Life

What If Catcalls Were Cheeseburgers?

by Emma Cueto

Despite the fact that women have been saying for years that catcalling is uncomfortable, bothersome, sometimes frightening, and virtually always unwanted, men persist in telling us that it's okay because they mean it as a compliment. But as the new video "What If Catcalls Were Cheeseburgers?" from Tess Paras (of "Typecast" fame) shows, how guys intend it is beside the point. Much like sexual interest, having a cheeseburger is great is some circumstances, but that doesn't mean you're happy when people hand them to you randomly on the street.

I've never really understood why guys as a whole seem to have such a problem understanding it when women as a whole tell them that catcalls are not welcome, but perhaps part of the problem is that guys don't have any sort of frame of reference for it. After all, even if women were shouting things at random men on the street, we don't live in a world where women have consistently visited epidemic levels of violence upon men for centuries and where attention from unknown women is legitimate cause for concern or even fear. And so men only see catcalls as compliments, because that's their frame of reference.

But what if you changed the script? What if instead of catcalls, we were talking about something more tangible, like, say, cheeseburgers? It might just be easier to understand. So men of the world, take note. Do you want someone to, for instance...

Hand You Cheeseburgers on the Street?

Throw A Cheeseburger At You From Their Car?

Claim You Wanted Cheeseburgers Thrown At You Because Of What You're Wearing?

Interrupted You To Convince You To Try a Cheeseburger?

...Or any of the other of the scenarios shown in the video? Yeah, you probably wouldn't be into it. So please remember: There is a time and a place to tell a woman you think she's attractive, just like there is a time and a place for giving someone a cheeseburger.

Images: TessTubeBaby/YouTube (4)