When do you first remember being catcalled?

[WomenHour]

If at all

I remember when I was 14 , a boy who just joined the school wolf whistled me.

About 13. We loved it and paraded up and down the road to our school with our skirts rolled up and counted how many calls and beeps we got. Makes me shudder now!

13. A man sat in the passenger seat of a car at the side of the road looked me up and down and told me I looked like I’d be a good fuck

I was 11 or 12, in my school uniform, and some bloke shouted at me to "lift your skirt up". It was horrible at the time, but looking back it makes me feel sick

About 11 I think. Just before going tonhugh school.

I remember walking home from school with a friend when I was 13 past a group of blokes from the water board who were doing some work on the drains and who shouted some shocking stuff at us. They were on a job for the week and it was like running the gauntlet every day. On the Thursday they got a shock - my dad was on a day off, and happened to be upstairs in my parents room and heard and saw the whole thing. He heard one guy shout something about “feasting on your fanny”, went downstairs, across the road, and decked the guy who shouted it. On the Friday the project manager from head office came round after tea and gave me and my parents a full apology. Shame it took one of them getting decked to get the apology.

12. I had to walk about a mile to and from the school along a busy-ish road in and out of town and got catcalled pretty much daily from the beginning of year 8. I remember even thinking at the time thinking most of them looked like typical dads and feeling really sad for their imaginary kids that they had a 'pedo' for a dad and giggling as we worked up the nerve to show them the finger. My friend and I used to talk about it and plan to drive our future imaginary kids to school 'because of all the pedos'. Makes me feel sick as an adult now driving to work along a busy comp school route. I look at the teenagers milling about and can't fathom how someone my age would catcall a CHILD. Makes me shudder.

About 13, though I was really small and young looking for my age. Some bloke in the town centre shouted at me, “Do you like wine gums?” And I didn’t reply (I was terrified) then he pulled his knob out and said, “Well, wind your gums round this”. I still shudder when I think about it.

Age 11:Catcalling (alone and with friends) often in uniform.
before age 15 being 'flashed', shown abusive photographs in park
(the man stopped and asked us for directions then got them out)
worst was being attacked by an ex teacher - my friend and I had met (aged 16?) up accidentally with him at a local Uni open day where we were helping with leaflets (we were young 16's and swotty types) with an ex teacher who suggested coffee but he had to go home to put his dog in the house first - it had recently had a litter and he was worried they'd get out of the garden and run onto the road - it was around the corner really and 'could we help?'. Once the front door was shut he grabbed us. She got away, I was not so quick so it took me a while to get out of there. It was HORRIBLE. No one believed us, despite the scratches and torn clothes, fact there was two of us etc. I don't know why we didn't go to the Police. My Mother ignored it too.

11

I was on a beach in Wales and a man followed me, made some comments and then tried to persuade me to "go for a walk" with him.

I had no idea what he wanted (bless ) but he gave me the creeps so I ran away.

11. Catcalled regularly by that age. I did look older, but still....

But why the question OP?

I've already noticed my DD 8 years old drawing stares. I hate men.

Not sure but definitely by 14 years old. My daughters are young teens and them and their friends, even when wearing make up are so obviously children and I can't fathom how any grown man would do that. Bad enough on a grown woman, but a child??

SweatyBetty20 sadly nowadays the police would be forced to charge your dad with assault. I doubt the project manager would even come to visit.

I can’t remember how old but a teenager in school uniform a few times by work men/white van men. Never been catcalled or wolf-whistled as an adult.

Walking to school, I was around 13

10, wearing shorts and a vest, walking by some workmen in the street where I lived.

Catcalled - 11 and on my way to school.

Followed/chased - 10, walking 300 yards round the corner to my friends house to go to Brownies.

Groped/assaulted - 11 and on a school trip to a swimming pool. That was by 5 boys about 13-14 years old who were doing it to all the 10/11 year old girls in our group.

Catcalling was the least of my worries.

Probably age 10.
Men are disgusting and deviant. I truly believe the laws are the only thing that keep them from being with young girls and even then, it isn't always the case.
If there were no laws, I suspect the majority of men would want a child bride.

15 but as mitzi says, whistling is harmless compared with the 22 gropes/unwanted physical attention/coercion/assault experienced between 15 and 25 (at the height of #metoo I worked it out after reading somewhere the frequency of behaviours that women were so used to they didn't even register anymore). Now I am over 50 it is quite nice to be invisible.

11 on my way to school in uniform. A group of builders and one actually followed me to ask me out. He would have been late 20's and I definitely looked like a child. Luckily he went away when I said no

12 I think. A group of builders wolf whistled at my friend and I. We kept walking past them as we enjoyed the attention, although it makes me feel sick now. My self esteem must have been very low

It then happened fairly regularly until my early 20s.

Fucking hell!!! I went to all girls boarding school and wasn't allowed out of the premises until I was 17. After reading these, I'm now grateful!

By 17 I was full in punk rock and 'scary' so avoided all the sexual horrible 'comments'. Nasty comments about was I sure I was a girl, why is your hair green etc, but none of those sexual catcalls that some men seem to think are flattering or are designed to intimidate.

WTF is wrong with some men?.?

• full on punk

I was 13 or 14 years old. Quite large chested for a girl of that age.

I was wearing a dress, walking home and an adult male walked past me and said "Nice tits".

It made me feel absolutely horrible. I still think back to that moment sometimes.