Poulias 1 Thoanna Poulias Mrs, Gallegos Language Arts 2, Period 1 10 March 2017 Why Catcalling is an Abuse of Power Catealling is when men especially call out to women on the streets to compliment them and sometimes those compliments make them feel uncomfortable. In the article “Hey baby! ‘Women speak out against sexual harassment” by Emily Smith it explains how many women get catealled out on the streets and how many of the times they are catcalled they feel threatened and that men think it’s okay because of what they see on TV. Therefore, Smith believes that catcalling is an abuse of power. In another article “Hey, ladies ~ catcalls are flattering! Deal with it” by Doree Lewak it explains how she likes being catcalled because it makes her feel good about herself and she says that there are different types of compliments which are appropriate and inappropriate. Therefore, Lewak believes catcalling is not an abuse of power. Asa result, catcalling is an abuse of power because it makes people feel unsafe and it can lead to sexual harassment. Opponents of this view argue that catcalling is not an abuse of power because it makes people feel good about themselves and not all catealls are sexual however catcalling is, still an abuse of power because it makes people feel uncomfortable and it can lead to unwanted actions. Catcalling is an abuse of power because it makes people feel unsafe and it can lead to sexual harassment, In the article “Hey baby! Women speak out against street harassment” by Emily Smith, the author states that “And while some men might consider them compliments, toPoulias 2 many women, they are a threat” (1). This shows that women feel unsafe when people call them names. This is significant because the reason women feel unsafe is because they feel like they are going to be sexually assaulted. Smith also states that “Brittney Gilbert knows this all too well .. A stranger on the bus she was taking to work assaulted her” (2). This illustrates how catcalling is an abuse of power because some men think just because they are guys they have the right to touch women whenever they want and it’s not right. This is important because for example if you're minding your own business and someone comes and touches you where you don’t want them to touch it’s not fair because most people that witness it and the police don’t do anything about it and it just makes people feel violated and unsecure. Opponents of this view would argue that catcalling is not an abuse of power because it makes people feel good about themselves and not all catcalls are sexual/bad. For example, the author argues that “And when I know I’m looking, T brazenly walk past a construction site, anticipating that whistle and “Hey mama!” catcall” (Lewak 1). This illustrates how she walks in front of men on purpose so they can compliment her. This helps reveal that some women don’t ‘mind but want to get catcalled because it boosts their ego. Another example on how catcalling is, not an abuse of power is when the author explains that “Of course, not all catcalls are created equal ... To clarify, a compliment is “You're beautiful”, and not “I like your nipples”, a crude comment beyond the point of no return” (Lewak 2). This means that it's okay when the compliments are not inappropriate. This is important because what she said is true ifit's a compliment like “You're pretty” or “T like your eyes” you don’t feel uncomfortable or weirded cout. Cute little comments like those are okay because they can actually be sweet and inappropriate comments are not okay they are talking about your body and when they talk in aPoulias 3 perverted way it makes you feel uncomfortable. When people feel uncomfortable it makes them feel unsafe sometimes and that is an example of abuse of power. Although opponents of this view would argue that catcalling is not an abuse of power because it makes women feel empowered and some catcalls are really compliments and nothing, clse, the reality is that catcalling is still and abuse of power because it makes people feel ‘uncomfortable and it can lead to unwanted actions. For example, the author states that “Women get treated the way they allow themselves to be treated” (Smith 2). This means that men think women like to get treated like “sluts” but we really don’t like the feeling of it. This is important because men think that just because one person likes to get catcalled that every other women. likes it too but that’s wrong because it’s a type of stereotyping women. Another example of how catcalling is an abuse is when the author explains that “People tend to think of it as “it's not a big deal, just be nice’. They don’t realize that someone’s making you uncomfortable...” (Smith 3). This illustrates how some victims are too scared or don’t want to be “rude” so they don’t say anything. This is important because the perpetrator is abusing their power by taking advantage of the person. Many people, to be more specific women are abusing because of people that violated other people. In conclusion, catcalling is an abuse of power because it makes people feel unsafe, it can lead to sexual harassment, women feel threatened and it can lead to unwanted actions. If catealling continues to occur, then women would feel afraid to walk on the streets because they ‘would not know what would happen to them when they walk on the streets alone. Therefore, to combat this abuse of power, people should stick together and support each other so catcalling can be stopped. People can do this by walking in groups on the streets or when someone seesPoulias 4 catcalling going on they can stick up for the victim so the catcallers can get scared and stop doing it, When people start to take notice on catealling is when it'll stop everywhere,