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Confronting Street Harassment

    In this week's reading, one thing that stood out to me was how Las Hijas de Violencia are confronting and challenging street harassment. I think in my mind confrontation has always looked like going up to someone and being direct. The idea of confronting the person who has just catcalled me does not seem enjoyable. I find the twist Las Hijas de Violencia add really intriguing. By confronting these men with a confetti gun and a punk song, they are the ones made uncomfortable. It gives the ones being harassed agency over the situation. One of the women stated in the video embedded in the article how you should have " fun with it so that you're not left feeling violated from what happened, and you're able to move on and still have a great day." They highlight how since starting to do this, they feel more at peace walking down the street. As Karen shares, "now we know that when we're walking and someone harasses us, it's not our fault and it's not our responsibility."In the video you see the women, Ana Karen and Ana Beatriz, in action. Even if the men catcalling them are in vehicles, they still go after them. They seem powerful and unstoppable. In the interview, they share how it is funny to see the men get scarred over the confetti guns, as Beatriz explains, "They get spooked and then they get embarrassed about it, like they'e forsaken their masculinity." This piece stood out to me and when searching for other example of confronting street harassment, I came across Chalk Back. Chalk Back is described as an international youth-led movement. They use chalk art in order to meet their goal in ending gender-based street harassment. Stories of harassment gets written out where they occurred and get shared on instagram using the hashtag #stopstreetharassment. There are a bunch of instagram accounts titled @catcallsof*insert location*. These locations include both cities inside and outside the US. I think by using chalk and writing down the real harassment stores experienced by real individuals, it similarly gives these individual back their agency. Though, this is more of a way to possibly help process or be an outlet for what they have experienced. 

Here are the links to the Chalk Back website, the Chalk Back main instagram account, and catcallsofnyc account. 

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