Being catcalled while going about one’s daily business remains an unfortunate reality for women. But one woman had the perfect response. Photo / Getty Images
Being catcalled while going about one’s daily business remains an unfortunate reality for women. But one woman had the perfect response. Photo / Getty Images
While we’ve come a long way in 2023, being catcalled by creepy men is still a sad reality women have to face.
However, one woman came out of the experience on top - rendering a tradie “humiliated” after he harassed her on the street, reports news.com.au.
Daphne Berry – or @berridaph on TikTok – went viral after she shared a video on the social media platform documenting the encounter. The clip racked up more than 3.7 million views.
“This man just catcalled me out the front of a construction site,” Berry revealed in the video.
“And so I yelled back at him, ‘Sorry, I don’t have any change!’”
Over 2000 people poured into the comments to praise Berry for her quick thinking, going on to say that they’d take a leaf out of her book the next time they found themselves in a catcalling situation.
“I love this, definitely trying,” one shared.
“AHAHA yes! I’m using this line,” another agreed, while a third wrote, “Oh my god, this is GREAT”.
An official-looking street sign declaring "No Catcalling Anytime" is posted in Brooklyn's Grand Plaza area, Thursday, April 16, 2015, in New York. Photo / AP
Others commented on the post to share their own tactics, with one woman revealing that her go-to response “is telling them to say something funny when they tell me to smile”.
“They always look weirdly confused,” she shared.
“I just reported men of a construction site to the company, and all five guys I got [on] camera catcalling were removed from that site,” another added.
One comment, however, left a morbid taste in everyone’s mouth: “I’d do this but I’m not ready to die.”
Multiple women chimed in to agree with the user, saying that when they are harassed by strangers, they “just smile back ‘cause I, too, don’t want to die”.
In a recent study by Women in Urbanism, it was revealed that 74 per cent of women in Aotearoa had at some point faced some form of harassment while on public transport and in public spaces.
