I just recently watched the latest Contrapoints video by Natalie Wynn (trans, btw) called "Men" and she made a point I've known all my life about "catcalling." It's not the catcalling that's wrong, it's the presentation.
Once upon a time I was on a landscaping crew. And they would catcall. "Great ass!" or "I love your tits!" shit like that out the window of the work truck. I was dismayed, to say the least.
I told them "You're doing it all wrong, my dudes. Watch this and say NOTHING."
We were driving by Tulane University on St. Charles street and I said "Slow down, shut up, and let me do the talking."
We passed by a gorgeous girl and I yelled out the window "Hey! HEY!" She turned and looked. I said, in a normal tone of voice, "I just wanted you to know you are incredibly beautiful. That's all. Have a nice day!"
Her smile was enough of a reward for me.
When you catcall like you're a sex criminal, you're gonna be treated like one. When you catcall from the heart, with respect, they know it for the truth you're conveying.
Was I reducing a total stranger to her looks alone? Yes. But I was doing it without sounding threatening or gross or rapey. Yes. I was just simply saying "You are beautiful."
There's all this shit that comes with being a man these days where we need to watch what we say or else be branded a sexist, rapey pig. But the truth overall hasn't changed: there's nothing wrong with acknowledging beauty. And that acknowledgement can can be a good thing. It's all in how you present yourself. And if your presentation boils down to nothing but some body parts, rather than the whole package, you're just gonna look like a jerk.
There are certain laws we all live by, no matter how much reactionary leftwing forces try to reject them: we're only gonna be attracted to the people we're attracted to. You can't force anyone to be attracted to a certain gender or body type or race. In the end, it's gonna be that person who you click with on a personal level that you end up with.
But for god's sake, if you'e gonna catcall, try not to sound like you're in a fraternity and got into college on a football scholarship because you're gonna sound like the rapist you probably are.