What, can't you take a Compliment? : A Qualitative Study of Catcalling

Empirically drawing on interviews with women, the aim of this study is to understand what catcalls are; who is or is not catcalled; what consequences could grow out of this practice?Past studies have been done on Sexual- and Stranger Harassment. Sexual Harassment is performed by an acquaintance and explored in work and school environments. Stranger Harassment is executed by strangers in public places. Catcalls are a type of Stranger Harassment. The potential consequences of behaviours are: Sexual objectification; body-shaming; fear of rape; self-blaming; and public safety. Analysing this study, catcalls are discussed in relation to feminist theories contrasting the Romanticized Traditionalist position and Politicized Feminist position; and in relation to five master suppression techniques. The collection of data was done using Grounded Theory and qualitative interviews with five Swedish young women. The interviewed persons explained their perception of catcalling and what potential consequences could come from catcalls and Stranger Harassment. The interviews are presented in the results and discussed from feminist theories presented above. Each key question from the purpose if this thesis is answered in a concluding discussions.The women understood catcalls as a dichotomy between an innocent flirtatious act and a harassment that could escalate violence. They all spoke from both feminist and traditional positions, floating between them. The interviewed women assumed that if the perpetrator feels safe enough to catcall and the woman is available, he will pursue his act. Catcalls could be used as a way to suppress women but as long as catcalls could be perceived as flirtatious, society will always be patriarchy. Further studies could be done from men’s perspective and whether women are willing to sacrifice the fun to eliminate catcalls.Validerat; 20150625 (global_studentproject_submitter