As a big burly (but cis) bloke who would be described as a “bear” in some circles, there’s nothing more fun than supporting my female friends then returning the “compliment” back to these men. It’s funny how quickly they find it repulsive and it can be quickly turned into a learning experience for them.
I don’t think you realize they don’t care and don’t have that social respect normal people have.
Second option all the way. If they thought cat-calling could earn them a date they’d have realised empirically that it doesn’t
Women are simply objects in those situations. Something to be ogled at as they walk by. Men don’t care what those women think of them, they’re signaling to each other that they find that woman attractive.
The guy might have an internal monologue like “man, she’s hot!” and it escapes into the air as a way to feel like he’s making progress towards getting to sleep with her. I doubt the guys expect it to actually be effective.
I dunno. I’ve never done it and I’ve very rarely seen it in the wild.
The devil doesn’t need more advocates.
I’m not advocating for the man in my hypothetical, just suggesting what he might be thinking. Sort of the main conversation in the comments, isn’t it?
And I’m allowed my opinion that no matter the intent, catcalling is harassment.
It doesn’t MATTER if the guy thinks the woman is hot. He put his own wants ahead of her comfort and safety.
I also think it’s infantile behaviour, crowd/group mind psychology where they collectively act worse than the individual; IMHO the bully/cat caller gets pleasure in reaffirming their role within the group and will continue to do so unless somebody from the group itself strongly challenges them (complains, warns them, etc) or something else goes badly for them from bystanders intervening.
They pretty much don’t care about the response from the victim unless it’s “entertaining” and reenforces their clown act
Not a psych worker, just my 2c
BTW it reminds me of the phenomenon where a crowd freezes instead of helping an injured person, since there’s too many people and little “per capita” pressure to help a stranger in need
I agree.
Wheeeeet-woooo, to you sir or madam, you little devil you.
It’s just fun for them. There is no thinking involved, so your question is meaningless.
This is the correct answer. At most they do think you like it. “Its just a compliment” etc.
I’d wager a lot of them just don’t know any better. They don’t get to hang around people who treat women with respect, so all they see are the boisterous blowhards and assume “that’s how it must be done.”
It’s always seemed like negative attention seeking to me. Pretty much bullying with the facade of “compliments”
The shotgun approach. do it often enough, and you’ll fine someone who’ll like it for some reason
A friend who gets catcalled often thinks it’s mostly men posturing for other men; they don’t usually do it when they’re alone.
As a man, that’s been my experience.
As a woman, my experience says this is largely dependent on the culture. Go to Latin America and men cat call women even when they’re alone. Day, night, at work- doesn’t matter. If anything, I’ve never been catcalled in enclosed spaces such as public transport or elevators, but I’ve occasionally had a hand on my ass if it’s super crowded. If you ask me this totally puts them in the bully category, and bullies can also work in groups.
In Australia I’ve only seen men catcalling women while they are drinking, and yeah they were also not drinking alone. The catcalling also feels sillier or less serious somehow, perhaps because it’s obvious they’re being drunk and stupid.
YMMV.
Edit: also let me add, in the first example men catcall any woman. I think any woman between the ages of 12 and 60 is a good target for catcalling, as long as they’re not morbidly obese.
In the second example, only conventionally attractive women, often dressed somewhat suggestively, get catcalled.
That’s why I stay fat lol
I wasn’t really thinking about cultural differences in my comment. The friend in question is a conventionally attractive woman who lives in the USA.
Do people still do that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it IRL, but then again I don’t live somewhere that’s known for it.
Men absolutely still cat call.
It’s basically bullying like you say. They enjoy the power they hold over a woman to be able to say degrading things about her without consequence.
A combination of the power of making them uncomfortable and a lack of empathy and viewing women as objects to be admired and not full people.
I have yet to read any of the other comments, so this is right off the dome, but I imagine that most of them think that they are just sending a compliment and brightening someone’s day.
I doubt they imagine that the girl is gonna sprint across the highway at 75 miles an hour, rip the door of their car, shred their blue jeans like a wildcat and start fucking them like an insane, rabid mongoose.
Maybe they should. Maybe that would inspire the fear needed to stop catcalling?
