By Jonas Miller
Staff Writer
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On Tuesday, Oct 28, a woman decided to walk around Manhattan, and record what people said to her- more specifically, “catcalls” from men. So she walked, for 10 hours, with a hidden camera in front of her, and recorded everything that people said. More than 100 comments were made, ranging from “Hi, how you doin’?” to “Damn, bless you mami, you beautiful.” She took each comment in stride, and continued walking as if she heard nothing, and for that, I praise her.
The video is titled “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman,” for any of you who would like to see. Two days after it was posted, it had already received upwards of 16 million views. I try to not to label anything as important based on how many Youtube views it has, but this one is an exception. Of course we will never know why most people watched it, some might be curious, others could be bored, personally I was just intrigued as to how bad it could actually be.
I’ll try not to sound too naïve in saying this, but I didn’t really believe that there were people out there that acted like this. I’m not saying that any of the men in the video had the intent of coming off as creepy, some of them could simply be complimenting the woman for what she is, beautiful.
Yes, I find her to be beautiful, but not simply for her physical appearance. I mean, yeah I’m a sucker for curly hair, but I think what she did by recording all of this, is just so incredible, and I respect her for it.
I’ll admit, I’ve been known to be a tad flirty when I talk to girls, but I’ve never had the confidence to speak like that to people I did not know. Nor was I raised to think that it was acceptable to talk to women in the way that some of the men in the video did.
I’m certainly not saying that every man who has ever hit on a random woman is a creep, because they aren’t. Simply telling someone they are beautiful, depending on the context of the situation, is something I think we should do more. Some people take it too far though. For example, there is a man in the video that first attempts to talk to the woman, and when she does not answer, he walks next to her in silence for five minutes.
Boys, take notes: This is creepy… don’t ever do this. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this man for doing this because I like to do my best to not offend anyone, even if he or she is a complete stranger. I’m just saying that if it is your intent to try and get a girl to like you, stalking them after they ignore you the first time is definitely not the right path to take.
Bringing our focus back to the woman in the video, if you have not seen it (*cough* loser *cough*) the woman is not wearing anything that warrants the attention she receives. She’s walking around a nicer part of the city in jeans and a crewneck t-shirt, not a tutu and crop top.
I cannot help but wonder how this video would have been different is she had been walking alongside a man, or even another girl. The general consensus of society is that there is strength in numbers. If one woman walks by one man, he has confidence, he says hello; if five women walk by one man, unless he’s a 21st century Ferris Bueller, he probably won’t do anything.
If another man is thrown into the equation, on either side, everything changes. It is an unwritten rule in life that you do not talk to another man’s girl. Not to say that the girl belongs to the man, but rather the other way around. The man belongs to the girl, she is in control, and it is in every other man’s best interest to stay away.
After watching this video, I realized that even though I may not experience or witness this kind of activity, it happens. Women out there experience this kind of verbal abuse everyday, and I use the word abuse very loosely because not all that is said to a woman is meant to harass her. Although I believe everyone is beautiful in their own way, there is a time and a place to voice that to them, and I guess the middle of Manhattan is not a good choice.
Next time you decide to tell a girl she’s beautiful, or hot, or whatever you think she is, do it respectfully. “Hello, my name is Jonas, and I think you have the most beautiful smile.” See, how hard is that?
