Is wolf-whistling a sex crime?

I agree with you annsixty Some may find it embarrassing but for goodness sake it's not going to harm anyone. Personally I think she should be reprimanded for wasting police time.

In this case I believe they also stood in front of her and stopped her walking along the street and she felt intimidated. I fully understand how she felt. When I was younger a group of boys whistled at me, I tried to keep walking but they stood around me and demanded a kiss. I don't know how this would have ended if two older men who had seen what was happening, hadn't come across, one standing either side of me and stared the younger boys down until they moved aside to let us pass. They walked me to the end of the street, asked if I was OK and went on their way. I never knew their names but I still remember them 45 years on.

Oh, for goodness sake! What a waste of police time and resources! I sometimes think that today's younger women take themselves far too seriously-presumably she thought she was being objectified/humiliated/patronised. Well you can only feel like that if you allow yourself to feel like that. In a few words-get over it! There's a Canadian stand up who has a wonderful routine based on being offended (will try to find link) which basically says so you were offended, nothing actually happens!

She wasn't attacked, mugged, raped-only her sensibilities were offended. Lighten up, some poor guy actually thought he was paying you a compliment. Misguided perhaps given today's seemingly overly sensitive females, but a sex crime, no.

Have just read the article and it does go on to say that one of the workman stood in her way and spoke to her which is slightly different and I understand she may feel threatened by that. She does say she considered changing her route ,which may have been a good idea.

However a simple wolf whistle surely can be ignored.

I hadn't read that so perhaps I was hasty but changing her route was the thing to do, not just consider it.I suppose we don't get the whole story in the press. However it seems still to be a storm in a teacup and certainly not worth a front page spot in the DT.

I think that there are wolf whistles. And wolf whistles which mean more, and are more.

Oh for heaven's sake*soontobe*!

Being physically intimated is absolutely unacceptable and sexist and threatening and wrong so the headlines which implied it was just wolf whistling were doing that typically media thing of giving only part so a story.
But your "profound" pronouncement that there are wolf whistles. And wolf whistles which mean more, and are more is (sorry) tosh!

I would ask the question why wolf whistle in the first place? Wolf whistles should stay where they belong....in the sixties.

The standing in front of her was intimidating but the wolf whistle was just an expression of approval. I'd be dead chuffed if I got one.

OK Ok I was wrong as I should have known I would be. In the grand scheme of things it will just roll off my very much needed broad shoulders.

It isn't a crime but complaining to the police gets you on the front pages of the press

Mixed up my comedians ...he's actually Australian. It's a long clip but the 'offended' section starts around 3.30.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMoDt3nSHs

Not blaming you annsixty , what's that old saying about "never letting the truth get in the way of a good story"? Typifies so much of what is in the media.

Times have changed but I agree with annsixty. If I walked past a building site when I was young, I would be affronted if I didn't get a whistle.

There are several posters on here who are happy to be wolf whistled at, myself included.

I have practised and practised but I still can't do that whistle with two fingers in the mouth.
However, DD is excellent at it - that is how she calls her (Australian) husband in for lunch.
Must tell her to be careful!

So which "sort" do you welcome, according to your theory, soontobe and what is the "other sort"???

Ps I'm not surprised that the comedian is Australian - if you got offended all the time you were over there you would spend the whole time in a huff!

One of my daughters works in the construction industry, hard hat and everything. I have asked her her opinion. I am awaiting her reply.
For what it is worth, she has never had any trouble with the hundreds of men she works with daily.

There is the flirty, fun sort.
And the creepy, mean sort and worse.

It's a fuss about nothing, isn't it? But, have you noticed that in recent years we seem to have become a country where we make a fuss about nothing and over-react, rather than being the 'stiff-upper-lip' country which we once were. Perhaps we need to find the balance between the two.

Working in the construction industry means she has more identity to her fellow workers, and after doing it for a while she can differentiate the approving sort from the aggressive ones - and get the aggressive whistler into trouble as she can name him.

A young girl waylaid by a gang of whistling strangers can't tell whether they are approving or aggressive, so they all seem aggressive.

This is a few years ago now, but relevant:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2174531/College-girls-banned-from-whistling-at-builders.html

This is standard media practice - highlight the one thing that might be seen as controversial to use in the headline.

Wolf whistling is harmless; obstructing a woman's path in a threatening way is not. Presumably that is what the police are looking into.