The men in Manhattan are absolutely ridiculous!

You know the scenes from movies where construction workers shout catcalls at women passing by on the street? Well, I've worked a lot of construction for a lot of years, and the guys, though crass and vulgar in their guy-to-guy talk both in person and over the radio, never actually shouted anything at women in the vicinity. As a result, I figured that directors and scriptwriters were pretty much making all of those scenes and the lame "Yo bay-BEE!!! I got what you WANT!! I got what you NEED!!" lines up, either to take up screen time or as techniques to help drive the movie's plot.

Well, Manhattan has officially changed my mind.

Men in this city are DISGUSTING and completely shameless in the crap they feel is appropriate to shout, say, do, or even whisper to women passing on the street, eating in restaurants, hanging out in clubs, or riding on subway trains. It's somehow gotten to the point where a girl like myself can't walk a single block without being harassed in some way by at least one guy, and it's usually more like 3 catcalls per block. These guys even put T-Loc's to shame!!!

Here's a short list of some of the lines I've actually heard while minding my own business:


* "Nice Ass!"
*"You are so voluptuous!"
*"Wow!" with an open-mouthed stare at a woman's chest or hiney
* "If you look that sexy in the morning, I'd like to see you goin' to BED!"
* "OOOOOOH...eat that meat!" while eating a hotdog purchased from a sidewalk vendor
* "I see YOU, baby. (wink)" from a friendly NYPD officer
* "Suck it baby!" while eating a lollipop
* "Damn! I wish I were THAT tootsie-pop!"
* "You want some of this fudge-sicle? (groping gesture)"
* "OOH-WEE! You lookin' fine and smellin' nice this morning!"
* "YOU smell SO GOOD!"
* "Hello Beautiful."
* "Hello Sexy."
* "Hey, you like black guys?"
* "PSSSSST! PSSSSST!" (like he has a secret to tell)
* the classic whistle as you pass by
* "Hey!! Ice-Tea girl!!! Slow down!! I wanna talk to you!"
* "Lemme 'holla at choo'!"
* "Hey, you need a job? You look like a dancer." from the doorman at the strip-joint a block away
* I've even had a guy grab both of my arms, get right up in my face, and ask how much it would cost for him to take me home for the night! (yipes!!)

And SO many more! I feel like this list is far too short to give a fair presentation of what women in this city have to go through.

What's more, men don't even have to leave the comfort of their own homes to engage in this popular pass-time of heckling chicks. By simply leaning out a window or parking out on a fire-escape, they not only ensure easier access to beer and nachos, but also allow for a better view down the blouses of taller women.

At any rate, I've decided that I need to invest in some sort of self-defense gizmo. I think one of those tazer-guns that allow you to shock and incapacitate someone else from a distance of 5 feet would be fun! Then I could actually try to teach these guys a lesson, because shouting back, rolling my eyes, and staring them down with my best bitch face doesn't seem to do any good. If anything, these guys actually like these responses, because at least then I'm paying attention to them and they can try to "spit their game" once they're sure I'm listening. What I wouldn't give to be able to shock the living daylights out of the REALLY inappropriate guys...leave them and their dirty mouths twitching uncontrollably on the sidewalk... :-) But then I figure that after taking the time to shoot them, I'd have to waste more of my life removing those little hooks from their torsos, and it's just so much easier to just ignore them and listen to my MP3 player.

So, ya, I guess men (especially those in NYC) really ARE as sleazy as they appear in the movies....go figure.