Catcalling: unfortunately, we've all experienced it at one point or another. Whether it's at the hands of classmates, coworkers, or old men on the street, getting catcalled is an uncomfortable and sometimes scary experience.
I've had enough. And it's nice to know I'm not alone. After being harassed and filmed on the train by two men, 22-year-old Noa Jansma created @dearcatcallers, an Instagram-based photo project in which she chronicled every catcall she endured during the month of September.
After each catcall, Jansma boldly took a selfie with the perpetrator. They obliged, unaware of the true reason they were being asked. The project culminated in a grand total of 22 catcalling pics, which feels like a lot for a one woman to handle in only a month.
Since then, @dearcatcallers has gone viral, garnering over 300,000 followers. Each photo boasts hundreds of comments in which Instagrammers share their own catcalling stories and offer support to Jansma and fellow users. A few people have even replicated the project by posting selfies with their own catcallers and tagging them with #dearcatcallers.
@dearcatcallers is defunct now, but Jansma plans to keep the account up and pass it on to other women in the same situation as her. It’s important to continue the conversation, but for now, we’re proud that @dearcatcallers has acted as a support system for all victims of catcalling and served as an example of how wrong it is. Catcalling is harassment, and those who do it deserve to be outed.
Patrick Thompson
Julianna Chen
Kathryn Zix
Sarah Kearns