the creepy whistling of tunes some men do, when near or passing a woman, to avoid being called out for wolf whistling.

Diddums.

The solution to that is improved social skills for men, not women putting up with sexual harassment.

If Joanna Lumley needed approval from sexual predators that says more about her. Ghastly woman.

It might have been fun for the women who got wold whistled and who enjoyed that but it was never fun for those of us who found suddenly having random strangers say "you have attracted my attention as a fuckable being" uncomfortable and at times scary. Nor do the women who think it was all fun seem to have experienced the flip side - men who feel entitled to tell women they are considered fuckable also feel entitled to hurl insults and abuse at those who did not make the grade.
Make me wear hats everywhere and then they can doff them in appreciation like the Edwardian times.

Odd, though, that when men felt free enough to whistle at/compliment a woman, women didn't feel as free to object to it.

If we didn't like it, we put up with it. We didn't actually 'deal with it' at all. We accepted it, resignedly. Because any attempts to actually 'deal with it' made the whole thing worse.

NOW, women are 'dealing with it'. We aren't smiling and waving when that's the last thing we actually WANT to do. We are finally realising we don't have to put up with it.

I didn't write that thanks, I show off my work out progress because I enjoy the attention and expect to get it. But if you insist then yes I think how much skin you show or what you wear/how you present yourself will mean you get unwanted (in some cases) attention. It's like whining your phone got nicked in a bad area while you had it out, its just reality unless you want to live in an asexual world.

The vast, vast vast majority of men are not 'scared to look at women' - if you really believe that please ask me about my bridge for sale!

Some men have learnt, have been taught, that women are actual humans and it's not okay to touch them or comment on their bodies without consent. A lot of men and boys have not learned this yet.

Most men are not scared of most women. Many women are scared of most men. Think about that, think why that may be, and then reconsider your stance on catcalling

WTAF?

I don't think I've ever been subjected to anything particularly unpleasant in terms of casual harassment but other women have. I'm glad times have changed and it's no longer deemed acceptable.