As a result of all the awareness (as well as criticism and conflict) that came about as a result of the Hollaback! catcalling video (you know the one, the woman walked through NYC streets and was harassed an average of 10 times an hour), interesting conversations are popping up all over the Internet.
Some criticism of the video include the fact that the editing of the video was weighted to put emphasis on the catcalls made by men of color, particularly Black men, particularly in one neighborhood in Harlem.
Other critiques are that the story focused upon what seems to be a white woman’s experience in neighborhoods that are presumably not hers, and that instead the video should have focused on a diverse set of women’s experiences in their own communities.
Valid criticisms aside, the conversation as been started, and one awesome guy, Elon James White (who has one of the funniest, most thoughtful Twitter feeds you’ll find), wants us to think about what would happen if straight dudes said to one another the stuff dudes say to women.
If it’s true that dudes aren’t really harassing women for sexual reasons, then they should be comfortable saying that stuff to guys, right? Thus #DudesGreetingDudes was born. And it fits right into my framework for when greetings with strangers would be okay:
If you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it to another guy, or to your granny, don’t say it to me.
BuzzFeed, of course, jumped in and made a funny video based upon Elon James White’s hashtag.
So, what do you think? Is #DudesGreetingDudes tapping into homophobia? Elon James White has definitely been addressing and giving respect to those who make this claim. Do you think he misses the point?
Is it awkward to see guys saying this sort of stuff to one another?
