Street remarks to women in five countries and four languages: Impositions of engagement and intimacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.28020Keywords:
street remarks, catcalls, street harassment, speech acts, cross-cultural, piropos, Peru, Colombia, United States, Italy, EgyptAbstract
In this paper I analyze the remarks men make to passing young women on the street in 134 naturally occurring encounters that were video recorded in 2013 and 2014 across ?ve countries and four languages and posted on the internet. I categorize these remarks in terms of the speech acts they contain, showing the most common acts, in descending order of frequency, to be addressing, greeting, expressing astonishment or admiration, summoning, and asking rhetorical questions. In immediate interactional terms, the great majority of the men’s actions are thus oriented to constituting what Goffman (1963) called a ‘focused interaction’, a face-to-face engagement with a common focus of attention. The very ordinariness of these acts in terms of content and surface meaning – they are not vulgar or explicitly threatening – may explain why defenders of street remarks regularly draw attention to seemingly benign referential or speech act content, e.g., ‘He was just saying “Hi”’ or ‘He was just giving her a compliment’. At another level, however, street remarks impose intimacy on passing strangers, thus ?outing the normative conventions for interaction through which we manage social and personal risk and establish trust. Women targeted by street remarks treat them as breaches by not responding to them. The very ordinariness of the language in the street remarks documented, along with the relative dif?culty of articulating the implicit social conventions that they breach, may veil their harm and indirectly contribute to the perpetuation of male domination of women in public spaces.References
Achugar, M. (2001) Piropos as metaphors for gender roles in Spanish speaking cultures. Pragmatics 11(2): 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.11.2.02ach
Austin, J. L. (1962) How to do things with words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bailey, B. (2017) Piropo as a cultural term for talk in the Spanish-speaking world. In D. Carbaugh (ed.) Handbook of Communication in Cross-Cultural Perspective 195–207. New York: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
Beinhauer, W. (1934) Über ‘piropos’: Eine studie über spanische Liebessprache. Kultur und Volkstum der Romanen 7: 111–163.
Bowman, C. G. (1993) Street harassment and the informal ghettoization of women. Harvard Law Review 106(3): 517–580. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341656
Braun, F. (1988) Terms of address: Problems of patterns and usage in various languages and cultures. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110848113
Brown, R. and Gilman, A. (1960) The pronouns of power and solidarity. In T. Sebeok (ed.) Style in language 253–276. Boston: MIT Press.
Duneier, M. and Carter, O. (1999) Sidewalk. New York: Macmillan.
Duneier, M. and Molotch, H. (1999) Talking city trouble: Interactional vandalism, social inequality, and the ‘urban interaction problem’. American Journal of Sociology 104(5): 1263–1295. https://doi.org/10.1086/210175
Duranti, A. (1992) Language and bodies in social Space: Samoan ceremonial greetings. American Anthropologist 94(6): 574–591. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1992.94.3.02a00070
Duranti, A. (1997) Linguistic anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511810190
Feghali, E. (1997) Arab cultural communication patterns. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 21(3): 345–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(97)00005-9
Firth, R. (1972) Verbal and bodily rituals of greeting and parting. In J. S. La Fontaine (ed.) The interpretation of ritual: Essays in honour of A. I. Richards 1–38. London: Tavistock.
Gardner, C. B. (1980) Passing by: Street remarks, address rights, and the urban female. Sociological Inquiry 50(3–4): 328–356.
Gardner, C. B. (1995) Passing by: Gender and public harassment. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1980.tb00026.x
Gar?nkel, H. (1963) A conception of and experiments with ‘trust’ as a condition of concerted stable actions. In O. J. Harvey (ed.) Motivation and social interaction 187–238. New York: Ronald Press.
Giddens, A. (1984) The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Goffman, E. (1963) Behavior in public places. New York: The Free Press.
Goffman, E. (1967) Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face interaction. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday.
Goffman, E. (1978) Response cries. Language 54(4): 787–815. https://doi.org/10.2307/413235
Goffman, E. (1983) The interaction order: American Sociological Association, 1982 presidential address. American Sociological Review 48(1): 1–17.
Herbert, R. K. (1990) Sex-based differences in compliment behavior. Language in society 19(2): 201–224. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500014378
Hewison, A. (1995) Nurses’ power in interactions with patients. Journal of advanced nursing 21(1): 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.21010075.x
Holmes, J. (1988) Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics 12(4): 445–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(88)90005-7
Kissling, E. A. (1991) Street harassment: The language of sexual terrorism. Discourse and Society 2(4): 451–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926591002004006
Malinowski, B. (1923) The problem of meaning in primitive languages. InC. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards (eds) The meaning of meaning 296–336. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Manes, J. and Wolfson, N. (1981) The compliment formula. In F. Coulmas (ed.) Conversational routine: Explorations in standardized communication situations and prepatterned speech 115–132. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110809145.115
Nelson, G. L., Al Batal, M. and El Bakary, W. (2002) Directness vs. indirectness: Egyptian Arabic and US English communication style. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 26(1): 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(01)00037-2
Sacks, H. (1975) Everyone has to lie. InM. Sanches and B. G. Blount (eds) Sociocultural dimensions of language use 57–80. New York: Academic Press.
