Wolf whistling harmless or degrading

[CambsAlways]

Having a conversation with a couple of friends, both in thirties, we got talking about men wolf whistling etc, though it doesn’t happen quite so much now, both my friends had dif view one would welcome being whistled at, the other horrified and disgusted what do you all think

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Degrading

When I was younger (and started very young around 12) I would dread walking past a building site or a group of men I still do

I’ve never had the urge to call out or wolf whistle to a man I think looks good why would I why do I think my opinion of him matters that much

And agree at times it felt very threatening

I dont really like it but its better than actual comments

Not degrading

But annoying and somehow intimidating

I still never wear a shirt skirt AND have my hair down, to avoid unwanted male attention

LOL at almost 50 I should probably be able to relax this “rule”, but i still get beeping cars and whistling/shouting guys walking down the main road

I am not gorgeous

Just a middle aged woman minding her own business

The worse i had was a group of men (after ignoring their demeaning post whistle comments) who continued to intimidate by following me in close proximity down the street alternatively pushing in front of me trying to persuade each other to talk to me as i was too "ugly" for a man to even approach .
I was only in my teens and quite upset for a while after that
Idiots and no i was not.

There was a video a woman made a couple of years ago of all the comments she received walking around New York. It was relentless and if she didn't acknowledge the men making comments, she got abused.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=iQBjhZtLtRk

I hate it, I don't exist for men's viewing pleasure (and they don't exist for mine). It's just infantile and reductive.

I don't think it's harmless because if was they would not get so furious when you don't play along.

If I make a harmless joke or meaningless pleasantry and someone ignores it, I don't hiss at them or call them a bitch. No one does. It would be a crazy response. But catcallers do this all the time; which shows you there's something else going on.

I've only ever been wolf whistled at between the ages of 13-17 while in school uniform so my biased opinion is that it's gross

Harmless bit of fun IMO. I'd be quite chuffed

Harmless towards girls in their school uniforms

Something that many of us experienced

I quite liked it when I was a teenager, which looking back was sad and grim, I was most likely in uniform or fairly obviously not an adult.

I was in San Francisco on my own for a few days about 8 years ago and the cat calling and leering was a real shock, a very average looking woman just walking down the street in jeans and a t shirt during daylight hours minding my own business and groups of men would call out, stare at me walking past, ask for my number. Urgh, I remember how uncomfortable it made me and angry too but I didn’t dare retaliate as a lone female in a strange city.

I hope it’s a thing of the past by the time my daughters are old enough to start getting attention.

Only a woman with tragically ingrained ideas about sexual objectification being complimentary would think this was gratifying.

Not degrading or harmless.

More irritating, intrusive and a reflection on the ones that do it.

There’s degrees to how annoying it is, but if it’s loud and interruptive calling out at you it’s worse.

@Dilatory or a woman who is comfortable enough in her own skin, to not be perpetually offended by everything

Wolf whistling is like something you'd hear in a wildlife documentary - a base animal instinct that some men are too Neanderthal to suppress. I never ever found it complimentary, just embarrassing and demeaning. I didn't ask for their opinion, it doesn't matter to me - the problem is, they think it does, or should. Note my use of the past tense - I am no longer 'worthy' of wolf whistles because I'm too old. And, guess what, I still care about how I dress and what I look like, even though idiots in the street don't notice me anymore.

@Dilatory

Only a woman with tragically ingrained ideas about sexual objectification being complimentary would think this was gratifying.

Really? It’s ‘tragic’ to feel good about getting a compliment about your looks? 🙄

It’s ‘tragic’ to feel good about getting a compliment about your looks?

or a woman who is comfortable enough in her own skin, to not be perpetually offended by everything

Perfect examples of internalised misogyny. And yes, absolutely tragic that you feel good about your looks because some knuckledragger on scaffolding thinks you're walking past purely for the benefit of hearing what he thinks of your tits.

@Dilatoryc What if he looks like a Calvin Klein model though? 😉

Or are compliments only acceptable if they are from women? Indeed there is another thread about compliments from strangers and apparently they are ok if it’s another woman saying you look nice?

What if we wolf-whistle back at them? Is that still misogynistic?

Stop telling people to be offended or upset by stuff that doesn't offend or upset them!

Makes me laugh to be honest, I mean I'm not gonna chase their van down the road and jump in 😂 just see it as harmless

Can those of you who think it's harmless or not something to be offended by, not see how it is just not acceptable to view women as objects?

If you have female children then I'm guessing your view on this subject will possibly change when they come home, age 13, in their school uniform and tell you how horrible they feel that men were making lewd comments or wolf whistling at them. Completely unacceptable in this day and age.

Where do some of you live that you get wolf whistled at so often?

Thinking back, I reckon it has only happened to me two or three times in my whole life!

@LochJessMonster

Well, I suppose if women start shouting 'nice tits' or 'nice arse' at other women in the street, it might be a direct comparison.

(Note to men - find some more original adjectives, eh?!!)