I stepped out of the car after my two-hour drive to New York and could not believe that it would be my home for the next two months. I have never been the hugest fan of cities, but after just three days in the city, I am glad to say I really like living in New York so far. Everything feels reachable and accessible. Everyone seems to be walking the streets with a purpose. While I feel like a fish out of water, I’m trying not to make it too obvious that I’m from out of town.
My first commute to work was surprisingly eventful. The Moxie who is interning with me at Hollaback!, April, and I were walking to Union Square Station where we passed someone who I knew from home (it’s quite a small world) and then we spotted Brooke Shields. Not bad for the first day in the Big Apple.
What also occurred on this short walk to the station was unsurprising. April and I passed two construction workers on the sidewalk. One looked at us, moving his eyes up and down our bodies, and said “hi there,” while the other one said “las guapas” in a taunting voice. We ignored the comments and kept walking, but I was thinking to myself, “just because you’re harassing us in another language doesn’t mean we can’t understand it.” This catcalling experience was certainly not the first, nor the last, that I will encounter during my time in New York and beyond. An experience like this makes me angry, and also makes me thankful that I will have the opportunity to intern at Hollaback! this summer.
In my past three days at Hollaback!, I have been in awe of how a small idea grew into such a successful, meaningful and massive project. Founded by seven individuals in 2005, Hollaback! was originally not a non-profit organizations, but was an outlet for women and LGBTQ individuals to share their street harassment stories. However, the executive director, Emily May, decided to take her initiative to the next level and start a non-profit. The organization has since grown immensely, with many national and international chapters.
Today at Hollaback!, we went to the Father’s Day Pledge to End Domestic Violence. A small group of about 75 people gathered outside Manhattan’s City Hall, many holding signs from their organizations that promote an end to gender-based violence. While I held the Hollaback! sign in the hot sun for about an hour, I observed the crowd of people—primarily black and latino men—who were fighting for gender equity. Attending this rally reinforced for me that feminists come in all different genders, races, ethnicities and walks of life.
