Last week, a New York City Council committee heard testimony from several women on street harassment, including Emily May, executive director of Hollaback, a website that allows women to post stories and pictures of harassment and harassers. The council is considering whether to take measures, including possible legislation, to curb street harassment, especially around school zones.
Street harassment is a serious problem and, in its most extreme forms -- such as instances in which men follow young girls down the street -- is already something that individual police officers could intervene in if they witness it. But in its less extreme, and probably more common forms, street harassment takes a seemingly innocuous tone -- "smile, beautiful," or "hello, gorgeous," comments I'm willing to bet nearly every city-dwelling woman has heard. That tone, which in a normal situation could be taken as complimentary, might lead some to misunderstand the point, as they do in the video above. Some of those interviewed wondered whether some women enjoy being talked to on the street, and regard it as a pick-me-up on a bad day. But it's less about whether anyone enjoys it, and why; it's that men who shout at women, regardless of what they say, are claiming public territory in a way that asserts control. I've lived in many different neighborhoods in New York and now live in D.C., where I regularly run along city streets, and I've heard the full range of talk from men. The fact of it -- and the fact that being shouted at by men is not a possibility but a certainty -- is inherently hostile and all seems designed, unconsciously or not, to make me feel not as though these men want to talk to me but that they have a right to.
That said, it's hard to imagine criminalizing it being effective in curbing it. Most often, I ignore street harassment because ignoring it is what allows me to feel in control. Not everyone wants to respond that way, though, and I want to make women feel safe on city streets. But I also don't want even more men caught up in the criminal-justice system than already are. The problem of street harassment also often butts up against uncomfortable racial stereotypes regarding the kind of men who stand on street corners and the kind of women they harass. In reality, of course, all different types of men harass all different types of women, but it's hard to separate our public discourse on street harassment from a long history of racism and sexism that describes black men as overly sexually aggressive, and posits white women as those in need of protection. It's hard to imagine the officers in charge of enforcing any law against street harassment not being affected by that. Groups like Hollaback can help women reclaim the streets, but getting the state involved could cause more problems than it solves.
-- Monica Potts
