Women Share Photos Of What They Were Wearing When They Were Catcalled

1/18 "A man asked me 'how much I cost' while I was alone on a street corner in downtown Des Moines on a Sunday morning waiting for some friends to pick me up. I was wearing jeans and my boyfriend’s frumpy sweater." Submission from Lyric Morris

2/18 "This is what I was wearing when I was walking my dog two blocks from my house in my quiet, tiny town. It was 8 pm on a Monday. A group of men came out of a house and started yelling and whistling at me. The most noticeable remark was, 'damn girl, why you wearing a sweater that covers dat ass?' "And they tell me street harassment only happens in big cities." Submission from Abbie Amiotte

3/18 "I spent a week in New York City over the summer. I decided to take a walk on my own one day, wearing my favorite dress (pictured), and I ended up going down a street where I was trapped on the sidewalk between the buildings and a parked bus. "A tall burly man shouted at me first, starring me up and down and said 'Damn girl! You’re gorgeous! Stop walking, I want your number!' I picked up my pace, but then I realized there was a large group of greasy, sweaty, old mechanics two steps away ready to cause trouble. They whistled at me and called me all sorts of unwanted names, some even stepped closer. "This experience really freaked me out and I was left shaking afterwards. I was alone and entirely defenseless, I didn’t go out on my own after that, and every man was suspicious. "I shouldn’t have to fear walking alone. Things like this need to stop." Submission from Gabrielle

4/18 "I was walking to the bus stop after work (wearing this) when this kid who couldn’t have been more than 16 started walking with me. At first he just used a cheesy pickup line, but when I shot him down, he got insistent. "The age difference clearly didn’t faze him, nor did the fact that I was engaged. While I was walking away from him fuming, he was yelling after me that he would give me better sex than my fiancé because he had an 18 inch dick. "I don’t know what irritated me more: the fact that he refused to take no for an answer, or the fact that he assumed the only thing I would care about is size. This isn’t the only time I’ve been hit on uninvited in an outfit like this, but it definitely wins the prize for most obnoxious thing shouted at me by a male ever." Anonymous submission

5/18 "Yesterday, a man I didn’t know called me the 'c' word inside the grocery store. Why? Because I didn’t acknowledge him in the parking lot going into the store when he yelled 'Hey honey, nice ass!' To have been singled out and followed into the store like that made me feel afraid to return to my car or drive straight home. It ruined my whole evening, when all I wanted was to get groceries for the week. This is what I was wearing." Submission from Amanda Bush

6/18 "1 man screamed at me 'Come here girl' 'Smile girl' 'Hey, I’m talking to you. don’t ignore me' 'Stupid bitch'" Submission from lizzyisinlove

7/18 "I work in a lab and this is my lab coat that goes down past my knees. I wear it over loose scrubs. I was doing a drug screen on a very large male behind a closed door. He asked me 'has anyone told you how beautiful you are?' I was glad I was finished so I just said 'ok we’re all done here.' Then he said he’d 'be thinking of me' on his next truck route. "I was literally wearing the most unflattering thing I could imagine." Submission from Emily Hoppe

8/18 "I got cat called on the coldest day of the year, when nothing but my eyes and eyebrows were exposed. I took this photo right after it happened because it just seemed so absurd. Recently I was cat called by a small boy, who quickly apologized TO MY (masculine of center) PARTNER once he noticed her walking near me. No apology for me though." Submission from Colleen McCormack-Maitland

9/18 "I was dressed up for my 20th birthday and meeting my parents for dinner at a fairly nice restaurant. As I was leaving my college campus standing at the bus stop, I was approached by a man at least 50 years old. He stood by me for several minutes saying things like 'Hello, beautiful, where you headed? You could just come with me instead. I like your dress.' I didn’t say anything back or even look at him, but I had to stand there waiting for the bus as he made his comments." Submission from Emily

10/18 "Biking through my Chicago neighborhood I heard a whistle. So of course I look up to see a man old enough to be my father lick his lips and blow a kiss at me. I was sweaty, hair unwashed, and probably smelled like death. This happens every single time I go for a ride. -.-" Submission from misssarahfrances

11/18 This morning I stopped to fill up my car with gas. There was a construction truck parked beside me and one from the same company parked behind me. As I walked inside to pay, one man whistled and said 'damn right.' I’d hoped he was not referring to me and was taking about something else entirely. As I exited the store, one man from the truck walked past me and whistled and said 'nice.' "While pumping my gas and avoiding eye contact at all costs because they made it VERY apparent they were sitting in their truck staring at me while waiting for their coworker to return, I was subjected to more whistles and a few muttered comments that I couldn’t make out. This. really. at 7 am." Submission from leahenderson

