Why do so many men think that catcalling works?

The term ‘catcalling’ refers to one person making unsolicited comments about another person’s appearance. Whilst these comments are usually positive (as opposed to insults, criticism or the like), they often have a sexual element. The most common form involves men commenting on women. This takes the form not only of verbal comments, but also of para- or non-verbal behaviour such as whistling, staring, gestures, etc. (see the results of an online survey [1] for further details). The consequences for the person being judged can be very negative and are invariably perceived as at least unpleasant and inappropriate.

Why is catcalling so widespread, and why do many men believe it works?

• Our behaviour in society is strongly shaped by linguistic routines: greetings, making contact, sharing experiences with one another, and also evaluating people and situations. To do this, we use set phrases (“Hi, how’s it going!”, “Everything OK with you?”, “Have you heard that…?” etc.). This is neither good nor bad in itself, but rather an important feature of language.
• However, language and these linguistic routines are also always a reflection of society: of power relations, gender stereotypes, opinions and trends.

As far as catcalling is concerned, this means that it is also a linguistic routine which simultaneously reflects a patriarchal society in which women are often portrayed as objects to be constantly judged. This means:

• Men who engage in catcalling apparently feel that it is simply something one can do, that it is normal behaviour.
• For them, ‘working’ probably means more that they see other men doing it too. And less that there is a positive effect to making contact.
• Fortunately, however, this routine of catcalling does not go unchallenged: the phenomenon is identified by labelling these forms of behaviour, which are unpleasant, as "catcalling". And the behaviour is criticised. These are important steps towards ensuring that catcalling is no longer perceived as a “normal routine” that is “okay”.

More generally, there is now a greater understanding that the meaning of linguistic routines, speech acts, statements, etc., cannot be determined solely by the person uttering them, but that meaning is negotiated collectively. So when someone says, “But I only meant it in a positive way!”, one must also ask: ‘Yes, but did the person addressed also perceive it as positive?’

[1] Laura-Romina Goede / Nora Labarta Greven / Tillmann Bartsch (2024): Is catcalling a matter for criminal law? Results of a quantitative survey. In: Burghardt, Boris, Leonie Steinl, and Anja Schmidt, eds. Sexual Self-Determination Beyond the Physical. 1st edition. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 113–127. link