Sexism on Facebook

Yesterday, I was walking home from class, wearing a sundress, and I got fed up. Not only did I get two whistles, but I also got a "Hey, how are you?" from a random guy across the street, endless stares from almost every male driver that drove past, and just as I was walking up to my apartment building, a honk that scared the shit out of me. I was cranky and offended by the time I got home, so I shared my feelings in my Facebook status. This is the response I got.

[Girl in Purple] does not appreciate catcalls or hollers. She is not here for your aesthetic viewing pleasure.
Yesterday at 5:34pm · Comment · Like /Unlike

[Male Friend 1]
Wait...since when?
Yesterday at 5:35pm · Delete

[Girl in Purple]
Now if someone were to holler, "Hey baby, tell me your thoughts on political discussions, ow ow!" I might be willing to reconsider.
Yesterday at 5:36pm · Delete

[Male Friend 1]
So, "Damn...baby got back!" wouldn't cut the mustard?
Yesterday at 5:40pm · Delete

[Girl in Purple]
not exactly, no
Yesterday at 5:43pm · Delete

[Male Friend 2]
i say you are here for my aesthetic viewing pleasure.
Yesterday at 5:47pm · Delete

[Girl in Purple]
and I say you can...do something that's not appropriate for facebook.
Yesterday at 5:55pm · Delete

[Male Friend 3]
well, you could gain a few pounds and they'll stop. problem solved.
Yesterday at 6:55pm · Delete

[Male Friend 1]
The Tedward-man makes a valid point.
Yesterday at 9:01pm · Delete

[Girl in Purple]
and now you all disgust me.
Yesterday at 9:04pm · Delete

[Male Friend 4]
Maybe if you wore clothes that weren't so... revealing...
Yesterday at 10:02pm · Delete

[Male Friend 3]
You could become a man. They hardly get cat called.
Yesterday at 10:25pm · Delete

What bothers me most about this is that the men who responded seemed to think the whole thing was a joke. Like, "Why wouldn't I want to be catcalled? I'm skinny, female, and wear sexy clothes, so obviously I'm deserving of this completely unwanted and inappropriate male attention."

The suggestion that I "gain a few pounds" pisses me off because 1) why on earth should I have to change myself and engage in an unhealthy lifestyle to get men to leave me alone, and 2) it is degrading and insulting to all the women out there who are bigger than a size 3. I have many friends who are curvier, heavier, and taller than I am, and they are all beautiful women. I abhor the idea that only thin women can be accepted as beautiful or desirable, and the automatic assumption that fat = ugly and therefore men won't give a shit about me.

I also hated the one post by friend #4 that basically blamed and shamed me for wearing clothes that were too "revealing." Yes, I was wearing a sundress and it had thin spaghetti-straps. But it was almost 85° yesterday, so I wasn't exactly going to be walking around in jeans and a sweatshirt. Plus, I had rehearsal halfway through the afternoon, so I needed something I could easily change in and out of. I made the decision to wear the dress out of practicality and self-interest. I did not go to my closet that day and say, "Hm, what can I wear that will most excite random strangers I pass today? I don't think those poor widdle men are getting the full quota of aesthetic enjoyment they deserve from women, so how can I please them?"

In other words, I did not get dressed for those men, and they had no right to claim ownership to me or my clothes. I should not have to change my clothes for them. (It also wouldn't really do any good anyway. I've gotten catcalled in snowboots and a winter parka before.)