Woman takes selfie with catcallers to document, protest objectification

Has your peaceful walk ever been interrupted with a "Hi, ganda" followed by "Hatid kita sa pupuntahan mo" or perhaps something more lewd? Ignoring it invites the "sungit naman nito" and leaves you feeling irate and unsafe. 

Tired of feeling helpless, Noa Jansma from Netherlands decided to document her experience as a woman doing something that should be simple: walking on the street.

Jansma created the @dearcatcallers on Instagram and she posted selfies she took with men who shouted things like "Hmmmm you wanna kiss?" and "Sexy, wanna come in my car?"

The account, created late August, has over 310,000 followers as of writing. 

Jansma in her initial post explained that she started the project "to create awareness about the objectification of women in daily life."

"By making the selfie, both objectifier and the object are assembled in one composition. Myself, as the object, standing in front of the catcallers represents the reversed power ratio which is caused by this project," she wrote.

 

#dearcatcallers #catcalling #catcallers #feminism

A post shared by dearcatcallers (@dearcatcallers) on

Aug 29, 2017 at 6:29am PDT

In an interview published by The Independent, Jansma revealed that only one man asked her why she was taking a selfie. Most of them were "happy to oblige, seemingly not understanding the situation at all."

"They’re not at all suspicious because they find what they do completely normal," Jansma was quoted as saying.

GALLERY

On October 1st, Jansma announced the end of her project, but declared that the catcallers won't be forgotten.

Her next mission is to pass on the account to different women around the world.

"To show that it's a global phenomenon and that this art-project is not only about me, I'll pass on the account to different girls around the world. This will be a process that will take some time, so please stay tuned," she wrote.

Submissions to the Instagram account is possible through the #dearcatcallers hashtag.

In the Philippines, there are several laws that protect citizens from catcalling and other forms of sexual violence. 

In  April 2016, the local government of Quezon City passed an ordinance that penalizes catcalling and other forms of street-level sexual harassment against women. — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas / AT, GMA News