By now many people have seen the controversial “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman” video. For those who haven’t seen it the concept is simple, a young woman walks the streets of Manhattan for 10 hours to see how often she is catcalled by strangers. Over the course of ten hours she was hollered at over 100 times, even followed by a man for several minutes. This is disgusting.

To all the boys reading this I just want to let you know that women do not find catcalling flattering. We don’t like it; it makes us feel uncomfortable, not attractive. There’s nothing scarier than to be walking alone and having a stranger shout and taunt at you. We question our safety before we consider what we are hearing as a compliment. I couldn’t even walk my dog along Algonkian Parkway on a Sunday morning without some guy shouting at me from his car.

What gives men the right to harass women on the street? You don’t see women walking around shouting obscenities and come-ons to men. I don’t know what men think is going to happen when they catcall someone. No one has ever been like, “How did you meet your boyfriend?” “Oh he yelled that I had a nice ass from across the street and we’ve been together ever since!” That’s not how the world works. There’s a difference between giving someone genuine compliment and being a creep. Men have to realize that catcalling is disrespectful and can be considered sexual harassment. I shouldn’t have to carry a gun or cover myself up  just to feel safe.

This all really comes down to respect and what men think they deserve from women. Women don’t have to smile and be polite just because men think they are being “nice”. We don’t owe you anything. Catcalling is simply disrespectful. When a man catcalls a woman he is reducing her from a human being into a sexual object, only there to look good and to please him.

Before everyone starts going “not all men” on me, women acknowledge that not every single man catcalls. We’ve never denied it. However, all men don’t have to live with constant paranoia and fear of being objectified in the way that women are. And all men benefit from the institution of sexism that is ingrained in our society. All we are asking is to be treated fairly and respectfully in all facets of life.

Here is the “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman” video

Here is a discussion about catcalling on CNN between comedienne Amanda Seales and misogynist Steve Santagati