“There is nothing more than a woman loves to hear than how pretty she is.” This was said by a man on television in 2014. I kid you not.
Earlier this week a video of a woman (http://nypost.com/2014/10/31/a-catcall-crisis-thats-a-hoot/) in New York City enduring hours of catcalling went viral. The video, organized by anti- street harassment organization Hollaback (http://www.ihollaback.org/share/), received tons of congratulatory praise, but it also left a few others feeling a little bothered. One bothered individual being Steve Santagati, an author and self- proclaimed dating expert, who appeared on CNNs segment http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/02/cnn-catcalling-video-steve-santagati_n_6090534.html) hosted by Fredericka Whitfield discussing the viral video. If this blatant misogynistic rant is even a little glimpse of what his writing and dating expertise is like then he may need to find a new career after this.
“It’s just another example of a lot of feminists that have an a la carte attitude towards it, meaning you can do this, I want this sort of thing, but they take it too far,” he said. “It’s kind of like, this thing bordered on ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf,’ like where’s it going to go next?”
He then went on to say that if women were really fed up with men and their cat calling they should, “act like a strong woman,” and tell them to beat it.
Amanda Seales, a New York based comedian, was also on the CNN segment and was just ask shocked by Santagati’s comments as I was. She had a few things to say in response to Santagati’s rant. I am pleased to say that her responses to his comments were very intellectual and what a lot of men who think like Santagati need to hear. Seales brought up the murder of Mary Spears, (http://www.iowacasa.org/#!When-Women-Refuse/c34d/D47C75DA-D27D-4697-8673-AC1CFBDA8236) a victim of cat calling, to prove to Santagati that telling men to back off is easier said than done. She then made it her business to let him know that he, in fact, did not know what he was talking about.
What bothered me the most from watching this video is Santagati. It seemed like every time he opened his mouth he just made his credibility worse. I wonder how many men out there actually think the way this guy does, I’m sure there are tons. Santagati is the perfect example of how male dominance muffles the shouts of women’s equalities demands for men and women. Who is he to say that all women want are compliments from men? I’m not sure about you but when I’m walking down the street I’m more focused on not tripping and falling on my face than how many guys I can get to shout sexist remarks my way. It’s good to see Hollaback has shed some light on the problems of catcalling, and now with Santagati proving our point hopefully this movement will grow and become stronger than ever before. #leavecatcallingtothecats
AyanaJessica 