Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Bugs. I am 18 years old and I am from Indianapolis, Indiana. I am just about to start college at the University of Indianapolis where I will be majoring in Studio Art! There’s not much to know about me, I love animals and nature (I have too many plants.)
When did you start your account?
I started my account around the time of my first post, so April of this year (2019).
Why were you inspired to start an account?
For a while I had no care for politics and social issues, so lately I have been catching up and remaining up to date with what’s going on in society today, one issue being street harassment. I think in order to tackle the problem that is misogyny, we must start from the roots and harassment is one of them. I stumbled upon Catcalls of NYC and I saw the free time I had and how many women are in my circle, so I decided to join the movement.
Why do you think “chalking back” is a good method to raise awareness?
Chalking back is a good method because there will always be people out and about in the city, so there will always be someone to view the chalkings and mention it to a friend. Even if people within the movement can’t get to a public setting to chalk, they can post on social media to share these stories where people are bound to stumble across just as I did.
Why do you think ending street harassment is important?
As I previously stated, street harassment is one of many first steps to ending/preventing other misogynistic behavior, making it a very important issue.
What’s your favorite thing about your city?
My favorite part of Indianapolis is Monument Circle. I’ve been to several events here and have made memories. The simplest places like the Rocket Fizz candy shop can be the place where important memories are made.
How can your city better address street harassment?
I’m not aware of Indianapolis’s acknowledgement of the issue, so my first step would be to keep growing the page enough to be noticeable by local government and from there I will begin to look into how to communicate with them on the issue.
What do you hope is the outcome of your account?
I didn’t plan very far ahead for my account, just to share the stories of those who submit and to provide somewhat of a safe space for them. If I were to set goals, my main one would be to grow even bigger and spread more awareness of the occurrences within my city/state and come another step closer to ending street harassment.
What’s the most difficult street harassment situation you’ve experienced?
I’ve really only been harassed in school from what I can remember. I was wearing a dress with a cat pattern on it, and the back of it had gotten caught in the shorts I was wearing underneath. I was standing by the door of my next class and the students in the class next door had noticed this wardrobe malfunction. Three boys stood in the doorway and began to bark and meow at me until a girl in the hallway came and fixed it for me.
What does being a part of this campaign mean to you?
Up until now, I never had the guts to be part of a community or organization. Joining something so large helps me to connect to more people and work through this social anxiety while being mentally, socially, and morally progressive. Knowing that just makes it all worth while.
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