To all the females who walk the streets of New York in fear of getting catcalled, this mural is for you.
The mural, created by artists Danielle McDonald and Jazmine Hayes, will be revealed in full on August 28 at 10 a.m. next to a Food Bazaar Supermarket in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn.
As depicted in the teaser above, this form of sexual harassment is not a compliment and it needs to be stopped. Although a mural is hardly the end-all to the problem, it does detail the reality of what it’s like to be a woman in the city and is a start nonetheless. We, as women, should not have to live in fear of going for a walk, yet it’s happening. I can testify, because I’m a woman living in New York, and the stares and whistles I sometimes garner make me uncomfortable.
Newsflash to all men who continue to commit these actions: The women you taunt will not go out with you, will not sleep with you, and are not interested in you. We value respect over malicious jabs at our appearance. As a matter-of-fact, respect is the strongest compliment.
Such is so that McDonald and Hayes have deemed their mural “Respect Is the Strongest Compliment.” Included in the project are groups HollaBack! and Stop Street Harassment — both wanting to bring the issue up nationally.
“We want to be seen less as objects and more as humans who deserve at the very least, basic dignity to walk the streets safely,” says McDonald.
To join the movement and object to objectification, head to the mural site on August 28. For more information, visit here.
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