The power of cat-calls

"Why would cat-calls be an example of machismo?"

I was asked this question last week by a 14 year-old boy - one of our high school students - during a session on gender equity/anti-machismo. He wasn't being facetious, and he wasn't trying to cause trouble; he was serious. He claimed that some of his female friends had said they enjoyed receiving cat-calls, that they saw them as compliments - "why is it machismo for men to compliment women?" This true lack of understanding is why Peru's machismo culture remains so strong. Boys learn from their fathers, uncles, brothers, and occasionally even female relatives, that whistling is the right thing to do when a young woman walks by. They have never considered the inherently unequal power dynamic of a cat-call: the whistler has all the power, and the recipient has none. The woman walking by is never asked whether she would appreciate a lascivious comment; the man simply decides that he would like to taunt her with one - she has no choice. Those women who do not feel this is full-on sexual harassment are either hungry for the wrong kind of attention, or have developed a semi-positive "complimentary" view of the cat-calls as a psychological shield to help them cope with the daily accosting they've received in the street their entire lives. A respectful society should not endorse either, and moreover should consider the feelings of the female majority who abhor such public harassment. Unfortunately so far this is not the reality, and the cat-calls and myriad other forms of machismo remain the daily norm.

Personally, 20 months later, I'm still not used to it: the blatant stares, the lecherous looks, the greed-filled disrespecting eyes, the low whistles or sexual comments as I walk down my street or leave my school. It grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard every single time; my teeth grit together, my brow furrows, my shoulders tense, and I feel simultaneously furious, humiliated, powerless, threatened, and sad. Sometimes, when the right combination of insult and attitude is hit, I confront the taunters, turning around or crossing the street to tell them in no uncertain terms that their comments are disrespectful and unappreciated. The more public the spectacle the better - they should turn red, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed in front of their companions. Maybe then they'll know a bit of what the women they whistle at experience every single day.