This made me think of my college study abroad in Santiago de Chile, when street harassment (called "piropos" in Chilean), along with other factors, drove me into a pretty serious depression. I actually put on a good 15 pounds in less than 4 months in a failed attempt to get males to stop noticing me. Notice that I say males, not just men. I once had an old man point me out as "potuta" (nice assed) to his 12 year old grandson. The kid then winked at me and yelled "chupamelo princesa" (suck me, princess). Abuelo beamed with pride.
That is no way to start a workday.
I eventually learned some profanities at my own - not that it changed anything, but it did make me feel better. What did not make me feel better was my host mom's indifference to my complaints - she told me that when I got to be her age (50) and lost my looks, I would wish that men still shouted piropos at me!
Has anyone had similar experiences? Do you think that public service ad campaigns like MTA's can help change the cat-call culture?
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