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There's nothing that makes a woman's skin crawl quite like getting catcalled on the street. 20-year-old Amsterdam-based student Noa Jansma, much like the rest of us, was pretty fed up with it, and decided to do something about it. Throughout the month of September, she took a selfie with every single creep who harassed her and uploaded them on Instagram, captioning each one with the words of her abusers.

What do the photos say? By juxtaposing the catcallers' callous, unashamed grins with her own exhausted, painfully familiar expression, Jansma shows the world just how frequent, real, and disturbing these experiences are for women everywhere. She also gains power over them, though, by documenting their actions and putting them on display for the whole world to see. Though her own experiment has ended, she has opened the @dearcatcallers Instagram page for submissions in hopes of creating a global dialogue on the collective struggle women face.

From January 1st, 2018, catcalling will be punishable by law in Jansma's native Netherlands, and violators will be subject to fines of up to 190 euros ($220). If her daring project continues to go viral, perhaps more nations will follow suit.

More info: Instagram

#1

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Amanda Panda
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This made me throw up a little bit in my mouth. I definitely would NOT have let him put his disgusting paws on me.

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Amanda Panda
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Attracted to how long she looks no doubt. Too bad there wasn't a photo of the license plate.

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Amanda Panda
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Something tells me he's probably a virgin. He wouldn't now what to do with any girl. Perv.

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Swarf
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, okay, I get it. She can't smile because that's misconstrued as encouragement. And now she can't "look sad", which probably means "look forward". If she actively scowls, the catcalls will probably turn to taunts about what a c*nt she is. Clearly she needs to wear a burka.

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Mer
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will never understand why anyone - sadly, usually male - feels they have the right to tell/ask/demand a smile. My expression isn't theirs to control.

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Cameron Stone
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Asking you to smile isn't being controlling. And a man DOES have a right to ask you anything he feels like. Demanding, no.

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Cathy May
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Clueless men. She's not sad, she's just annoyed that you are following her and bugging her, of course she's not going to be smiling at you. Idiot.

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Cameron Stone
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She didn't say he was following her. You just added something extra so you'd have something to argue about.

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Laura Gillette
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not that I would have thought at at the time, but I would have wanted to say something like "I'm sad because creeps like you keep catcalling me."

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Emory White
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh these guys... why do you think we want to hear this kind of c**p!!!!

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KT Trondsen
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yes because all of us women are just supposed to go around smiling at all the creeps in the world just to please them, disgusting

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Dan O'Brien
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people just have no shame its unbelievable.. it must be very difficult for a very beautiful lady though seriously why are people so brazen and rude?

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Lola Run
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dont understand why she takes pictures with them. The guys here seems very happy, and they should be scared of having a harassment complaint

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Stella Rose
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i wouldn't be smiling if some creepy guy with bad facial hair catcalled me

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Birma Gustafsson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, she doesn't have Resting B***h Face. She is a young, nice woman, being HARASSED as she is walking from point A to point B! She's TIRED, is what she is, and DISGUSTED, and FRUSTRATED, and if she wasn't such a nice woman she would like to KICK SOME BALLS.

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Jace
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hey stubby. Why don't you buy a shaver?" "I have one." "Then why is your face all stubby?" "Because I didn't feel like shaving". "Exactly."

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Mason Pike
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I'm sad b/c you smell and it's making my eyes water. Go away!"

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Tanya Kysel'ova
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the most annoying type. you tell "no", and they consider it positive, because you entered into conversation

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Luca
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Little off-topic, but that's a great piece of street art in the background

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Iva Sušická
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do you know, why she think, that he is creep? Because he is not pretty... How you can say, that he meant it as creepy thing? Once it happend to me too and I smiled and the guy smiled back and everything was fine...

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TigerDRena
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also don't think he initially went to harrass her, but just wanted to make her smile and she just assumes that every male person trying to be nice to a stranger are catcalling, only because some actually do it.

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Cameron Stone
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is "gross" to ask a woman to smile? Do you have any idea what the word means, or have you now demoted it to mean everything you don't happen to like?

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Tony Norwood
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't catcalling, this is him trying to show he's interested (to not get seen as just a friend), and he asked why don't you smile, not even an order of put a smile on then. I voted for Hilary, but I see why many guys don't want a female president with posts like this. Men aren't really allowed to be themselves, especially in a workplace.

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Aleksandr Mikhlyayev
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So, frankly speaking, if this guy was handsome and stayed near some expensive car, you wouldn't mind. am i right?

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Amanda Panda
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like he wanted to eat her, judging by the size of that belly, he probably did! Creep!

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Rebekah
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A bunch of men, at a table together. This just amplifies the scariness to me. Bastards.

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Agnes Jekyll
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That whistling is for each other. They know it won't get her attention, but it proves their manhood and humiliates her at the same time. If she ignores it, they get what they want. If she tells them off, it makes them even more proud of themselves. She's documenting it, and if they don't realize what tools they look like, at least everyone who sees them does.

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Cathy
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And all the time I was thinking 'well this doesn't happen in Amsterdam... Amsterdam people are polite'. Wrong. 😖

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LostSoul
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hey girl, where are you going?" ~ "Home" ~ "Can we join? Where do you live? Think we can do fun things together"

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