catcall
今回の大統領選挙で男性の考え方が垣間見えました。というのも，トランプ氏が女性を蔑視した発言を更衣室の雑談とみなすなどがあったからです。
This awful campaign has given us a glimpse into a secret world of men
I have a man in mind. He is in his 60s, successful, handsome in his way with a commanding voice, an apartment in the city, a place in the country and a driver to take him there. Before I had ever met him, I knew him by reputation. So, in a far different way, did lots of women. At a dinner party, his hands roam under the table.
Now that silence has been broken. The various and sundry accusations concerning Donald Trump — that he was a grabber and a groper, a lunger and a black belt in the quick feel — have encouraged countless other women to speak up. From what I am reading and from what I am hearing, it turns out that what Trump — as well as Bill Clinton — stands accused of is not quite as unique as I would have once believed. For a woman, a dinner party, a job interview, a ride on the subway, a minute in an elevator, a walk down the street serenaded by catcalls — all this can be a different experience than it is for a man.
今回取り上げる表現は，“catcall”です。“cat”があることで猫に関係するのかなと思いましたが，実際はどのような意味でしょうか。『ジーニアス英和辞典』（大修館書店）を引いてみると，名詞で「（劇場などで不満を表す）やじ，ひやかし，口笛，ブーイング」，動詞で「やじる」と載っていました。語源が猫に関係していて，怒った猫の鳴き声に似ていることからこれらの意味になったようです（Online Etymology Dictoinary）。
さらにOxford Dictionaryを確認してみると，“A shrill whistle or shout of disapproval made at a public meeting or performance.”と“A loud whistle or a comment of a sexual nature made by a man to a passing woman.”の二つの定義があります。ここでは，女性に向けたものであるため，後者の定義を指しているのではないでしょうか。ただのやじではなく，性的なものが含まれていることが分かります。(Nao)
