to be the tiniest bit flattered?

[SabinaTheBean]

went on a date last night (wish I actually had nightmares about beforehand as I thought he was very out of my league) and got wolf-whistled while walking down the street with him

DISCLAIMER: i'm not pretty, was wearing lots of make-up, it was dark. Also wolf-whistling never happens to me. Also it's offensive and outtdated

But, in spite of all this, AIBU to be a tiny bit flattered? awaits flaming for being horrible sexist woman with no life

Large salted popcorn and a diet Pepsi please Worra...

I'm a little surprised that anybody likes being treated like that.

I'm also a bit that two posters have been banned for misuse of the baby names board. Bizarre.

How the hell do you misuse the baby names board.

If you felt flattered, that's fine. You feel the way you feel.

Depends on situation: if it was in broad daylight and I felt safe then yes, I'd probably be a bit flattered after checking there was no one else they could have meant to whistle at

At night when I'm on my own and feeling unsafe: not so much.

Mind you my self esteem is pretty low

Each to their own, I never had it so maybe I don't miss it
I would find it too direct and would be embarrassed to be honest.

Are the diet coke break adverts sexist?

Lord, yes, I think they are. Horribly cringeworthy too. Treating men or women as 'meat' is just vile without excuse.

Are the diet Coke ads still on? I haven't seen one for ages.

I certainly don't approve of wolf whistling and would never do anything like that. It's moronic.

However, I don't believe that any acknowledgement of sexuality or the notion that adults have sexual impulses is automatically sexist. I think that's the way we are heading at the moment with new kind of puritanism.

Diet Coke break adverts play on the theme that some adult women would find a handsome, muscle bound hunk attractive. What on earth is wrong with that?

I think adverts where men are routinely meant to play the thicko/Neanderthal are much worse.

What's wrong with it? Well, replace the 'muscle-bound hunk' with a well-developed young woman, half-dressed, doing exactly the same thing - and replace the vocal women with vocal men.

Does it feel the same to you?

Raucous women/braying men... all the same to me. I dislike attendees of male stripping as much as I dislike those of female stripping. It's either sexist for both or neither in my book.

I am conflicted. The feminist in me sees it as intimidating and objectifying. The part of me that loves to get dressed up for a night out will take it as a bit of a compliment .

Had a discussion with DH (who, I must add, would never wolf-whistle) on how a man should compliment a woman without coming across as creepy, sexist, aggressive, etc. Not sure there's any hard and fast rule. Depends on the situation, etc.

I quite like the "appreciation cards" idea that Caitlin Moran was talking about the other day. You have a bunch of cards with something like "I like your look today" on them and hand them out, leave on the table, drop in the bag, etc, of the person you want to compliment. You'd get an ego boost without the intimidation. A bit of a faff, I guess.

"Diet Coke break adverts play on the theme that some adult women would find a handsome, muscle bound hunk attractive. What on earth is wrong with that? "

What, that one advertisement that hasn't been on for years but which proves for certain sure that men are just as objectified as women? Is that the advertisement you mean?

That would be perceived differently but I think that's silly too. I think all this kind of stuff stems from the deep held notion that sex or the depiction of anything sexual is inherently bad.

I think adults should all grow up a bit and accept it as part of life.

"What, that one advertisement that hasn't been on for years but which proves for certain sure that men are just as objectified as women? Is that the advertisement you mean?"

I think we must be thinking of different adverts.

Oh well then... make the woman younger still, the man younger still. Exaggerate the nudity/simpering... sky's the limit really. It's all just sex and we're all just flesh (I'm sure Christine Keeler coined that).

I don't feel that strongly about stupid adverts, they're an excellent opportunity to go and make a cup of tea. I do feel strongly about wolf-whistling at women. Women seem to restrain themselves from whistling at men somehow.

Perhaps some kind of a badge could be given for those who like being whistled at, to display hopefully on their person? It could have neon flashing lights for those hard of thinking even...

I have no wish to piss on your bonfire OP. But YABU. I have always found wolf-whistling and catcalls intimidating. I have never, ever been appreciative of it.

"Oh well then... make the woman younger still, the man younger still. Exaggerate the nudity/simpering... sky's the limit really. It's all just sex"

Well, yeah ok, within reason. Especially after 9pm. I don't know why you want to make them "younger" though. Your problem with depiction of adult sexuality is what?

Women seem to restrain themselves from whistling at men somehow.

Seen any hen parties recently? Although I agree it is much less common and the female outdoor worker wolf-whistling a younger attractive male on his way to an office job is unheard of.

It's a demonstration of power over women's aesthetic value in my eyes. Like it? You girls may say you like feminism but really you're all after validation on your appearance from men. Don't like it? You're an ugly feminist and I wouldn't touch you with a barge pole in reality.

It's a ridiculous outmoded bit of old fashioned sexism and men who do it should be able to control their reactions on seeing an attractive woman.

Have a read of this......

What on earth is that?

Just an idea of how sexist advertising can make women feel.

Men never, ever feel that way. Even a bit. However "objectifying" the Diet Coke ad is.

princesscharmaine has just been deleted for being a troll on the baby names board... I'm sorry but that made laugh out loud. What sort of pathetic arse trolls the baby names board?

"Men never ever feel that way. Even a bit. However "objectifying" the Diet Coke ad is."

How on earth can you make such an extreme and sweeping generalisation and expect to be taken seriously?

As for "objectification", I'm not sure it's a concept I really buy in to anyway. I don't think people see other people as objects, regardless of the context. People always understand that people are people and not objects.

I think it's all a load of rubbish to be honest.

"How on earth can you make such an extreme and sweeping generalisation and expect to be taken seriously?"

In this particular context, easily.