Yes, actually, it makes me feel like I'm less of a person. And it also makes me feel like I can do nothing to stop people from disrespecting me, since an on-duty police office has done it to me, too. Isn't that harm right there?

Actually, yeah, it is harmful in a way - it makes women feel degraded, uncomfortable, and sometimes even threatened.

Makes you feel like your less of a person and is degrading? Wow. I don't think you having severe self esteem issues is a way in which this is damaging. If you honestly find this degrading, and not just a cliche reason to be outraged about something, then I'm sure you don't buy womens magazines, where all the woman are photoshopped because they're not perfect enough, which is far, far more degrading to woman. And I'm sure you don't wear make up, because painting your face every day to appear more attractive than how you really look would also be far, far more degrading.

STFU! How the hell would you know how it makes us feel? Or are you so ugly people vomit instead of whistling? If so, forgive me. It does serious damage to people's esteem. FYI Get a life d-bag.

It effected his driving? How does that even work? http://xkcd.com/326/

It won't make you feel as bad as you make it sound unless you have no-self esteem. You girls make it sound like whistling at a girl is slightly better than rape.

He was looking at the girls instead of the road

You're a man, aren't you.

How does it effect your self esteem 107? Because someone thinks your good looking? Unless you are just as outraged by how demeaning the make up industry is, and just as outraged by photoshopping of women in womens magazines and almost all advertising, there is no reason for you to be worked up about this. At all. Go find something else to get your panties in a bunch about.

If this FML was in any way related to cosmetics or fashion magazines, I'm sure that would all be addressed. As someone who absolutely does not wear makeup or dress for male attention, it sure as hell is offensive to have guys hooting at you anyway, where it feels like they never have any consequences for such behavior that reduces every aspect of your personality and intellect as less than the man who thinks he's attractive enough himself to get away with slapping your ass as a compliment. I don't understand why men here are arguing that we women should fight over the wage gap, beauty industry, or the treatment of women in other countries. If I had posted, "OH YEAH THAT'S STUPID AND WOMEN STILL ONLY MAKE 77 CENTS TO A MAN'S DOLLAR IN AMERICA!!!" I'm sure I'd be thumbed down by people calling me a radical feminist for straying off topic. That's just it: off-topic.

Now whistling effects driving and self-esteem! I'm learning all kinds of new things today. http://xkcd.com/326/

On a serious note, #116 is exactly right.

I know I don't like how the makeup industry and fashion industry are. Do you know that most clothing manufacturers think that if a woman wears a size 16, she must be 5'10"? Shave off about 10 inches and I'll be able to wear those pants. Why do all the models look like skeletons? Why do we have to have Photoshopped women in our magazines? Why can't we have people who look like everyone I know? Imperfections are what make us unique and beautiful. I deserve to be treated with respect everywhere I go. That is something that everyone deserves. Just because I have a ****** doesn't mean I deserve less respect or deserve to be treated like a hole to ****. I don't want to be shouted at or honked at or whistled at because I happen to be attractive.

Yes, I am tameing rat

effect/affect person: that link doesn't illustrate your point at all, you are silly

@#110- Slightly better than rape is actually a really good way to describe it. What men who whistle at women and men who rape women have in common is that they see them only as objects, bodies for their enjoyment. I am not trying to diminish the horrible violence of rape here, nor am I comparing the experience of being raped to the experience of being whistled at. I'm trying to impress on you how degrading and threatening catcalls really are, and if a shocking comparison is what it takes, them I'm willing to make it. Just because there's no physical contact or damage doesn't mean it isn't harmful and a sign of an incredibly sexist way of thinking.

Models on magazine covers aren't trying to be unique and beautiful with imperfections. Mainly because: this model is just a chick on a magazine, not some girl I'm dateing. You're looking too deep into this kind of thing. Just because a guy whistles at chicks doesn't mean they're all just holes to **** to him.

Being silly is fun sometimes! Incidentally, saying that something causes something else to come into being when you really mean that it exerts an influence on that thing is also silly.

Good for you Elara, but you weren't the person I was addressing that to, and you can't speak for them. It is absolutely not off topic. Given that most woman have contributed at some point to the cosmetic industry or brought magazines where the models are photoshopped, both better examples of degrading women, they have no reason to be getting so upset over this. And when asked, they've given no reason why they were upset over this besides saying it is degrading, without explaining why they feel someone thinking they are attractive is so degrading. I've had women shout and whistle at me before when I've been out in town, and you're not going to find me or any other man complaining about being "objectified", because regardless of if we feel we are being objectified, we realize it effects us in no way whatsoever. And whistling at someone is not comparable to slapping them on the ass. Take your illogical rant elsewhere.

