Sunday, December 31, 2006

Holla Back!

Just discovered a fun new website - HollaBack NYC, created to post pictures of street harassers, since there isn't really much else that can be done. Gotta love this as a response to sexual harassment - their motto is "If you can't slap 'em, snap 'em!"

http://www.hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/

This site was created as a way to empower women who are victims of street harassment - a problem that is of course much harder to address that workplace harassment. Want to slap the harasser, but know that's not a good idea? Using a cell phone camera, take his picture, then send it to the site! The site is an amusing collection of pics and stories about the freaks out there & how women are coping with them.

A user from DC summed up the whole point of it nicely:
"Being called "beautiful" and "sexy" is a compliment when it comes from someone who means it and who you in return find such...not from some random man on the street with half of his teeth missing who's drunk!"

As one of the founders, Emily May, noted:
"When I didn't do anything [to respond to harassment] it didn't feel good, and when I yelled back, it didn't feel good, but now I have a response that genuinely feels good." (from an article in Ms. magazine - summer '06)

BRAVO for both creativity and positivity! :)

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