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“Hey baby, what’s your name?”
Many women have probably heard some derivation of this phrase while walking down the street. However, you may not have heard it over the radio or on your iPod – unless you’ve listened to “Hey Mami” by Sylvan Esso.
Sylvan Esso, an electric pop duo from Durham, North Carolina, released its self-titled eponymous album in 2014. Frontwoman Amelia Meath (also a member of the band Mountain Man) said she was inspired to write this song by an especially explicit catcall. But “Hey Mami” is more than just a commentary on one woman’s experience; it shows the complex and often confusing relationship between those who catcall and those catcalled.
ENTITY is here to break down the controversy of catalling and what every woman can take away from this song.
For some women, catcalling is nothing but a forward compliment. While some catcalls are obviously more acceptable than others, women like Doree Lewak hear catcalls and think “my ego and I can’t fit through the door!” For her, catcalls validate her own sense of attractiveness and self-confidence.
READ MORE: Is Confidence Contagious?
And, in a sense, the song “Hey Mami” reflects similar ideas. Meath sings, “She floats along as she goes/She owns the eyes as she flies right through the sound/moving her body all around town.” Whether or not she wants to, an attractive women “owns” men’s gaze as she walks through town. But is that truly empowering or just objectifying?
Even feminist theory isn’t sold one way or another. After all, one branch of feminism – known as Choice Feminism – claims that “individual choices of a woman are inherently feminist, because she made them herself.” So a woman can be a feminist even if she feels empowered when she hears whistles while walking down the street.
However, plenty of men and women are not fans of catcalling. In fact, Meath is one of them. She implies the terror women can feel when being catcalled with lyrics like “She walking so fast, she walking so fast, she walking so fast,” and points out some of the derogatory comments women often receive by saying, “She walk like a babe, hey/Look at that ass.”
READ MORE: Megyn Kelly on Being Sexually Harassed and Why She’s Not a Feminist
Catcalling not only isn’t a compliment, it’s a international pandemic. According to research by Cornell University:
Street harassment is a dangerous gateway to physical harassment, as well as societal acceptance of all forms of harassment, according to Ashley Ross at Time Magazine. In fact, Ross argues that women aren’t “empowered” by catcalling either; instead, men are allowed to speak for them. This idea appears in “Hey Mami” through one of the most repeated lyrics: “Hey mami, I know what you want, mami.” In a way, catcalling erases the voices of women and allows men to speak in their place.
Catcalling, as common a phenomena as it may be, is anything but simple – and “Hey Mami” illustrates this complex idea well. On the one hand, catcalling is a sign of attractiveness, a sign that women “own” a man’s attention. On the other hand, it’s a sign that a man thinks he knows who you are and what you want. In the end, “Hey Mami” doesn’t solve or simplify this dilemma, but Meath’s song does raise awareness of the complex relationship between the catcallers and the catcalled.
READ MORE: 5 Old Etiquette Rules That Should Be Brought Back
Perhaps Caroline Murray, a music reviewer, sums up both “Hey Mami” and the catcalling controversy the best, saying. “I still don’t know what to make of cat calls, but hell this song is killer. It makes enjoying them feel alright, and not liking them feel even better.”
