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Wolf whistling, ok. Or offensive. Thoughts!

(255 Posts)
TrendyNannie6 Tue 18-Feb-20 22:03:01

What do gransnetters think of this

SueB14 Wed 19-Feb-20 13:15:59

I don’t find wolf whistles offensive at all. Don’t get any now but when I was a teenager it made my day if I did. What is wrong with a boy showing his appreciation of a pretty girl!

pinkquartz Wed 19-Feb-20 13:18:00

I hated it when I was young.
It was something I did not miss when I got older.

It is intimidating. When the men then called out what they thinking along with the wolf whistle, I used to avoid building sites.

it is different if you are with friends or you fancy the man whistling.
I did not like the attention.

Biddysue Wed 19-Feb-20 13:20:01

Wish I could get a wolf whistle these days ?

3dognight Wed 19-Feb-20 13:45:08

It would rather depend on the emotional maturity of the female being whistled at.

A young teen whose shy, and prone to blushing would find it humiliating, maybe an outgoing older female who would answer back and defuse the moment with laughter on both sides would be relatively unconcerned.

I used to be in awe of these 'alpha females' and their cocky attitude. I always found it blush and panic inducing, and wanted the ground to open up underneath me!

jennyvg Wed 19-Feb-20 14:03:43

Wolf Whistles I wish

Shelmiss Wed 19-Feb-20 14:05:28

I was very upset at the ones I got recently (see previous post). There was nothing cheeky or funny about them. I've had wolf whistles in the past which I didn't mind, but the recent ones were menacing and left me scared of walking around my own town.

icanhandthemback Wed 19-Feb-20 14:07:07

I like to believe that wolf whistles are a sign of appreciation but I do find them disconcerting. I mind them less than shouted, sexual comments which I think are derogatory.

grannypiper Wed 19-Feb-20 14:07:50

A wolfwhistle made my day, it would make my decade if i got one now

SirChenjin Wed 19-Feb-20 14:19:10

To all of you who believe it’s a sign of appreciation - why do/did you care what a bloke carrying bricks for a living thinks of your appearance? Genuinely cannot get my head round why the uninvited attention of a male who is completely irrelevant to your life and who you don’t know would have made your day.

How did you show your appreciation of a male you didn’t know? Did you and your friends whistle at them as they walked past you on your own or did that strike you as an odd and somewhat creepy thing to do?

Reading some of these posts makes me realise just how far attitudes have come in the last 40-50 years. It wouldn’t occur to my DD to feel flattered by a wolf whistle or a ‘cheer up love’ - she’d be angry that a man thought he had the right to objectify her like that - and my DS would be mortified if he or any of his friends behaved that way.

lovebeigecardigans1955 Wed 19-Feb-20 14:30:21

I hated wolf whistles when I was younger and am glad that times, mostly, have changed for the better.
As teenagers in school uniform we had to walk past workmen who were building a bridge over the railway line on the way to and from school. No easy detours. We dreaded it as they'd lean over their shovels and stare - they'd no insight as to how irritating it was.
Being told to 'cheer up love, it may never happen' because you've got a serious expression was also annoying. I would have loved to have had a custard pie to throw in their faces. I'm so glad to be an invisible older woman now.

Ealdemodor Wed 19-Feb-20 14:33:20

Five times I walked past that building site - not a ruddy peep!

Dec46 Wed 19-Feb-20 14:39:53

My memories of Wolf whistles were that's all they were and from what I remember they were teenage boys whistling at teenage girls. I would have been horrified if lewd comments were also shouted by the boys but thankfully where I lived that didn't happen.I can accept that must have been awful to experience that.
Sirchengin I don't think a man carrying bricks for a living should be deemed less than a Lawyer , Consultant etc Hopefully I've misunderstood what you meant.

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 14:44:43

Thank goodness for 'brickies'.
Without them we would have no homes, hospitals and lawyers would have no offices.

I hated 'Cheer up love, it may never happen' too.

JenniferEccles Wed 19-Feb-20 14:46:47

Ealdemodor ?

SirChenjin Wed 19-Feb-20 14:50:27

I can’t remember the last time a group of lawyers stood on a building site and wolf whistled Dec, can you? My comment about men carrying bricks was in reference to the many posts on here talking about the wolf whistles emanating from building sites, nothing more.

SirChenjin Wed 19-Feb-20 14:52:01

Although it actually doesn’t matter where they emanate from, they’re childish and unnecessary and fortunately appear to be consigned to the dustbin of time.

Guineagirl Wed 19-Feb-20 14:52:50

I don’t think they’re offensive although I haven’t got one for over twenty years, I once got asked do I use harmony hairspray years ago while riding my bike I just smiled.

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 14:54:16

A group of lawyers may not wolf whistle but I'm sure some of them can be equally sleazy in their own way.
Not mine though.

rafichagran Wed 19-Feb-20 14:56:24

Wolf whistles, dont mind. Offensive chanting to females is a no no.

Callistemon Wed 19-Feb-20 14:57:49

You said that a man carrying bricks is totally irrelevant to your life, SirCj

I was just pointing out that a man carrying bricks is very relevant to all our lives whether he whistles or does not whistle wolfishly.

sharon103 Wed 19-Feb-20 14:58:30

Ealdemodor Wed 19-Feb-20 14:33:20
Five times I walked past that building site - not a ruddy peep!

lol. grin

TrendyNannie6 Wed 19-Feb-20 14:59:45

Ealdemodor ???

trooper7133 Wed 19-Feb-20 15:13:02

Am 60 and was wolf whistled last week. He also blew me a kiss. I blew him one right back ?

Chardy Wed 19-Feb-20 15:15:11

Took my daughter and her mate to Italy for a special birthday. The 2 teenagers were very different, but both were horrified to have their bottoms pinched as they wandered round Rome. I thought nothing of it, but talking/listening to them, I realised I should have. It was a form of bullying. I can do this to you and there's nothing you can do about it.
Imo wolf whistling, laughing with their mates at embarrassed young women, was the UK equivalent in the 50s.

JenniferEccles Wed 19-Feb-20 15:16:21

Good for you trooper7163 !

Thankfully it was you and not some others on here who presumably would have been horrified!!!