12/18 "In my religion, we are taught to dress modestly to protect ourselves from men. We are taught that the things we value are the exact things we should keep safe. Which is why a lot of women choose to wear the hijab. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. I was driving home from work one day and pulled up to a stop light. While jamming out to Taylor Swift, I heard the guy next to me trying to get my attention. 'Miss? Miss?!' "I assumed he was trying to tell me my brake light was out, as that happens often, so I rolled my window down and politely replied 'Yes?' He proceeded to tell me how 'fiiiiine' I was and wanted to 'see what was under that thing' referring to my hijab. "I immediately rolled my window down and burst into tears. My cheeks burned red with anger as I continued to hear him say things like 'awww don’t cry mami! I’ll make you feel better!' As soon as the light turned green, I sped off." "So you see, No matter what you wear or how you look, some men only see a woman as a piece of meat to be ogled and played with. And I live in America. In Texas, to be exact. Probably the most conservative state in the country and I’ve had to deal with this crap. I know I’m not the only hijabi out there with a story like this which makes me sad. It’s put in place to protect, but leave it to men to take care of perverting it."

13/18 "I go to a girls school. I was coming home alone one day and there was a gang of boys of about 15 (I’m 12), at the bus stop across the road. One of them called out: 'I want your number!' I kept on walking, but they didn’t go away. Two of them crossed the road and started following me, yelling things like: 'I like your ass' and 'pull the skirt up a bit higher so we can see!' "When I didn’t do anything, they called me a bitch and kept on following me. A year 11 girl who was across the street crossed the road and pretended to be my sister. She threatened to call the police, so they left, but she walked home with me anyway." Submission from Mog

14/18 "I work at a theme park. These are my uniforms.Weekly, men of all ages walking by will call, 'Hey girl, how you doin’? I like your dress' and other things along those lines. "The worst time was when a forty-something man introduced himself, and shook my hand. Fine, be polite. But he wouldn’t let go, he rubbed it and said, 'What’s your name, baby? You’re the prettiest girl here. I can’t have a bad day if I get to see you. Can I have your number?' I couldn’t walk away because he trapped me at my desk, so after saying no several times, I just started ignoring him. He finally walked away, but not before saying 'I’ll see you tomorrow.'" Submission from Eryn Schlote

15/18 "I was walking in downtown Charlotte, NC, with my mother on a cold day, and was wearing this full sized trench coat; in other words, no curves were noticeable. My mom and I were crossing over the entrance to a parking lot, and a car was going to pull in, but the two guys in it stopped and gestured to let us walk on by, but then, they honked the horn right as we walked in front of the car and whistled, one calling, 'Sup guuurl?' "On the same day, walking down the sidewalk, a passenger in a truck stuck his head out the window and hollered, waving wildly at me. "While I wasn’t insulted, it was awkward and baffled me, because I *wasn’t* wearing anything to 'provoke' men, as I’d often been told that was the reason women got called at. "Just another instance to prove this point." Submission from dreamsandglass

16/18 "So this is what I was wearing when I got cat called maybe fifteen minutes ago with a suggestive, almost cartoon-esque, low whistle. Do I look like I’m inviting that kind of attention? I’m working a twelve hour day in cold college athletics so I can’t imagine my shapeless tshirt over several thermals and under armor leggings (2 pairs, that’s right— I’m cold) were begging for anyone’s attention or approval." Submission from Anna Alvarado

17/18 "This is what I was wearing running when i was catcalled not once but twice during my two mile run. The first I barely caught because I was wearing headphones with the music pretty loud. But I caught the end, where he yelled out the window of his car at me, “Hey baby, I’d go running with you.” The second guy didn’t even think I was worth words. As I was trying to cross the street in front of his car, he just waved his hand at me, inviting me to get into his car. Should I have covered up more skin? It’s bad enough that I have to go running in leggings; they’re really hot." Submission from loathsomecouple

18/18 "Saturday night, 2am, outside of a takeout restaurant. "I was waiting for my takeout when two guys stopped to talk to me. They were clearly drunk, but not aggressive or inappropriate, so I was willing to humour them for 5min. They eventually asked me to go home with them which I firmly declined and decided it was time to leave. At that point the one guy opened up my coat and scarf to look me up and down. I asked what the hell he was doing and he told me that girls with big boobs often look fatter than they are so he had to ‘check’, but I was ‘fine’. "Thanks asshole." Submission from withcabbagesandkings