"How are you doing today?"
"Smile!"
"I guess not good."
"Smile!"
"What's up, beautiful? Have a good day."
"Hey, what's up, girl?"
"How you doing?"
Actress Shoshana B. Roberts walked through New York City for 10 hours while a GoPro caught dozens of various catcalls from men. A couple times men even start following her when she doesn't return their advances.
The video was meant to show how prominent harassment of women is on New York City streets. However, it took a different turn in the comment section on YouTube. Within hours of its posting Tuesday, graphic threats against Roberts began, mainly criticizing her for not responding to the men who were hitting on her.
Hollaback!, the anti-harassment company behind the video, asked for the public's help in reporting the comments on Twitter.
And Hollaback! director Emily May told Newsday the latest online threats just vindicate their message. "The rape threats indicate that we are hitting a nerve."
But critics say street harassment happens in more than just New York City.
This video of a Minnesota woman confronting men who taunted her in the street went viral in July. "I don't get my self-worth from what strangers think of me."
And Kansas City is actually looking at making street harassment punishable within city limits with the penalty for violating the ordinance being a fine or up to a 180-day sentence.
Hollaback! is currently asking for donations to help end street harassment.
Though it's not entirely clear where the money would go and how it would be used to prevent the problem. The group says it wants to inspire legislation to punish offenders.
Which, as The Daily Beast's Lizzie Crocker notes, raises another set of issues, not the least of which might be First Amendment rights. Crocker writes, "While calling a passerby 'sexy' may be uncouth, it shouldn't be illegal."
You can catch the full Hollaback! video on YouTube.
This video includes an image from Hngrange / CC BY 3.0.
