theroot | Although presenting evidence of the daily indignity of catcalls and
unwarranted advances that women face was an admirable goal, the video
just contains too much selective finger-pointing to be effective.
Critics quickly assailed the fact that the most common form of
harassment the video’s subject, Shoshana B. Roberts, received were
phrases like “How are you?” and just “Hi.” And the takeaway for many
men—in conversations, on social media—was simply that if you speak to a
woman on the street, then, according to this video, you are harassing
her. That’s a narrative that many were quick to take issue with and
others simply dismissed.
As a man, I found it easy to be put off by the video because it
doesn’t seem particularly nuanced. Rather than allow for the existence
of polite conversation between strangers, it simply points at any
salutation—from “hello” to “damn!”—and labels it harassment.
Maybe I’m just looking at this from my perspective as a man, but clearly, I’m not the only guy seeing it this way.
“I can only imagine what it’s like to walk the streets and have
people tell me that I’m beautiful, that I should smile, ask me how I’m
doing, say god bless you and generally seem to like me,” wrote former XXL columnist Byron Crawford on his website. “Literally, I have no idea what that would be like.”
There’s also the racial makeup of the “10 Hours” cast of
antagonizers. The conspicuous preponderance of black and Latino men who
make appearances as harassers didn’t escape men of color—or women, for
that matter.
“The racial politics of the video are [f--ked] up,” tweeted Purdue University professor and blogger Roxane Gay. “Like, she didn’t walk through any white neighborhoods?”
