Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoons, a segment where four artists take turns delighting you with their whimsy, facts and punchlines on Saturday mornings! Our esteemed cartoon critters are Cameron Glavin, Anna Bongiovanni, Megan Prazenica and Yao Xiao. Today’s cartoon is by Megan!
Megan Prazenica is an animator/artist from Pittsburgh, PA. She now lives LA and life has been interesting ever since. When Megan isn't making art comics, or video games, she can be found wrecking havoc on the ultimate frisbee field as her alter-ego, "Bacon." Catch up with her on her website, her tumblr or tweet @MeganPraz.
Megan has written 42 articles for us.
Every damn time.
Social media shame is my most effective weapon!
I was tempted to use the little sister tactic last week on a bunch of twenty year olds. But of course the bottom scene won out.
When I studied abroad in Japan I got cat-called by some guys in a van.
I guess they couldn’t think of anything better to say than “I LOVE YOU”
Ugh, I relate to this too well. I hate how the scumbags who do this probably don’t even think about it a minute later, and I’m stuck overthinking every moment of this 3 second interaction. I can rationalize with myself about how it’s not about me but rather this dude’s fucked up contribution to patriarchy and how I shouldn’t let it get to me, but I still feel icky.
YES – how these guys have a 5 second interaction that is so casual and throwaway to them, but its such a violation/harrassment/just plain nasty for the person getting yelled at! UuGH THE PATRIARCHYYY
3 second interaction, but probably a lifetime of sadness. So ultimately I think we know who the winner here is.
I positively lovelove the x-files poster and R.E.M record!
Trying to practice the raised eyebrow and condescending smirk, along with a genuinely doubting look over the top of my glasses.Maybe a slight shake of the head.
Because
One:Very gay.
Two: I doubt you could handle this.
Children, tsk, tsk.
Other option:Distractedly flip the bird, while keeping my attention on the bike, which deserves it more.
This!
Good to know that there are other people who simultaneously think “ok then, I’ll just make some money” and “ugh I will punch in the face”.
I have unfortunately found that most catcalling guys don’t really care if you have a witty/aggressive comeback.
I get catcalled all the time while I’m running. I always want to shout back, “Has this ever worked for you? Has any girl you’ve ever honked/shouted at ever been so flattered by the attention that she gave you her number?” Unfortunately I’m always too out of breath to say anything!
Of course it never has, and they know it never will. It’s an act of aggression.
These men are not worth your breath.
The amount of focus it takes to form a coherent thought, the vibrations of your vocal chords to utter it, they are undeserving of.
They are so far beneath you, you are allowed to wonder why they even occupy the same space as you.
What are these asses even doing where you run?
If you were Regina Mills, aka the Evil Queen, you would turn them into mice while a hawk is circling.
If you were Professor McGonagall, you would turn them into a pen and give it to your most hated student.
The only response in any manner appropriate in a world without magic and full of such words, would be a punch in the face.
But you’re not stooping to such measures,not because you can’t, because you could, or you could at least learn to throw one, no trouble at all, but because you are the bigger person, and they are nothing to you.
They are not enough to compromise your morals for, or to give in to the cycle of violence they would be pulling you into.
So you DO say nothing, because that is the most they are deserving of.
No thought, no breath, maybe a small midgeon of pity for their miserable existence, while you keep on running, fabulous and strong.
I love this and I love you.
