Watch: ‘I Was 13, Wearing My Brother’s Clothes’ – Maltese Artist Recounts Being Catcalled As A Young Teenager
Local artist and medical student Antonella Bugeja has opened up on being catcalled at the young age of 13 and the broader implications that come with it for women, while discussing different forms of harassment on the latest episode of The SHE Word.
Young Women and Harassment came out as the first episode of Season 2 of the Young Women’s Edition on The SHE Word, featuring Maria Luisa, Antonella Bugeja, and Martha Attard.
While the starting point for the show was street harassment and catcalling, a prevalent issue in Malta, the show also touched upon other forms of harassment, and certain instances of victim blaming that tend to come after an incident.
“There’s a lot of trying to normalise and blame it on women, and to make you question things related to that, like when we were talking about the excuse of what a women was wearing at the time,” Antonella answered after being asked about the attitudes society has towards women and harassment.
“One of my first experiences with catcalling and so on, I think I was around 13 or 14, I was wearing my brother’s huge t-shirt and really baggy pants, and I was 13 or 14,” she recounted.
“I remember I was in a queue to buy a phone card to top up and this really old guy starts telling me ‘I love you’, making kissing noises and trying to grab my leg.”
“Whenever I hear anyone saying ‘It’s cause of what you’re wearing’, I always think back at that and I’m like Excuse me… okay maybe sometimes I wear not-so baggy clothes,” she continued.
“But that’s no excuse, like just cause you’re wearing something that’s a bit revealing it doesn’t mean you need to get abused for it,” Maria chimed in.
“It happens no matter what you’re wearing. Because it’s not what you’re wearing, it’s the person, because if a person is respectful you could be naked and they would still not touch you,” Antonella said.
“But then it goes from what you’re wearing, to your attitude, from your attitude to the way you carry yourself, theres’s always something to excuse, but never to hold accountability,” Maria added.
“It’s giving a green light to men to be like, oh nothing has happened so why don’t I do it again to this other girl, and another girl,” Martha said.
The show, which goes on for an hour and 40 minutes, went into many different forms of harassment and the reactions that might follow. It even tackled harassment on the workplace, and having to deal with it while it’s affecting your day-to-day life.
Watch the full episode here:
Tag someone that needs to tune in to this podcast
READ NEXT: Watch: James Dimech's Christmassy Angel Paper Dress Comes Alive In The Streets Of Valletta
