Justice

We Talked to the Woman Whose Catcalling Story Is Going Viral

November 23rd 2015

Popular Vine user and musician, Julia Price is gaining a lot of attention online for her viral Facebook post about a little boy who stood up to her catcaller.

Price opens the post by saying she was repeatedly harassed by a guy calling her a "sexy lady," among other things, during one of her runs. When she ignored the man, he started calling her names, prompting a little boy named James to condemn the street harasser for bothering Price.

RELATED: WATCH THIS WOMAN GET CATCALLED 108 TIMES IN ONE DAY

 


James, whose little sister was in a stroller beside him and his mother, told the street harasser, "Hey. That is not nice to say to her and she didn't like you yelling at her. You shouldn't do that because she is a nice girl and I don't let anyone say mean things to people. She's a girl like my sister and I will protect her."

She wrote that the street harasser was visibly embarrassed and left. Price received permission from the mother to hug the boy, who told her, "Well I just wanted to make sure your heart was okay."

ALSO: HOW WOMEN RESPONDED TO CATCALLERS IN THE PAST

"According to his mother, this is a typical day in the life of James," Price wrote. "Thank you so much to the mothers and fathers who are raising the next generation to be brave and courageous, and to be little earth angels for all. I am so touched."

Price told ATTN: via email that catcalling is nothing new to her, although this was the first time anyone ever stood up for her to a catcaller:

"Unfortunately catcalling is something that myself (and most of the women I've talked to about this) feel has become something to expect when we are simply walking outside in a major city. Most days I try to ignore it but sometimes it can feel extremely personal and even crosses boundaries into making me feel unsafe. This particular experience was way more aggressive than usual, although unfortunately I can't say this is the first time I've had someone react that way. It was, however, the first time someone jumped in and defended me which is what makes this moment so special, considering I often felt like I was alone. The fact that it was a little boy was even more powerful and it was probably the best surprise gift I have ever received."

Price told ATTN: that she was pleasantly surprised that James' mother "stood by his side rather than [try] to quiet him" and seemed very proud of her son.

Her Facebook post received a lot of praise, racking up more than 931,000 likes and a slew of positive comments:

Julia Price Facebook commentsJulia Price Facebook comments - facebook.com

"I'm still kind of shocked that this went beyond my normal reach of people as I didn't expect it to be anything different than any other post," Price told ATTN:. "Now that [the story has] reached so many, I just hope that people can focus on the power of what happens when someone steps in and has a stranger's back. I also hope that this conversation continues to grow and spread awareness around this issue, hopefully leading to some long-term change."

Price also shared a follow-up post about the support she has received, once again thanking James for looking out for her:

 

It's likely that Price's message got so much attention because street harassment at large remains a huge problem worldwide. Over the summer, digital storytelling network The Scene posted a viral video of dads watching their daughters get catcalled, and the company went on to release a video of sons watching their mothers get catcalled as well. The Scene interviewed several mothers and sons, and the sons almost always seemed unhappy seeing their moms experience street harassment.

ALSO: Here's What Happens When Dads See Their Daughters Get Catcalled

"He just, like, walked up to you and said that stuff, I don't know what he was trying to get at there," a boy named Max told his mom after watching footage of her getting harassed on the street. "If you just saw a girl walking on the street, why do you need to comment about that stuff? That's just creepy. If I was uncomfortable and someone kept saying that stuff to me, it would make me feel like an object probably."

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