It’ll seem odd & I’m running the risk of dipping my toe in “but-but-but whut about teh Menz!?”, but HOLY MOTHERFUCKING FUCKEY-FUCKING FUCK-FUCK FUCKING HELLFUCKETY FUCK does this shit resonate. Yeah, I’m a white cisgendered upper-middle-class professional male. I’m also 5’8, I clock in at 120 lbs soaking wet, can’t bulk up or grow facial hair for shit & cursed w/ feminine facial features, finely-boned hands and borderline albinism. So yeah, delicately-feminine looking and GRATINGLY under-equipped to defend myself physically. As a fucking added fuck-me-in-the-eye-with-a-fucking-pointed-stick bonus, when I bark back in my nine-pin granite-bowling-ball-hitting-a-concrete-floor-&-rolling-slowly-toward-you voice – thanks a fucking bunch, Dad. I’m grateful for you passing along your dulcet bass-baritone tones, but could you’ve possibly thrown in your 6’8″, lumberjacking firefighter frame to round things out? Selfish, bogarting jerk. (Picture a silver-fox version of Joe Manganiello from “True Blood” & you’ve got an idea of my Old Man) – I can see the performance-sexism in their eyes turn on a dime into full-throttle Gay Panic all the way to the back of their skulls. From “Hey little lady… / I’d let that bitch suck my dick any day! / Whutcoo got against twelve inches, baby?” to “The FUCK you LOOKING at, you FUCKING FAGGOT?” in less time than it takes to tell. I’ve mastered the art of psyching out the opposition – ex-girlfriend taught me what I dubbed her “Ice-Queen Death-Ray Glare” technique: it can intimidate a nest of rattlesnakes & smash every clock in a 100 mile radius to a halt (I’ve seen a dozen grown men twice her size fall five steps back when she turned it on just turning it on one of them), but however fast the back off I know I’ve got the next 6-14 hours dealing w/ my hands & arms shuddering from the adrenaline comedown & the revenge fantasy of ripping their hearts out of their armpits and eating it in front of them playing in a loop in my head. So yeah, I feel exactly where this toon is coming from and y’all nothing from me but a bottomless cup of sympathy.
or … 50 bucks wouldnt cover the cost of decontamination required to fuck you…. thought if that happened to me, id probably laugh or call that person an asshole, or both. (I realise laughter isnt a positive response, since it may encourage the behaviour but it’s an ingrained habit to fight insults with laughter)
My favorite catcalling anecdote was from a girl on Tumblr who got asked “hey bitch, where you going?” and she got so angry and flustered she answered BACK TO HELL. Which is an answer I’m going to use someday, preferably with some good Exorcist faces.
Oooh and use a good growly voice too.
Rolling ones eyes white is hard to maintain with effective consistency, but a good growly voice doesn’t even have to be 100% consistent to be effective.
Trust me on this sestra.
I was in Penn Station the other night trying to catch a train and this guy was like, “I like your booty, I just wanna make looooooooove to you!” I ignored him, but then the scary part was that he followed me for like several long seconds before I picked up my pace even more and lost him. I guess I should have social media shamed him? Ugh, I never know what to do.
Totally relate to this. I was on the train one day and this group of about four guys was in front of me and kept trying to get my attention. I completely ignored them, but it was fucking scary, bc I had no where to go, and there were only a few other people on the train, who I didn’t know. Fuck catcallers.
Fun fact: the first time I was ever cat-called I got super-flustered (in addition to being angry). Tried to say either “fuck you” or “piss off.” Wound up shouting “piss you!” at the guy.
I’m 6’1 and often my physical size stops harassment (esp when I’m in heels), but I have been known to icily give a once over and then say “not even on your birthday” when I’ve been catcalled.
I believe in both social media shaming (sharing their image on facebook) and sassy comments. I borrow from Laverne Cox whenever some dude tries to pick me up, “I don’t do sausage in my breakfast sandwich”. (I am a transbian, so that totally works).
This comic is too real.
And a lot of times when this happens, the victim always feels self-conscious about her body. It’s terrible.
yeah I hate the power that this can have over us and like, REALLY ruin our day that had started out so NICE. Meanwhile the asshole will have felt good for 10 seconds and then moves on for the rest of his day. UGH.
This is so true. I usually just flip the bird without looking at them. The worst is getting harassed while I’m driving. Men will do this from their own cars whilst we’re driving past each other or stopped at traffic lights.
