After last week’s video from New York City got everyone talking about street harassment, it’s become a major discussion topic around the world. Indeed, thanks to the Internet anybody can take a crack at the “silently walk down the street and see what happens” genre.
The New Zealand Herald gave it a whirl in Auckland, the country’s biggest city. They deployed model Nicola Simpson to the sidewalks in an attempt to see how much she’d be catcalled, and the results were pretty surprising.
While it’s unclear how long or how many people she walked by, the result is still pretty amazing: exactly two men talked to her. One stopped her to tell her she looked very nice and to ask if she was Italian, then apologized for being so forward. The other one just wanted directions.
It's a small sample size that doesn't really take into consideration the cultural implications of catcalling, so it doesn't quite work as an antithesis to that NYC video. But still, the lesson here seems to be if you’re a woman who doesn’t appreciate getting catcalled, you should totally move to New Zealand. Even the guys who do hit on you will be really polite about it.
[via Gawker]