From that link, you are the amateur grammar nazi falling into the trap. Not a grammar person myself, but thought you should know that it doesn't support your point

125 - That is ridiculous. What do you think of men who buy mens magazines just to look at the bodies of woman? Do you think they're not objectifying them? And how about woman, who pander to the opposite sex by applying make up to appear differently to how they really are? Are they not objectifying themselves by changing their own appearance for others? Woman who pay for woman's magazine, knowing that every girl in there is photoshopped to an unachievable standard of appearance? How are they not condoning objectifying women? A cat call is in no way comparable to rape, and you can't draw a parallel between the people that commit rape and those who whistle at others.

1799- Nope. You just don't get it. Effect and affect can both be used as either verbs or nouns. The amateur grammar nazi believes that effect is always a noun and affect is always a verb. I just really enjoy the implications of taking someone's obvious mistake literally. It's INCREDIBLY silly, yes, but I'm not falling into any traps. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effect%5B2%5D http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affect%5B3%5D

@125 When a guy rapes someone, he's forcing them against their will to be just another object to him. A hole that he could **** and that can't say no. Damaging every other aspect of her. No physical contact, no damage, no willingness to damage you based on your looks. It's just a terribly executed compliment to your looks, which is all he knows about you. All he knows about any random stranger he sees in his car is their looks, all anyone is is an object unless they see something good, bad, or interesting happening to them.

As a woman, I actually completely agree with mobius8. Like most other women, I get whistled at, and like most other women, I don't find it to be a pleasant experience. But really, is every girl on here emotionally damaged? There's nothing "traumatizing" about it. Just shrug it off. Unless they're actually threatening you or asking you to get in their car, they're not harming you in any way. And if they really make you feel like you're "not a person", then obviously you don't have very high self esteem to begin with. I know I'm a person, and I would never let a stupid whistle change my mind about that. Get a grip on yourself.

It is degrading because a person should be able to walk on a public sidewalk without being made a spectacle of. People stare at you when it happens. To imagine it, just think about coming out of a gas station and some random person screaming at the top of their lungs at you down the block. It's awkward and embarassing. Speaking from personal experience, it doesn't make me feel like I'm going to be raped if I just get whistled at or even threatened. If there is a leering guy standing near me somewhere, that's a different story. But I just don't want to deal with the creepy whistling thing when I'm minding my own buisiness. As far as self-esteem, it kind of puts women on a lower rung than men sometimes. It makes you feel dirty. Magazines address women, but I think they're a little more upfront about the perfection thing. It only affects me if I compare myself to those women, which I don't. In contrast, when I'm harrassed in public, that is directed at me unwarranted. Get it now?

177 -People staring at you doesn't make it degrading, and staring would be a bit of an exaggeration. People might glance up, and usually then at the person who has whistled. And a whistle is not even close to someone screaming at the top of their lungs so please don't exaggerate what the reality is. And what is there for you to deal with?? Most girls I'm friends with wouldn't even bother glancing at whoever had whistled. What is the actual issue for you? And since when does admiration put you on a lower rung than someone? If anything, that puts you on a rug higher. Honestly, you're being quite ridiculous. Magazines are not up front about the perfection thing. No where is it published that the women have been photoshopped, and in all the advertising for beauty products, the results are photoshopped. What those magazines basically stand for is that it is important for a woman's appearance to be perfect and that she needs to buy these products to attain that level of perfection, while photoshopping them to a level unattainable even by the models who make their living out of their looks, and that is degrading to the entire gender, not just to one over sensitive person who can't deal with someone admiring them on the street. Magazines might only effect you if you compare yourself to those women, but by the same logic, a whistle in public only effects you if you decide to care what someone thinks(which is that they think you're attractive, god no).

@ 169- Marry me? Finally, a woman on FML with common sense (I'm not insulting women in general, In real life there are just as many men as women without common sense)

No mike, I have dibs on her.

