DEAR HARRIETTE: I hate being catcalled. I know that the men who do this are not trying to make friendly conversation, because I walk with my headphones in my ears while looking straight ahead. I am clearly not interested. I do not enjoy the ogling and vulgar things that are said to me. I do not wear short skirts or see-through tops or anything else that should cause a ruckus. I am always professionally dressed. Do men do this to establish power because they know I will not say anything back? Is there any way to get this to stop? -- Rejecting Catcalls, Washington, D.C.
DEAR REJECTING CATCALLS: I wish I could explain why a man would feel the need to call out to a woman in the rude way that you are describing, and why he would believe that she should respond favorably to his outburst. I have yet to figure out how to stop catcalling. You could glare at the offenders as you walk by to express your disapproval silently.
Better still, you can cross the street and not walk into their space at all. While this may seem inconvenient, consider it the same as moving out of the space of ferocious dogs. I don't walk closely to pit bulls who look menacing. I consider men who catcall just like them.