A few days ago, social media went crazy when a female journalist from a big TV network was wolf-whistled at a press conference by none other than the president-elect. Two years before this incident, an experiment video showing women getting catcalled while walking down the streets of Manhattan went viral. A couple of years before, while walking home after school, I got my first catcall. I was 14.

"It's just a form of compliment, 

you should be grateful"

I don't know about you but getting catcalled bothers me - a lot. Though truthfully, I've gotten so immune to this after countless incidents, it still doesn't change the fact that it makes me uncomfortable. Despite men's claims that it's just a form of appreciation, harmless in nature and that women should "learn to take it as a compliment" it doesn't make me less mad about it.

"Catcall is  not a form of flattery  

and is 

definitely not harmless"

Do you know what goes on our mind every time we got catcalled? Do you know the internal conversations we do with ourselves when you do that? Do you know how we consciously checked our surroundings and what we're wearing for that matter?

Catcalling vs Complimenting. 

Personally, genuine compliments from strangers on let's say - a bag or shirt I'm wearing, doesn't bother me and I always smile at them as an act of gratitude but there's just something about strangers complimenting your look while grinning creepily and looking you up and down that is downright rude. This is not a compliment. It is street harassment and sad to say, happens to almost everybody even while you're doing the most mundane things.

I could list down quite a number of arguments on how catcalling is so wrong on all levels but then again it wouldn't make any difference. Why I even need to explain this is so beyond me. But one thing's for sure, it isn't and will never be a sense of validation nor another method of flattery. I'm a woman and I want to be respected not objectified.

How about you? What's your stand on catcalling?