to find excuses to walk past the builders working down the road because i'm secretly flattered by them whistling at me?

[mumofbumblebea]

and they are not even good looking?
I have self-esteem issues, don't I?

Fishin' for a whistle, Tech?

Do you people really base your entire self esteem and sense of worth on the judgement of a group of oiks regarding your physical attractiveness? Seriously? I could cry.

It would be a false whistle, so no.

No, not "entire self esteem"...but it's still reassuring and a bit of an ego boost.

Of course we dont hairyflowers - it's light hearted banter.

Sometimes I could cry when I see how PC the world has gone. Whats wrong with a builder or such like giving someone a smile, hey, they may feel down and it may brighten up their day...why do people have to over analyse and read stuff into it???

I was in the store yesterday and the guy behind the till called me "my love", "darling" and "Sweetheart" - not in a pervy way or a horrid way, it was just the way he spoke. I felt sad for him really, wont be long before some miserable old cow complains about him.

Sometimes I think the world has gone bonkers and we all seem to have a major loss of sense of humour!

I hate it when people toot at me when I am running. Invariably I am mid stride and do some sort of ridiculous panicked two-step and look like a fool.

I get some wolf whisteles and comments when I'm out on visits in my white tunic and clinic trousers (The most unsexy outfit known to mankind. Especially with my stern hair and glasses.)

Maybe they have a uniform thing.

70 - they are waiting for you to take off your glasses and flick your hair down

Personally I hate it.

For women in general it's not a good thing. Being whistled at isn't banter. Banter implies a two way interaction that both parties enjoy. Dogs are whistled at not people.

This is really sad. And I'm not a man hating humourless harridan, but I find the idea that anyone would be flattered by a whistle from someone they hadn't even spoken to and in a non recreational context really depressing.

I was quite persistantly chatted up yesterday admittedly he was drunk and that wasn't offensive, because at least we engaged and talked, but a whistle from a bloke on a scaffold- seriously low self worth to be not massively pissed off.

I hate it because invariably, IME, it gives permission for whistles to become comments to become lewd remarks to become aggressive nasty behavior eventually leading to me being sexually assaulted in broad daylight 6months pregnant with my 3yo with me

I'm not saying men who wolf whistle will go on to be rapists but I personally find wolf whistles aggressive. A nice comment is ok but even then I feel intimidated and vulnerable, maybe it's because as a young teen I'd get wolf whistled and lewd comments thrown my way. It's scary and has def affected MY self esteem.

I don't know if YABU to be honest - if it makes you feel good about yourself and you feel it is a good natured compliment then I kind of don't see why not. But please don't encourage it for those of us whose experiences have caused us to treat that kind of behavior with suspicion.

I find the tone and method unpleasant. I hated it when I was younger as I found it intrusive.

I seem to have moved into mild compliments territory and it's much more pleasant. I don't care if I am left alone to go around in my own world but if someone talks to me I like it to be nice.

Things I have enjoyed about this thread:

1. "Pet noir"

1. Main speaker against sexist wolf whistles is called Mrs CampbellBlack, presumably in reference to lustful feelings towards the greatest literary bounder and cad since the Vicomte de Valmont.

These days I'd think it was ironic

I like men who flirt with me, I dislike men who wolf whistle and hope they get sacked from their jobs if doing it on office time/property

How you react to sexism is entirely up to you. I'd report it

I think you hit the nail on the head though silentboob in that MrCB is you know made up

I'm not fussed, though it's a long time since anyone's whistled at me.

I'm not sure how it's 'sexually controlling' though. It's not as if the sound waves from the whistle somehow magically induce a state of erotic passivity in passing women, is it?

Fantastic - we've now got the 'PC gorn mad' and 'no sense of humour' lines.

BTW I didn't mean to suggest I am young now - I meant when in my teens!

I was whistled at a couple of weeks ago, on my way to a night out as I walked past the Saturday market packing up, on my way to a night out (we were starting very early). The whistlers two friends lay into him, telling him he was out of order, and you don't do that to a woman.

Times change.

And there was me thinking I just wasn't attractive anymore.

I haven't got a problem with it. And now I am pushing 40, I find it flattering tbh.

I don't find it offensive, or threatening, or demeaning. Neither do I base my self-esteem on whether it happens or not, but on the odd occasion it has happened in the last few years, it has made me smile a little.

If that makes me a rubbish feminist, I don't really care.

I hate it, you whistle if you are calling a dog

Not another person

tbh, i've never thought about wolf whistling in a controlling way, but that could just be me. got DH who always tells me i look lovely etc but after meeting him when i was 18 (first BF) and 2DDs since then it's nice to think i am not a complete minger in the eyes of the general public lol.
of course i don't make it obvious, i do the whole tutting and huffing and then a huge grin once i'm out of sight

But why?

Why would you care if some randomer who thinks whistling to get another adult's attention is ok finds you attractive?

I really do think it's demeaning.

Can't stand it. And I find tooting quite aggressive and scary, especially if I'm walking on my own. I got beeped as a 11 yr old child, fgs, walking to the beach wearing shorts over my swimming cossie in the summer - how gross is that?

Why do some (

I hate it, personally. It's the kind of low-level sexism that goes on all the time, along with twats who make comments when you're out running. I know it's a light-hearted thread, but for many women it can be very intimidating when it happens - the idea of being looked over and assessed by a builder or similar (and by that I mean it's not only builders who comment when you're running!). Really unpleasant and a sad booster for self-esteem IMVHO