Haha, well I'm glad my common sense is appreciated :)

In response to yoursavinggrace's comment, I've got to say I agree - also as a woman. I think there's almost a compromise between the two extremities people have been arguing - it's not pleasant and doesn't feel like a compliment, but it's not as big a deal as people seem to be making of it. A lot of people are taking this to heart. It isn't comparable to being raped, it isn't traumatising, and it shouldn't cause you to think less of yourself as a person, unless you've got ridiculously low self esteem. If someone was actually approaching you on the street and leering and calling out crude things, yes, then we'd all have a right to be concerned, but a whistle, from a car? Yes, the experience is unpleasant, but really, the reactions here are getting a little hysterical. So, yes, to the OP - YDI, for letting it impact others by way of your inattention to the road. Also, what's with the 'and now I have to pay damages', as though you shouldn't have to?

mobius8: I think you made a comment in there about me neglecting to reply to your post.... Wasn't trying to ignore that you replied or comment and run, I just had work and other obligations. You were wrong in that I do, indeed, wear makeup. Even, gasp, skirts and dresses. I do agree that magazines and media in general drastically airbrush photos of both women AND men, making many people feel like they are way below average appearance-wise, and I don't buy women's magazines. I never said I didn't find these things degrading in some way or another, it just wasn't the topic being discussed -- but on a related note, you can't say with certainty that they are more degrading like you did, because that's a judgment call. It's also just your opinion that there's "no reason for you to be worked up about this;" for some of us we feel there is plenty of reason to get worked up about it. My opinion isn't any better than yours, but it's just as valid, so I think it's silly that you're telling people how they can and cannot feel according to the world of You. I do admit that it was an exaggeration for me to say that it makes me feel like less of a person when this happens... I should have said that it makes me feel as though I'm treated like or viewed as less of a person. In terms of anyone saying that I must have horrible self-esteem for saying that, I actually have quite high self-esteem, or at least a healthy amount of it. I don't think I should be ashamed at being honked at or anything -- hell no -- I just already do think that I'm an attractive person, inside and out, and don't need some annoying person in a car honking, whistling or asking me to climb in because they agree. So, in short, I do feel it's offensive, at least to many people. But I don't chase drivers down in a rage or wish ill consequences on them because of it, and definitely don't agree that it's a step above rape (because I've been through that, too, and it doesn't begin to compare). This is way longer than it should be, sorry about that, just wanted to respond to some of the above comments. (I also think it's a little unfair to speak on behalf of you as well as "any other man," but that's a different topic.)

253- I don't think wearing skirts and dresses is at all relevant to this and didn't mention them. I gave make up as an example because you're changing and enhancing your appearance for others to see. If you think you need to enhance your face with make up for others before you go out, you think how others view you is important and you're not good enough as you are. I don't really expect you to agree with that, but I don't mean it as offensively as you will take it. Most women do this and so ingrained into our culture we don't seem to think about why we are doing it. But the point is, if you're wearing make up because you care how other will view you, you can't be offended by someone looking at you. You have already objectified yourself far more when you applied your daily make up. I have given reasons for my opinions. I haven't just said "photoshopped models in magazines objectify women". I've given reasons as to why it does. It's not just a judgment call when the results photoshopped models have on girls and women are well documented. You are not giving a reason why you think a man who whistles at you thinking you're attractive = him thinking you're less of a person. What reason do you have for thinking that the man must think that?

Reasons due to personal experience -- many, many men who have come up to me in person (through working customer service when I was younger, approaching me on the street, etc) who have first started with a come-on of me looking attractive have then treated me like shit or turned and stormed off when I've declined their advances, even if it was politely. That implies to me that they feel I'm no longer worth being around as a person if I'm not going to in some way respond positively to them. For all of the men I can remember that did talk to me afterward, it was simply them pestering me to give them my number or meet them somewhere, or demanding to know why I wasn't interested. Since this happened to me so many times in person, I don't think it's really unreasonable to assume that many of the people who honk or yell things at me through their window would really act much differently. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule -- but I do feel that they are just that: exceptions. I never argued that magazines do not have negative impacts on those who view them; that in itself is not a judgment call. Saying that it makes people feel more degraded than being hollered at every week is at this point, however, since to my knowledge they haven't ever done a study to compare these. For makeup, I see what you're arguing now, but I actually do wear it because I like to... not because I think I look bad without it or because anyone's ever asked me to. I don't do traditional makeup (I only do eye makeup in general and go for cat-eyes rather than the styles magazines say look good), and have actually gotten light teasing about it from friends. So I don't think that it makes other people approve of me more, I just think that it's fun to play with.

I love you letitbe56!

Is there anything that won't provoke a "get a life" comment on the internet? He was driving somewhere and he just did this on his way, which tons of guys do (no, I don't, I think it's dickish but on here the dickishness is exaggerated).

WOW, Feel like your going to get raped.

O____O , wow, that is sad. It was just a whistle, maybe if he was like telling you to get in the car then maybe.