Kailey+S’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech


 * Title of Speech **

I Am Not a Cat


 * Text of Speech **

Let me start off by asking you a question: how many of you have ever been catcalled while doing something as simple as walking down the street?

And how many of you felt complimented or respected when this happened to you?

Though men may feel as though they are complimenting women by indicating that they like a woman’s body or they want to have sex with a woman, they need to step back and recognize the illogicality of this misconception. Women don’t strive to be recognized solely as an object for men to utilize sexually. By claiming that a verbalization of the desire to have sex with a woman is a compliment, you are degrading every other aspect of this woman. Complimenting her on her sexual potential denies the more highly valued aspects of a woman. It denies her intellect, humor, kindness, and other complex and valuable attributes. While a woman may appreciate a compliment on her body every once in a while, it should never be the only thing she is complimented on and it is outright unacceptable from a stranger. By catcalling a woman, you are essentially equating her worth to what she can offer you sexually, or her physical appearance. When constantly referred to as a sexual object, women are disempowered and degraded, not complimented. Women have reported that catcalling does not make them feel flattered. Antithetically, it makes them feel “annoyed, disgusted, nervous, and scared”. If your intention is to compliment a woman try saying “you have a great sense of humor,” not “nice ass”.

What is even more disgusting than men who think catcalling is complimentary, is men who tell women that if they don’t appreciate these “compliments”, that they should stand up to the man, voice their lack of appreciation or “do something about it.” The sad case is that many women want to express their feelings, but are forced to suppress the urge to voice their opinion, and strive to ignore these comments because fighting back simply isn’t a reality. It has proved time and time again to be life threatening for a woman to stand up to her catcaller.

In Queens, a woman’s throat was slashed by a man whose advances she rejected.

In Connecticut, a 16 year old high school junior was killed by her fellow student when she refused to attend prom with him.

In San Francisco a man standing up to his girlfriend’s catcaller was stabbed nine times.

A father from Chicago was killed for standing up for his 15 year old daughter.

In Detroit a mother of three was shot and killed, and five other who tried to defend her were shot and injured, all because she refused to give a man her telephone number.

A relative of this last woman relayed that she was afraid just to walk outside after the incident and claimed that she was scared to reject guys for fear that they, too, would shoot her.

It truly sickens and depresses me that this is where we live; in a society where women are afraid to participate in the world they live in and one in which women feel as if they are unable to demand and receive respect and common decency without putting their life at risk.

Men who feel complimentary when they catcall, who feel powerful or proud in front of their buddies, or who feel as though the targeted woman will be interested in his approach are wrong, they are simply humiliating themselves. Women feel, primarily, unsafe, and then disgusted by these offensive come ons. They do not feel flattered, and they are certainly not looking to marry the man who whistled at her out the car window as he sped by. As slam poet Andrea Gibson put it “every stone your entitlement has ever thrown at a woman is a gravestone with your dignity’s name on it.” Men, you are merely embarrassing yourselves, and frightening women, so please stop.

Another common argument by men, in addition to the fact that catcalling is a compliment, is that they were not being offensive or sexually explicit in their calls to women. These men claim that a “hey baby” or “can I get your number” is not sexually suggestive or derogatory. However, these men have it wrong, for, as Gibson puts it “even a ‘hey baby’ can spiral like a bullet if it’s aimed at someone who’s not in fact your baby.”

Beside the fact that this action in and of itself is repulsive, the mere definition of “catcalling” is offensive. When broken down, catcalling literally equates to calling a cat. This terminology portrays women as animalistic and subhuman, referring to them as if they are animals and implying that it is acceptable to slew sexual derogatives at them, because they are objects, not the complex human beings that they are. This ideology perpetuates the attitudes of male superiority and entitlement and female submissiveness that are still so prevalent and problematic in society. This is the ideology that facilitates other forms of sexual harassment such as domestic abuse and rape. And currently, there is no legislation or active effort to prevent such verbal harassment. In addition to the lack of legal prevention of these disturbances, is the failure of witnesses to stand up or help catcall victims, either because they themselves are afraid, embarrassed, or quite frankly--and this saddens me--don’t care. This is outrageous.

What is more outrageous is that some men have the audacity to blame women for the catcalling epidemic, claiming that it is the woman’s fault for wearing “provocative” or “revealing” clothing. I say that is bullshit. Primarily, even if a woman is wearing something that makes you see her as a sexual object, does not mean that she deserves to be harassed for it. That is a matter of your perceptions, not her intentions. Trust me, catcalling is not a compliment and nobody dresses in the morning with the motive of receiving such so called “compliments.” Secondly, in most cases, women are not dressed in a sexually indicative way, so men have no right to claim that it is a woman’s fault. In a study that went viral in late 2014, a woman walked the streets of Manhattan wearing a basic, unsexy, non-suggestive t-shirt and jeans. Over the course of 10 hours, this woman was verbally harassed over 100 times, these being only the cases of verbal derogatives. The woman was also the recipient of countless winks, whistles, honks, and even stalking, in the course of her daily routine. Just because a woman is in public does not mean that she is public property, and she should never be treated as though she is.

I want to grow old in an America where women believe that they deserve respect. I want to grow old in an America where I can walk down the street and not be sexually objectified and victimized. I want to grow old in an America where women aren’t conditioned to dress modestly, watch their drink like a hawk, or to feel afraid when alone in public. I want to grow old in an America where 800 women can be asked whether they’ve been catcalled and over 99% of them won’t respond “yes”. I want to grow old in an America where I do not have to change my clothing, behavior, route, or transportation methods to avoid catcalling. But most importantly, I want to grow old in an America where I can feel comfortable, respected, and safe, when I am interacting in the world I belong to.


 * Cite your sources **

[|__http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/reasons-a-catcall-is-not-a-compliment#.qlp36Qv3Y9__]

[|__http://nypost.com/2014/10/08/womans-throat-slashed-after-rejecting-mans-advances/__]

[|__http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/connecticut-girl-killed-jilted-refused-prom-article-1.1768718__]

[|__http://abc7news.com/news/sf-man-stabbed-9-times-after-defending-his-girlfriend-/404960/__]

[|__http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/26719319/mass-shooting-kills-mother-of-three-wounds-five-others__]

[|__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioZ_kvVq9Sk__]

[|__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XGPvbWn0A__]

[|__http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/sshstudies/__]