The maker of the film, Rob Bliss Creative, responded to the accusations of editing out white men: "We got a fair amount of white guys, but for whatever reason, a lot of what they said was in passing, or off camera, [the film] is not a perfect representation of everything that happened."
However fellow Slate writer Dee Lockett claims that white guys don't need to assert their dominance on the street and use other methods of harassment. After all they: "marked their territory centuries ago". So perhaps we should turn to the white guy behind the camera and examine him.
It is interesting that men struggle to engage with feminism in terms of giving space, listening, prioritising lived experience. Aside from the fact that women have done similar projects before, for instance as part of Meet us on the Streets, There is a hint of a nasty after taste with this video, the film which was conceived by a man smacks of: "hey I didn't believe them either, but look!" | cis men who enter into feminism want to use it as a teaching point. Oh, for his fellow cis male friends? No, for all the ladies doing a feminism, but, like, doing it wrong. |
This is the privilege most white cis men have and it makes their good intentions empty because they regularly appear to forget the difficulties others face in speaking out, both for themselves and others. Yes they have no doubt felt fear, felt marginalised but the difference is it is regularly recognised.
It is also yet another portrayal of a passive woman. If anything this film does she the dilemma many people face when they are harassed. Should you or should you not respond, silence - as shown in this video - can be more provocative to the harasser who gets angry, than a sharp response.
I think here we need to give the sharp response of sharing the videos other women who have experienced street harassment and expect everyone to take our word for it.
Squeamish Kate