Intervention #2 - Melody McLain, Leigh Isaac, Megan Herrera

The fourth-wave feminist movement began in the early 2012s with the focus on sexual harassment, body shaming and positivity, and rape culture in it’s entirety. Stop Street Harassment is a national organization backed by BCC, CNN, The New York Times and other news outlets that focuses on ending catcalls, sexually explicit comments, sexist remarks, etc, that most women and some men will face in the street. Street harassment limits people’s mobility and access to public space. SSH’s 2019 survey concludes that around 71% of women in the U.S. have experienced street harassment. Almost 70% of the respondent’s noted that they were 13 years or younger, another 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old, and the remaining 7% were older than 16. We decided to focus on street harassment specifically as a way to reclaim cat calling by inviting cars to openly ‘honk’ at us. We made three signs each, one double sided. The signs were as follows:

Honk if you believe women should be paid the same as men

Honk if you want more women in government

Honk if you want the right to your own body

Honk if you’re a PROUD woman


We stood at the corner of Carlton and Summit Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey from 3:00pm - 5:00pm during rush hour.


On one of the busiest avenues in the area, several of the drivers, both men and women, gladly participated in our performance, either by honking their horn, as we requested in our signs, or giving us a thumbs up inside the vehicle. Different reactions were seen, faces of joy, surprise, disapproval, disappointment, proud smiles and some occasional smirks. Some pedestrians showed their support by giving us some comments, asking us about our cause and even a cyclist supported us by ringing the bell.


The performance was a success as it managed to involve the attention of the public and their direct participation, causing different reactions and perhaps raising questions in them.


We drew inspiration from the Riot Grrls, as their movement was about reclaiming their femininity entirely through their clothing style. Likewise, we wanted to reclaim women's safety on the streets by using a form of cat calling as empowerment.. We also took inspiration from Yoko Ono as, “The simplicity of her work may have been derided for years, but it is exactly that which makes it greatly accessible.” We wanted to create something that could be accessible for everyone, no matter the demographic and using the side of the street as our location was simple yet effective.


Displaying signs in public spaces, with the artist/performers present, is considered a form of activist performance as it involves artistic and visual expression aimed at raising awareness and prompting reflections on women rights. By showcasing visual messages in a public setting, participants seek to capture public attention, foster dialogue, and evoke emotional responses. This type of action goes beyond mere verbal communication, using aesthetics and physical presence to convey a powerful message and underscore the importance of supporting and empowering women in society. The goal is to inspire change and advocate for gender inclusion and equity. The Art of Activism, Chapter 3, states "

“The principle: style matters. People associate the message with the messenger, and how we appear in public communicates a message that is often more powerful than the words on the pamphlets we hand out.” Knowing the importance of the messenger, we made sure to keep a friendly attitude while doing this intervention as it helped us gain the most interactions.

We were openly inviting people to honk at us, we wanted the attention. We wanted people to show their pride about being a woman, and how they wished to shrink the wage gap, or see more women in government. We were reclaiming the act of sexual harassment that so many of us have experienced by turning it into something positive and affirming.

Link to VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/rTTts25JGQo

Works Cited:

Art of Activism CH 3

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/yoko-ono-art-story

https://stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/shage/