1. Are you a bunch of crazy radical feminists who hate men?
2. What exactly is street harassment?
3. What do you mean when you say “holla back”?
4. How are you affiliated with other Holla Back websites?
5. Why do you have statements about race and class on your site, and what do those things have to do with street harassment?
6. Are you going to edit my submission? What's that about?
7. But isn’t your definition of “street harassment” just ridiculing another person’s culture?
8. Confronting street harassers could be dangerous. What about safety?
9. What’s HollaBackBoston’s position on women who harass men?
10. Your slogan is “So you can be Hot and Safe.” Does that mean you think women can do whatever they want in public without responsibility for their actions?
11. Isn’t street harassment the price you pay for living in a city?
12. So let’s say a man sees a woman he thinks is attractive and tells her so. Are you saying that makes him a harasser?
13. But if you wear a miniskirt or tight pants; shouldn’t you expect some compliments?
14. If "the harasser" were hot, wouldn’t you like it?
15. Street harassment sucks, but it’s only a small part of the still patriarchal world in which we live. Doesn’t focusing on this specific issue detract from everything else we're up against?
1. Are you a bunch of crazy radical feminists who hate men?
Answer: No. HollaBackBoston is run by women and works to assemble a diverse membership across lines of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, ability and experience of those who believe in building communities where everyone feels safe and respected. Many people, particularly men, are unaware of the frequency and severity of disrespect and intimidation that numerous marginalized folks experience in public spaces on a daily basis. HollaBackBoston aims to combat street harassment through education and exposure while providing an empowering forum for this process.
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2. What exactly is street harassment?
Answer: Street harassment is a form of sexual harassment that takes place in public spaces. At its core, harassment is a power dynamic that constantly reminds historically marginalized groups of their vulnerability to assault in public spaces. It can lead and contribute to violent altercations, other forms of sexual violence, and hate crimes. It reinforces the sexual objectification of already subordinated groups in everyday life.
Along with other forms of sexual assault, what “counts” as street harassment is never a simple or single answer. It is the position of HollaBackBoston that specific and diverse definitions of street harassment are determined by those who experience it. If you feel that you have been harassed, HOLLA BACK!
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3. What do you mean when you say “hollaback”?
Answer: We like using “hollaback” because it is a slippery term with many meanings and possibilities. It is most popularly coined in the Gwen Stefani song “Holla Back Girl,” in which she says she “ain’t no holla back girl,” making a cheerleading reference to paying lip service to someone or allowing someone to walk all over you. (see Urban Dictionary’s definitions here) We’ve reclaimed “hollaback” for the purpose of fighting street harassment, much the way other misappropriated terms (like “queer,” for example) have been reclaimed by marginalized groups to take back and redefine the power dynamic implicit in language.
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4. How are you affiliated with other Holla Back websites?
Answer: HollaBackBoston is a separate entity that originated from the same concept as "HollabackNYC". All HollaBack blogs and websites are unaffiliated unless otherwise noted. HollaBackBoston does retain an affiliated project for critical analysis, HollaBackTALK, and all content on both sites is solely that of HollaBackBoston. As the Boston chapter of this international social movement, we retain a strong commitment to our local representation and cannot be responsible for any other HollaBack website's content.
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5. Why do you have statements about race and class on your site, and what do those things have to do with street harassment?
Answer: Replacing sexism with racism or classism is not a proper way to holla back. Due in part to prevalent stereotypes of low income men and/or men of color as predisposed to violence, HollaBackBoston asks that contributors do not discuss the race or socio-economic status of harassers. If you feel that race or class is important to your story, please make sure the relevance is explained clearly and constructively in your post. (See our statements about race and class)
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6. Are you going to edit my submission? What's that about?
Answer: HollaBackBoston publishes every post we receive. We reserve the right to edit your submission for clarity. HollaBackBoston, in accordance with our Race and Class Statements, also reserves the right to remove potentially offensive language that addresses race, class, or other defining characteristics that perpetuate stereotypes about street harassment and marginalized people.
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7. But isn’t your definition of “street harassment” just ridiculing another person’s culture?
Answer: Street harassers occupy the full spectrum of class, race, and ethnicity. Sexual harassment, and street harassment specifically, is resisted around the world. To condense another’s culture into vague assumptions about who and what they are is to generalize dangerously about a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and identities.
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8. Confronting street harassers could be dangerous. What about safety?
