Abstract

RICHTER, Anna. Unwanted Sexualized Comments: Between Street Harassment, Compliments and Objectification. Isonomía [online]. 2023, n.58, pp.82-106.  Epub Aug 11, 2023. ISSN 1405-0218.  https://doi.org/10.5347/isonomia.58/2023.672.

Unwanted sexualized comments, generally called “street harassment”, “cat calling”, or, in Spanish-speaking societies, “compliments”, raise many questions, especially of the legal, sociological, and moral kind. In this article, I will concentrate on the moral valuation of the phenomenon. I will present three possible attitudes towards expressions of sexual attraction in public spaces: one positive, one neutral and one negative. I shall argue in favor of the third attitude, criticizing such manifestations of sexual attraction as morally reprehensible. Besides, I try to show that such a moral view evades the slippery slope argument that blocks any intent to establish contact with another person. On the contrary, I present a criterion to distinguish morally acceptable and moral unacceptable forms of interaction.

Keywords : street harassment; recognition; objectification; negative liberty.

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