00:00When I think of catcalling, let's really break this down, right?
00:03Okay, there's a cat, I want to call it over.
00:05Hey, come here.
00:10Like, why would you do that?
00:12Hey guys, my name is Sojourner, and today we're going to talk about catcalling.
00:16I have 100% been catcalled.
00:19I absolutely have never and will never catcall.
00:21I'm ashamed to admit that I have catcalled before.
00:24I think catcalling is trash.
00:25And to be perfectly honest, I don't always hate it.
00:28Sometimes I kind of like it.
00:29Hello, my name is David, and I'm guilty of once catcalling someone, but I was just drunk.
00:37Just really drunk.
00:38I apologize to whoever that was.
00:42At times, growing up in the areas in which I lived in, I would be walking down the street,
00:46minding my business, and sometimes you might get hit with a,
00:49hey, yo, ma, you look real good today.
00:51And like, honestly, I'd be like, oh, thank you.
00:54Like, sometimes it very much just is a compliment.
00:57It's an, I see you, you look good, and this is just me letting you know.
01:01Sometimes I feel genuine love with the stranger that's telling me I'm beautiful.
01:06I think catcalling sometimes comes from a form of endearment.
01:09People think, oh, I'm complimenting this person, I'm giving them some sort of, like, positive
01:14reinforcement, but then when it comes off as, like, harassment, that's obviously not a good
01:19way to go.
01:19What is a serious no-no is if someone objectifies my body, comes up to me and just says, damn,
01:26and I'm not even going to finish that sentence because I have heard some very, very disgusting
01:31things.
01:32It does make me feel inferior, and that is very diminishing.
01:39In those cases when I've been catcalled, it's always like, I have nowhere to run.
01:44I'm on the street.
01:45So that just makes you feel like you can't just be safe being yourself, walking down the
01:51street in your own, like, body.
01:54It's, it's infuriating to watch this because, like, I don't understand why somebody would
01:58think it's okay to do that.
02:00If not assault, it's pretty tantamount to it.
02:03Like, it's not that far off.
02:05Even with the best intentions, catcalling in our culture has the opportunity to turn
02:09dangerous for women, femme, and gender non-conforming people.
02:12It's objectifying and it's predatory.
02:14You're treating another human being, not as a person, but as, as an object.
02:21You know, you're, you're not approaching them on the, you're on your level, you know,
02:25as, as an equal, you're approaching them as someone to get or take something from.
02:31When women and femme grow up and sort of understand that the only way they are valued is when their
02:38bodies are appeasable or palatable to men and to people on the street, I think that is a
02:44huge concern.
02:45I'm totally against catcalling in the sense of invading a personal private space and engaging
02:51them in a manner that they don't want to be engaged in.
02:54However, light bulb moment, you can compliment women and make them smile or make their day
03:00without having to be disrespectful.
03:02I definitely think there is a respectful way to do it.
03:05First of all, my name is not Ayo Ma.
03:07So you can say, excuse me, young lady, you look very nice today.
03:10Boom!
03:11If you want to approach someone and grab their attention, and that's your intention is to
03:15grab their attention, do it in a way where you don't do that, where it's not condescending,
03:19where you're not putting them in a box.
03:21It makes me nervous that I do not have an answer for the reaction or response or non-response
03:28to catcalling.
03:29But I do think that having these conversations is a great start for how we get there and how
03:35we continue having this community around this.
03:39I don't think we should be complicit.
03:41I don't think we should let it happen and just let it roll off our backs.
03:44I think it should be addressed.
03:46Maybe if they understood better, they wouldn't do it.
03:48And for everyone out there, just know that your value isn't based on whether or not people
03:52catcall you.
03:53Talk to that other person the way you would want your mother, your sister, your aunt, your
03:56friend to be spoken to.
03:58Approach people not as objects, but as human beings that you want to get to know.
04:02So I don't think it's horrible for you to approach a stranger necessarily, but I think
04:06it's not good if you're going to just completely objectify them.
04:10If we really want to tally up the successful attempts of catcalling, it's a very slim percentage
04:15of people that have been successful.
04:16Thank you so much for watching and remember, keep those AyoMahs in check.
04:20Be nice out here in these streets.
