Earlier this week, a marketing agency partnering with Hollaback!, an anti-street harassment organization based in New York, released a video that went viral. In it, a woman walks around New York for ten hours, and a hidden camera records more than 100 instances of verbal harassment. The video has been criticized for editing out white men, giving the impression that only men of color are harassers. Such criticism is both valid and important, but the video was still widely shared because it effectively demonstrated what women go through on a daily basis.
Of course, the video was met with detractors who denied that the video showed actual harassment or anything problematic. On the Fox News show “The Five,” panelists weighed in with their expert opinions, from “They [the harassers] were very complimentary,” to “Here’s the simple science behind it: Catcalls are possible because the situation is fluid.” They offered helpful tips for those women who might still irritatingly insist they’re offended, including the woman in the video (who, it should be noted, never actually says anything or makes any claims).
The Prospect thought their advice was so helpful that we’ve reproduced it below, along with some tips on how they can make their advice work on the issues they care about.
1. Take a picture of the harasser and post it on a catcall shame board.
“If a guy is obnoxious to you, take your phone, and you take a picture of it, and then you post it on the Gutfeld catcall shame board, and you can have the guy’s picture, and that’ll stop it.” –Greg Gutfeld
This is really super advice, and like they said, it will work. Publicly shaming people who already don’t think-or care-that they’re bothering you, instead of, say, having an open discussion about changing the culture of harassment, is a great idea. That video is a good example, especially since it was effective in galvanizing people across the Internet to make rape and death threats to the woman.
This tip also works for … In-person voter fraud: See someone at the polls who you think voted earlier that morning? Take their picture and post it to a voter fraud shame board, and let other voting vigilantes say “yay” or “nay” on whether that person can vote. The good news is that voting restrictions in multiple states are preventing plenty of minority and low-income people from voting, so you won’t have to use up too much data on your phone.
2. There’s nothing actually disrespectful in what the men were saying to her-learn to take a compliment! #NotAllMen are threatening you.
“She may not have wanted it, but I find it hard to find where there’s what she calls ‘verbal harassment.'” –Eric Bolling
“She got a hundred catcalls. Let me add a hundred and one: Damn, baby, you’re a piece of woman.” –Bob Beckel
Sure, there were some jerks in there, as Greg Gutfeld said, but you can’t group all men into the same pile. This is a superb invocation of the #NotAllMen hashtag. There were lots of benign calls of “Hello!” and “How are you?” and there’s nothing wrong with that, or with the entitled logic that demands the woman must respond. Here are some other comments from the video that are not disrespectful, either: “I just saw a thousand dollars!” while pointing at her; “God bless you, mami”; “Nice!”; “Damn!”; “Sexy! American Eagle!” (referring to the brand logo on her butt). And sure, smile at them when they ask; you owe it to them.
This tip also works for … Lone-wolf gunmen sponsored by ISIS: ISIS is definitely taking advantage of the fact that many citizens don’t carry guns everywhere. When you bring an assault rifle into a Chuck E. Cheese’s, make sure you have a sign that says “#NotAllGunmen.” It’ll go viral, and soon everyone will be buying guns. Some people carrying guns in public aren’t being disrespectful; they’re just trying to protect you from ISIS.
3. Remember that this is how a lot of men on the street meet women. The streets are their bars!
“I find this to be a bit classist…She is finding fault with men on the street saying hello to her, which may in fact be their only way of contacting women. It’s their bar, and she’s walking through it…If these guys were in a bar or supermarket, she probably wouldn’t feel the same way.” –Greg Gutfeld
Here’s a great example of someone really looking out for the little guy. Most of those men in the video have probably never been in a bar, or even a supermarket-maybe they were even born on that milk crate! How else are they supposed to clumsily and adorably meet women except by following them silently for blocks, or pestering them with endearing, self-deprecating challenges of “You don’t want to talk because I’m ugly?”
This tip also works for … Abortion restrictions: Don’t be classist and assume that only some women’s bodies need policing. Women from all walks of life have been known to want control over their own bodies, so it’s really best to try to outlaw abortion rights for everyone.
4. Wear a jacket.
“Walking around New York City, if you don’t have a jacket or something on, if I walked out in my Fox News dress, forget about it.” –Kimberly Guilfoyle
“You should wear a jacket.” –Bob Beckel
Duh. Don’t ask for attention by wearing your dress, or leggings, or jeans, or a shirt. Boys will be boys and men will be men, and they cannot be held accountable for the fact that you chose to walk in their vicinity.
This tip also works for … Climate change: Refusing to believe the enormous weight of scientific evidence shows real courage, so proudly wear a jacket through the next wilting summer heat wave. And if another polar vortex comes around this winter that is linked to climate change, you can don a second jacket and boastfully ask, “What kind of global warming is this, amirite?” Everyone loves that joke.
5. Pretend to talk on the phone.
“The other day, I felt very uncomfortable, I thought somebody was following me inappropriately, and so I pretended to talk on the cell phone…because I was in a little bit of an isolated area, so that they would understand that I had like a direct live feed.” –Kimberly Guilfoyle
This works especially well if you can convince them that it’s a man on the other end of the direct live feed. It might as well be someone they actually respect, after all. So throw in a “sir” or “I’ll see you in a minute, tall, athletic boyfriend.”
This tip also works for … Minimum wage and equal pay: When you hear someone making the case for raising the minimum wage or giving women equal pay, just put your finger in one ear, hold the phone to your other ear, and loudly say, “Why, yes, this person will lose their job if I’m forced to keep up with inflation.”
6. Actually, there’s no such thing as street harassment, so never mind.
In which case, let me just say, damn, baby, you’re a piece of woman.
