If you're a woman, this video is not going to be that enlightening.
It documents some of the creepier instances of verbal harassment—from more than 100 total—that a woman received during 10 hours of silent walking around New York City. You know, the typical stuff that happens to you as a women when you decide to go anywhere alone. It even captures one super-creepy dude who walks alongside her in silence for long enough that we start to worry about her safety.
Oh, I could tell you stories. Every woman I know could tell you stories. We could tell you that it doesn't matter what you wear. In this video, Shoshana Roberts is wearing jeans and a T-shirt. It doesn't matter if you try not to look at anybody or get your best bitch face on. As you can see, Roberts doesn't attempt to draw attention in any way. And it doesn't make you feel complimented. It makes you wonder if they're going to take it any further—a little butt pat, a gentle grab, all-out sexual assault?
By the end, Roberts looks exhausted, anxious and fed up. But of course, she'll get to go through it all again the next time she walks out the door.
Rob Bliss Creative made the video for Hollaback!, an organization committed to ending street harassment by documenting and exposing the harassers. And boy, is there a lot to document. And it turns out Roberts has since been hit with a slew of online rape threats, and Hollaback! is filling police reports on her behalf.
That's not too surprising, because harassment doesn't stop in the street. From doxxing or swatting women to sending unsolicited dick pics to your Tinder matches, the Internet has given users more ways to threaten, harass and otherwise scare the pants off people for their own personal satisfaction.
If you want to help, you can document your own experiences with Hollaback! Or let people you know who promote street harassment know that it's not OK. Seriously, it's not OK.