Answer: Studies have indicated that people who are aware of their surroundings, walk confidently and, if harassed, respond assertively, play an important role in combating street harassment. Direct confrontation with street harassers may be extremely dangerous, particularly when alone or in unoccupied spaces. While it is each individual’s right to decide when, how and if to holla back, HollaBackBoston believes you should prioritize safety. Upon deciding to photograph or videotape a harasser, you may consider doing so from a safe distance, ensuring the harasser is unaware of your actions.
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9. What’s HollaBackBoston’s position on women who harass men?
Answer: These situations are certainly conceivable. Yet, the power dynamics of such an encounter are very different in a society where women comprise a historically subordinated group. On the other hand, there are men who also belong to historically subordinated groups (transgender men, for example) that experience street harassment. HollaBackBoston is a project dedicated to combating a particular form of violence that designates all subordinated groups as targets in public spaces or as otherwise vulnerable to unsolicited, nonconsensual encounters with strangers. Our mission is specific, and we are not a forum for reporting other unpleasantries.
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10. Your slogan is “So you can be Hot and Safe.” Does that mean you think women can do and wear whatever they want in public without responsibility for their actions?
Answer: HollaBackBoston believes that women should have the right to feel safe in public spaces, regardless of what they wear or how they look. Our goal is to provide a way for women to feel more empowered while still acting in safe ways in public. Unfortunately, many times the blame is put on women ("She shouldn't wear that", etc) when in reality, the problem is often more related to the men in our culture who have learned or believe that yelling at, touching, following, and assaulting women is acceptable behavior.
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11. Isn’t street harassment the price you pay for living in a city?
Answer: We have enough bills to pay. Furthermore, street harassment is not confined to urban areas. It occurs in residential neighborhoods, shopping malls, stalled traffic, grocery stores, public parks, churches, airplanes, on the internet, in restaurants, gas stations, on public transportation, and in numerous other public spaces.
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12. So let’s say a man sees a woman he thinks is attractive and tells her so. Are you saying that makes him a harasser?
Answer: HollaBackBoston does not define for others what constitutes harassment. Some find unsolicited comments like, “Hey sweetheart,” made in public to be downright annoying, intimidating, or intrusive. Some do not. Keep in mind that women experience unsolicited comments, as well as violent verbal assault, from men in public spaces on a regular basis. Rather than deliberating the “grey areas” of street harassment, HollaBackBoston encourages you to treat everyone you encounter with respect.
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13. But if you wear a miniskirt or tight pants, shouldn’t you expect some compliments?
Answer: Compliments are very different from harassment. A compliment doesn’t make a woman feel badly or unsafe about what she’s wearing. While you should be able to wear whatever you want, to feel sexy and confident without reactions from the general public, this is not the case. You may expect to be harassed, but any unwanted advances from another do not have to be accepted or tolerated.
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14. If "the harasser" were hot, wouldn’t you like it?
Answer: Sex often gets misinterpreted and abusively wielded for the sake of power. Sexual harassment is about power.
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15. Street harassment sucks, but it’s only a small part of the still patriarchal world in which we live. Doesn’t focusing on this specific issue detract from everything else we're up against?
Answer: The violence and disrespect experienced daily by countless people in public spaces is a serious problem with real, material consequences. While HollaBackBoston is a project dedicated to this particular issue, it is committed to a coalitional approach and indexes street harassment within a larger social and economic framework of resistance. This project collaborates with a diverse range of anti-racist, feminist, LGBTQI, and anti-violence initiatives.
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Still curious about something? Contact us for more information: hollabackboston@gmail.com.
HollaBackBoston is not responsible for the accuracy or negligence of individual postings. All opinions and positions expressed are those of individual contributors only and do not necessarily represent the views of HollaBackBoston. |
I am coming home from the vet's office with my cat. I have my rolling bag, a carry-on, and my cat carrier (with an unhappy ten pound cat in it). A cab driver motions that he will stop for me. Thank God. We hop in the cab, all is well, and Mr. Driver Man is quite the chatty one. Fine with me. I'm a Southerner - chatting with strangers is nothing new for me. Mr. Driver Man starts asking me if I live alone, where I go to school, am I gonna go home to take a nap, here is a good restaurant, etc. Okay, dude, calm down. I pass him off as eager for someone to talk to and carefully censor my answers. THEN, the kicker, he is about to turn left. The T is passing directly in front of us, busy street with mean ole Boston drivers in their usual hurries. Mr. Driver Man looks back at me and says, "You have beautiful eyes. Very relaxing to look at." I smiled, laughed, and thanked him. In the back of my mind I am thinking, dude, relax later. Keep YOUR eyes on the road please so that I don't die. 
