#YouAreWrong The Amanda Seales Street Harassment CNN Remix [VIDEO]
There’s been much talk recently about that controversial street harassment video where a woman walks through New York City for 10 hours getting harassed and followed around by men. The controversy around the video stems from the fact that the people behind it edited out all of the White street harassers to make it look like street harassment is a men of color-only problem, and the video featured a White woman, supporting the false Birth-of-a-Nation narrative of savage men of color prowling the streets in search of White women to harm.
In fact, women of color and trans women have been speaking out against street harassment for ever, and recent viral campaigns like Feminista Jones’s “#YouOkSis” and Mikki Kendall’s “#NotJustHello” highlight the dangers that women of color face on a daily basis from street harassers who threaten women’s safety. These campaigns by women of color, however, have not risen to the level of attention the HollaBack! video has.
Just yesterday, 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, a Black woman, was found alive by the FBI after being kidnapped on the street three days ago. The horrifying kidnapping was captured on video and we see the assailant’s first gesture is to hold out his hand to her as if to “just say hello” before he drags her kicking and screaming to his car. And exactly a month ago, 27-year-old Mary Spears was shot in the face and killed by a man on the street after she refused to give him her phone number.
The consequences and dangers of street harassment on women and particularly women of color and trans women are real and they are terrifying. Street harassment is terrorism and a man’s feelings and ego are not more important than a woman’s safety. Men need to understand that women are just trying to get from point A to point B, we’re not looking for your “harmless compliments” on our bodies. (Check out Elon James’s #DudesGreetingDudes campaign if you need to understand why, from a male point of view.) We didn’t do our hair for you. We didn’t wear this dress for you. WE DON’T KNOW YOU. And we don’t have to acknowledge your existence. So keep your distance.
In case it’s not clear enough, the ever-amazing Amanda Seales made it very clear on a recent CNN interview about that viral street harassment video with Fredericka Whitfield and some clown “expert” street harasser. It’s epic. You should watch it. But also watch this fantastic musical remix of Seales’s appearance in case things need to be funny to make sense:
#YouAreWrong: Amanda Seales CNN Remix, for your viewing pleasure: