The Street Harassment Guestbook

The days of believing you are wrong, imagining something, crazy, or simply invalid for not wanting men to “compliment” you on the street are over. Unfortunately, I think one of the big problems is so many men still don’t get to see, read about, or even hear about the details of how sexual harassment from strangers operates. This page is dedicated to real experiences of women & femmes being harassed by men on the street, groped, stared at, followed, catcalled, etc. especially in a sexually objectifying and racially fetishizing nature.  I think two of the strongest tools we have in dismantling this norm and the prejudices behind them are 1) our individual stories as evidence of this problem and 2) the sheer volume of stories to be told. My goal with this page is to hopefully gather up enough stories that we begin to present them to people in different areas of life (street, construction, other work places, etc) and begin urging for the education of men in their fields on how to deal with public, like HR training, but less clinical and with more real understanding. I want to eliminate street harassment through means of education, not fear. During my time learning welding and carpentry between 2013-2017 I spoke with people connected to SKANSKA and TURNER construction in NYC and found some information, mainly that construction workers had little HR available and often have limited or no access to post-secondary education. Where HR trainings are available, they are often very robotic. Perhaps some more relatable education could be brought to these fields. Two things that are NOT my goal are: 1) I do not wish to single out or attack men of only working-class professions. I personally was born and raised below poverty line and am the first person in my family to finish high school, so this project will not be classist. 2) I do not wish to advocate for catcalling to be illegal, because that will immediately disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic men. As a woman who is mixed with Hispanic and Black heritages and more, I find it imperative this dismantling of one system not uphold the system of white supremacy. Most of these men have been lied to by the illusion of white supremacist male value systems toward women. We must push to educate all men on the more subtle forms of rape culture, because too many men will be punished and not really understand why. All I ask is we respect each other. Anyone who has been harassed by men, especially my ladies (cis, trans, etc) people of all LGBTQIA intersections, etc. This is your chance to vent.  Post or privately message: following this format: