Would you feel threatened by someone wolf whistling at you?

[Passivhaus]

Would this scare you or intimidate you?

In broad daylight on a busy street, no, just annoying. Walking down a dark quiet street at night, yes.

In that context? If I were alone, walking down a darkened deserted alleyway or something, then yes. In pretty much any other situation, no. It wouldn’t even occur to me to be intimidated.

Why do you ask?

Maybe if I was on my own, at night in an isolated area. Waking down the street in daylight then unlikely.

No, unless I was alone on a dark alley, can you explain yourself further?

No

Why?
it’s very 1980’s
it wouldn’t make my day.

It used to happen a lot when I was young, and it always made me feel uncomfortable.

Objectified yes, intimidated if it was dark, lonely, a group of men.

Has always made me uncomfortable, at night or in a particularly lovely place I might well be scared. I would certainly be cross.

Probably not but may think I had passed through a time portal to the 1970s. I would also think he needed better glasses these days.

No real reason just something I listened to today where the lady felt that it should be illegal which I felt was a bit OTT. But reading these replies maybe not.

Uncomfortable and annoyed but not threatened as such. Although deliberately making someone feel uncomfortable is a way of exercising control I suppose.

It should be illegal. It’s unsolicited and objectifying. It’s a demonstration of male privilege and power and therefore a form of sexual harassment.

Yes it would.

Intimidated or scared, probably not. Pissed off at being harrassed, yes.

Depends on the context, doesn't it?

Lone man whistling at a distance at 3 in the afternoon in a busy supermarket car park - annoying, humiliating maybe but but probably not threatening.

Group of men whistling at you while you're walking past them alone through a empty park in the dark late evening - very much threatening.

I agree that it should be illegal.

I do it to men out my shop doorway on a quiet town as a joke it’s amazing how many turn around

@RaininSummer my thoughts exactly

I would feel very uncomfortable and vulnerable. It's harassment.

Illegal!?

Oh please, give it a rest. So what should the punishment be? Who do you think are going to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators?

We can't even prosecute rapes in any meaningful way, let alone knife crimes, child abuse, assaults and all sorts of other crap, and you want police to be arsing around arresting people for wolf whistling?

Get real!

It's never happened to me, but if it did yes I would feel intimidated, uncomfortable, embarrassed, nervous, objectified, and very distressed at the stark reminder of my status as a female in a sexist society. Even if I didn't feel threatened in that moment, it would be a reminder that as a woman I am not an equal citizen in the eyes of many fellow humans, and that in itself makes me feel unsafe.

It’s street harassment, so, yes. Illegal. In the U.K., it already is, to a certain extent, and will become moreso. The ‘punishment’ is covered by public order offences. I’m being completely ‘real’.

We can't even prosecute rapes in any meaningful way, let alone knife crimes, child abuse, assaults and all sorts of other crap, and you want police to be arsing around arresting people for wolf whistling?

That’s an argument for reevaluating our criminal justice system, not an argument against the criminalisation of street harassment.

I would call it disturbed rather than threatened. It's an indication that the public space is not for you and that your right to participate in public life in the public space is secondary. It's deeply alienating.

It's hate crime, and it should be addressed.

Obviously every random incident can't be pursued. But Nottingham police ran a pilot project on tackling misogynist hate crime a few years back which iirc correctly involved compiling geographic markers and looking into spots with heightened frequencies. So for instance, if schoolgirls regularly got catcalled passing a building site they might have a serious word with the construction firm. Thought at the time that made a lot of sense - much more rhan you're doing throwing up your hands in resignation. These people are reptiles, they thrive on humiliating women and they one hundred percent shouldn't get away with it.