Schegloff, E. (1968) Sequencing in conversational openings. American Anthropologist 70(6): 1075–1095. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1968.70.6.02a00030
Searle, J. (1969) Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139173438
Searle, J. and Vanderveken, D. (1985) Foundations of illocutionary logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tuerkheimer, D. (1997) Street harassment as sexual subordination: The phenomenology of gender-speci?c harm. Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal 12:1–33.
Wolfson, N. and Manes, J. (1979) Don’t dear me. Working Papers in Sociolinguistics 53. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Austin, J. L. (1962) How to do things with words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bailey, B. (2017) Piropo as a cultural term for talk in the Spanish-speaking world. In D. Carbaugh (ed.) Handbook of Communication in Cross-Cultural Perspective 195–207. New York: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
Beinhauer, W. (1934) Über ‘piropos’: Eine studie über spanische Liebessprache. Kultur und Volkstum der Romanen 7: 111–163.
Bowman, C. G. (1993) Street harassment and the informal ghettoization of women. Harvard Law Review 106(3): 517–580. https://doi.org/10.2307/1341656
Braun, F. (1988) Terms of address: Problems of patterns and usage in various languages and cultures. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110848113
Brown, R. and Gilman, A. (1960) The pronouns of power and solidarity. In T. Sebeok (ed.) Style in language 253–276. Boston: MIT Press.
Duneier, M. and Carter, O. (1999) Sidewalk. New York: Macmillan.
Duneier, M. and Molotch, H. (1999) Talking city trouble: Interactional vandalism, social inequality, and the ‘urban interaction problem’. American Journal of Sociology 104(5): 1263–1295. https://doi.org/10.1086/210175
Duranti, A. (1992) Language and bodies in social Space: Samoan ceremonial greetings. American Anthropologist 94(6): 574–591. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1992.94.3.02a00070
Duranti, A. (1997) Linguistic anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511810190
Feghali, E. (1997) Arab cultural communication patterns. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 21(3): 345–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(97)00005-9
Firth, R. (1972) Verbal and bodily rituals of greeting and parting. In J. S. La Fontaine (ed.) The interpretation of ritual: Essays in honour of A. I. Richards 1–38. London: Tavistock.
Gardner, C. B. (1980) Passing by: Street remarks, address rights, and the urban female. Sociological Inquiry 50(3–4): 328–356.
Gardner, C. B. (1995) Passing by: Gender and public harassment. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1980.tb00026.x
Gar?nkel, H. (1963) A conception of and experiments with ‘trust’ as a condition of concerted stable actions. In O. J. Harvey (ed.) Motivation and social interaction 187–238. New York: Ronald Press.
Giddens, A. (1984) The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Goffman, E. (1963) Behavior in public places. New York: The Free Press.
Goffman, E. (1967) Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face interaction. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday.
Goffman, E. (1978) Response cries. Language 54(4): 787–815. https://doi.org/10.2307/413235
Goffman, E. (1983) The interaction order: American Sociological Association, 1982 presidential address. American Sociological Review 48(1): 1–17.
Herbert, R. K. (1990) Sex-based differences in compliment behavior. Language in society 19(2): 201–224. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500014378
Hewison, A. (1995) Nurses’ power in interactions with patients. Journal of advanced nursing 21(1): 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1995.21010075.x
Holmes, J. (1988) Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics 12(4): 445–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(88)90005-7
Kissling, E. A. (1991) Street harassment: The language of sexual terrorism. Discourse and Society 2(4): 451–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926591002004006
Malinowski, B. (1923) The problem of meaning in primitive languages. InC. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards (eds) The meaning of meaning 296–336. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Manes, J. and Wolfson, N. (1981) The compliment formula. In F. Coulmas (ed.) Conversational routine: Explorations in standardized communication situations and prepatterned speech 115–132. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110809145.115
Nelson, G. L., Al Batal, M. and El Bakary, W. (2002) Directness vs. indirectness: Egyptian Arabic and US English communication style. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 26(1): 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(01)00037-2
Sacks, H. (1975) Everyone has to lie. InM. Sanches and B. G. Blount (eds) Sociocultural dimensions of language use 57–80. New York: Academic Press.
Schegloff, E. (1968) Sequencing in conversational openings. American Anthropologist 70(6): 1075–1095. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1968.70.6.02a00030
Searle, J. (1969) Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139173438
Searle, J. and Vanderveken, D. (1985) Foundations of illocutionary logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tuerkheimer, D. (1997) Street harassment as sexual subordination: The phenomenology of gender-speci?c harm. Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal 12:1–33.
Wolfson, N. and Manes, J. (1979) Don’t dear me. Working Papers in Sociolinguistics 53. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Published
2017-04-13
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Bailey, B. (2017). Street remarks to women in five countries and four languages: Impositions of engagement and intimacy. Sociolinguistic Studies, 10(4), 589–609. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.28020