Arghhhh street harassment gets me so worked up even though I know women shouldn’t let it get to them it’s just one of the things that piss me off the most; it’s so bad where I live in New Orleans. Recently I’ve actually been thinking, what about pepper spray as a response? I carry pepper spray around to defend myself again physical harassment but, why not against verbal harassment? You are harassing me, I am defending myself, no?! Maybe that would start to teach people a lesson? Or you think I’m just adding unnecessary dangers? What are your thoughts? I don’t really wanna ignore it because it’s like accepting that it’s just gonna happen?! I wanna fight back. Usually I just flip the bird but I swear one day I will lose it and just paperspray an asshole in the face.
Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that could land you on the wrong side of an assault charge.
Yeah that’s what I thought too maybe which is so not fair :( so sick of street harassment I mean I guess the real answer is more education on it but it’s gonna take forever
I read it backward at first. Like he was asking to be paid for sex.
Catcalling naivety.
That’s how I read it too.
Street harassment is the worst. Usually I just try to keep my head down, but if I’m feeling brave I flip people off. I’m living in South America this summer, though, and lately I’ve been trying to see the constant “hello, baby, where are you from?” as friendly/harmless. Whether or not it’s true, it keeps me from ending each day wanting to scream/cry/punch things. I don’t think I’d be that forgiving on my own turf, but when you’re a traveler, things feel a little different.
I hate cat callers. I usually just stick a finger up-don’t know what else to. However, this is good inspiration
I totally feel this comic. I’ve had a hard time coping with street harassment recently and it helps to know that what I’m feeling is normal.
That 1.2 second window gets the best of me every time
Ah the Mother Tactic, works better than sharp objects.
This one time I was in a dress because it was hot I’m shit at laundry and I’m stilling outside the jewerly lab filing a piece with a pointy metal file the size of my forearm (which isn’t even the biggest on I have).
This dude starts bein gross to (for his bros) and somehow it gets to “dude really I have a sharp object in my hand not very bright of you, simmer down” and of course he says something like “I’ve got something sharper in my pants” to which I immediately retort “Trust me I have something bigger and sharper at home” and his bros laugh “oh burrrn”.
Still he’s not giving up so I finally go “Would you like it if someone was talkin to your mama the way you been talkin to me” and that, that finally shuts him up and cools his jets.
Reminding him I’m a person like the human who gave him life and raised his ass. Not my sharp objects or metalsmithing muscles.
True story y’all.
I know this is late but…what a badass story. Good work haha
I love how you kept your cool and tried different responses to try and shut him down.
My problem with the mother card is that it works largely because men tend do desexualize their mothers to an alarming degree. Of course he wouldn’t want some man propositioning his practically virgin mother!
So that is my problem. But of course, our choice of defense strategies is limited and often requires saying or doing things we’re not 100% happy about.
I trained myself to say “no, thanks” every time a stranger says/shouts something to me. Works perfect for cat callers and people who want my money, but sometimes goes like “no, thanks, oh yes, yes I want the free product you’re promoting thank you very much”.
I usually revert to this:
http://illuminatiwatcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IlluminatiWatcherDotCom-Miley-Cyrus-4.jpg
I’ll have to remember this!
But the real question is would he fuck himself for 50$? That I would like to see.
A few weeks ago I was running to catch the downtown light rail and I passed by a restaurant with outdoor seating and some fucking creeper goes “Lookin’ good girl. I like that.” And I was just stunned for a moment because I had not been catcalled in a while, and so by the time I thought of a response, putting up my middle finger and shouting “FUCK YOU,” it was too late as I was already well past the guy and needed to catch my train. I felt gross and icky and violated for a few days after that. This shit just catches you so off guard…I think movie/tv characters are the only ones who can think of/actually make good responses to this gross nonsense.
UGH.
“How about you give me the 50 bucks for having to interact with your rude ass, then go fuck yourself.”