Source: @buutopupu

Calling out Catcalls: Manga Seeks to Raise Awareness of Street Harassment

Street harassment, otherwise known as "catcalling," can be a serious problem for those who experience it.

Japanese manga creator and illustrator buu (@buutopupu), who updates her Instagram account with manga about her life in the United States with her husband Pupu and her dog Goma, recently posted a 32-panel series on catcalling which has gained much attention online.

Through her own personal experiences with street harassment and recent events in the United States, she reveals the effects on its victims which are too often belittled and dismissed in Japanese society, just as it is in many other societies of the world.

With buu's permission, we have provided English translations in the sidelines:

Content notice: This manga mentions a rape homicide case.

About Catcalling

If the text is hard to read, click or tap on images to zoom in

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

Link to New York Times article

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

With permission from @buutopupu

Some of the opinions found on Japanese social media echo Buu's sentiments:

  • "When I'm catcalled, it makes me feel like I'm suddenly being treated like someone else's property, and it's very unpleasant."
  • "I'm afraid he's going to do something to me next, so I'm very afraid."
  • "It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman, some stranger suddenly talking about my body with words or gestures or making lewd propositions in the street doesn't deserve my attention."
  • "Catcalling is scary and it gives me the creeps!"

The problem with catcalling, as with many forms of verbal sexual harassment, is that there is no physical contact involved. Moreover, some of those who catcall are simply doing so with the intention of offering what they consider to be a compliment. This gap between the effect on the receiver and the intentions of the giver could be one reason why catcalling persists.

Thanks to manga such as this, we can only hope that the number of victims who suffer from this form of harassment will decrease in the future.

If you'd like to see more of buu's work, please follow her Instagram account here.

By - Ben K.

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