Dear Boys,

The catcalls, sexist comments, and vulgar gestures and jokes are not appreciated. Women experience these things almost daily when they’re at school, work, or just walking outside. To allow girls everywhere to feel safe in school and in the workforce there needs to be change, starting with the way they are treated.

According to a non-profit organization called Stop Street Harassment, 99 percent of American women have been catcalled at least once in their lives. An anti-harassment group at Cornell University states that 85 percent of those women were catcalled before the age of seventeen.

Respect is the most important tool everybody can have in our society, due to the fact it’s the key to fixing the unfair treatment that women receive in schools and in the workforce. It is never safe to assume that a woman has granted you access to touch her or to speak to her in an inappropriate way. The vulgar gestures and jokes are not welcomed. Getting too close to a girl on the dance floor without her permission is not acceptable. To prevent uncomfortable situations like these, there needs to be a thing called consent. To have consent is to have the permission from a person to do something. Consent is not achieved when refusing to accept a “No” for an answer. We hear it all the time, “No means no.” Girls are not “playing hard to get” and accepting a “No” is being respectful and accepting that girls have a choice. It is not acceptable to say that consent was given because of what a girl was wearing or how she looked. The well-known phrase “she was asking for it” is exactly what perpetuates rape culture, which is the cultural practice of justifying sexual violence.

At no time is it correct for a man to ask a woman for access to her body as proof of love. It is surprising to see the statistics of teenagers who have sent a suggestive text or photo. This has become a common practice among teenagers but it would be better for all parties if it came to an end. However, according to the global non-profit organization Do Something, 61 percent of all teenagers who have sent an explicit photo admit that they felt pressured to do so. The worst part is that 55 percent of the people who receive explicit messages share them with more than one person. Boys and girls experience this, but in a society that shames women more than boys for this, the girls are on the losing team. Boys shouldn’t be asking for explicit pictures and girls shouldn’t be sending them, but when the act is done, it is never acceptable for a boy to share those private messages with anyone. Women are not objects to be put on display for the entertainment of men. Other than the fact that it is incredibly wrong to do this, it is also illegal. The United States Department of Justice states that “Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor.” The person who sends the message is just as guilty as the person who receives it for they are not only charged with possession of child pornography, they are also charged with distributing it.

As women, we demand respect, for we are not objects that should be put on display. We shouldn’t feel objectified with the catcalls and the sexist comments. We are your mothers, sisters, friends, teachers, and much more. It is important to acknowledge the problems women face and by teaching all of our boys to respect women we are slowly changing the system.

Sincerely,
Girls