The Real Reasons Why Men Catcall Women, According To 11 Men
Why do guys really catcall women?
MDV Edwards / Shutterstock If you've ever been catcalled, you're probably wondering what men want from this practice of sexual harassment. Why are they catcalling you in the first place?
If you’re a woman, it’s happened to you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re dolled up and ready for a night on the town or slumping around in your sweatpants with a greasy ponytail and no makeup.
“Hey, baby.”
“Looking good, mama.”
“Why don’t you show me that pretty smile?”
Being catcalled is just a fact of life when you’re a woman – part of the daily routine.
The new normal.
But why do guys do it, really? And does it actually ever work?
The answer, naturally, can be found via Reddit, where a bunch of guys spilled their guts about what’s really behind catcalling.
Here are the real reasons why men catcall women, according to 11 men:
1. They think they’re brightening your day
“I drive my friend around and he hangs out the window and comments positively on women’s appearance–hairstyle clothes, bike, etc. It’s never raunchy and it never has sexual innuendo. Still, it always seems to me like it would feel just like catcalling to women. He genuinely believes he’s brightening their day paying them compliments he authentically believes. I tell him not to do it.” – MrLongJeans
2. They believe it might actually work
“I catcalled once in my life. I lived in a fraternity house, and me and my two friends saw three girls walking down the sidewalk. We told them to come upstairs. They did, and each one of us ended up with one. This isn’t a joke. It went absolutely perfect for the three of us, and it was my one and only time catcalling. Sure, I later found out the girl I got was on meth at the time, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.” – LethalWeapon10
3. It builds confidence
“I did it briefly whilst in high school because I had little self-esteem and wanted to build some confidence. The guys at school said that would help. It kinda did, and it made me less nervous about talking to a girl I like, but it never got me laid.” – dontknowmeatall
4. They’re young. Or rednecks
“I have a cousin who catcalls, not from a poor neighborhood, not a frat bro, he just doesn’t see the problem with it. Doesn’t understand why I would tell him to tone it down when we were at Panama City Beach. He is still young, though. And something of a redneck.” – FlamingTomo
5. They don't care
“I was really hungover and in an 'I don't care' mood. I was driving, the girl pulled up next to me in a way bigger truck. Yelled and told her she looked sexy driving it. Gave her my number at the next stop light. Went out a few times but didn’t work out.” – pwnyoudedinface
6. They’re just weird
“I have a friend that does this. It’s not your average cat calling though and he tries to be an equal opportunity cat caller; old ladies, guys, people on bikes, etc. He likes yelling confusing things like ‘Get a bike’ to people already riding a bike, or ‘have a nice day,’ in a mean tone. People get really confused.” – mysterious_banana
7. They’re high
“I used to get high and yell obnoxious things at people as a drive-by One time I was at a gas station and I saw a really fat lady walk by. I said really loudly ”Damn girl!" She was like “Heyyyy” and tried to give me her number lol. She totally turned that around on me. I was pretty embarrassed.” – ocusedmofo
8. They have issues
“I had an ex-roommate who would catcall women, especially when drunk. He had issues with sexual emotions when I knew him. He would develop incredibly strong crushes on women who weren’t romantically interested, and he would be unable to recognize the reality, digging himself into a hole. Maybe he gave up on being able to read women — and regards his sexual environment as shots in the dark aimed by romantic attraction and fueled by bravery. He grew up being encouraged to catcall women, and he’s good-humored, I’ve never seen him do something maliciously. He sees somebody that he thinks is incredibly pretty and wants to share.” – TheResetButton
9. They’re cowards
“Catcallers are men who don’t have the balls to talk to women like people because they perceive women as inferior to them. They are men who are constantly surrounded by other men and have weak women in their lives. Their moms are usually homemakers, their dads are usually kings of their castles, and they immerse themselves in male-centric environments. Because of this, they have the inability to put themselves on the line and talk to a woman like a real person, because that takes a certain amount of emotional risk.” – CalvinDehaze
10. They know they’ve got no chance
One reason men catcall is they believe/know they will never have any actual contact with the woman. They would like to. They see a woman and she looks nice to them. But they know they present nothing attractive to her. So they “get their jab in” as she walks by. It’s all they can do, and lame as it is, they feel they’ve done something. – scarabic
11. Because it’s fun to be bad
“It’s fun doing bad thangs. I wanna do hood rat thangs with ma frands.” – damnyouresickbro
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