Yesterday on Twitter Hollaback, an organization dedicated to ending street harassment, hosted a Tweetup using the hashtag #harassmentis. The topic of harassment has spurred a number of vibrant and illuminating hashtags in the past year, #fasttailedgirls and #shoutingback among two of the most notable. Today's panel brought together a diverse group of activists to talk about the role race plays, everyone's race -- harassers and harassed alike -- in street harassment.

Most people still don't think or talk about street harassment, either their experiences as adults, or to their children. And many think that street harassment, which can include a wide range of behaviors ranging from racist, vulgar comments to actual physical assault that can end in tragedy, is just the price of walking around in public, for everyone equally. But, harassment is a global issue, it doesn't affect everyone equally, and it is a serious problem that undermines equality in the public sphere.

Until women are able to move freely without the ubiquitous threat of gendered violence in public space, we cannot engage fully in public life. This is true offline and on. It's part of a near universal safety gap. To understand street harassment you really have to put it in the context of how violence against women, members of the LGTBQ community, and people of color is institutionalized and broadly expressed. It is the normalization of gendered violence that manifests, on our streets every day, racist, sexist status quo ideas about rights, hierarchy and power.

1. Harassment is infused with dominant ideas about race, gender, sexuality and power and how those ideas relate to the identities of the harassed and the harassing. Sometimes, harassment perpetuates male dominance within racial groupings, something that strengthens racism. The darker a woman is, the more inextricably racism and sexism combined in her harassment. In countries where racial demographics are reversed, racism is used in similar ways to reinforce male dominance. The role that harassment plays in the regulation of people in public space is inseparable from the long-tail effects of colonialism (yes, including in the US where we teach kids about colonialists but never really as colonizers) and the realty of patriarchal norms. These are not academic abstractions or something past. People are experiencing these interactions every day.

#harassmentis racial slurs are ALWAYS being included in sexual harassment. — Miss&Mx&Mr McKinky (@Tipsy_princess_) March 3, 2014

Sometimes #harassmentis just racist abuse - can't count the number of times I've tried to ignore it & been called a "ch*nki bitch" — Sook Min (@doloresonthedot) March 3, 2014

I've received racialized sexist commentary from harassers in US, Europe, & the Middle East. Grip of white supremacy is global. #harassmentis — jamiaw (@jamiaw) March 3, 2014

@iHollaback regions/countries where the majority = w/moc, so the guesstimate is skewed without considering population. #HarassmentIs (2/2) — HollaBack! Bahamas (@HollaBack242) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis street harassment has always been racialised for me - I once got told a man would "fuck me til I spoke English." — Sook Min (@doloresonthedot) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis getting called a "race traitor" for being in an interracial relationship. — shmallison (@allofthelibrary) March 3, 2014

I wrote about how I was called a "white bitch" for calling out street harassment http://t.co/Yq6DQD15J4 #harassmentis #endSH #everydaysexism — Renee Davidson ⚡️ (@reneetheorizes) March 3, 2014

When I lived in Italy I was harassed when walking at night because there was an assumption that I was a sex worker as a #woc #harassmentis — jamiaw (@jamiaw) March 3, 2014

Mixed race women being asked "what are you"? and overall, WOC more likely 2 be presumed a sex worker & face unwanted touching #harassmentis — Holly Kearl (@hkearl) March 3, 2014

There're also "grades" w/i particular races. E.g. Being a lighter or darker black person can get very specific hollas #HarassmentIs — HollaBack! Bahamas (@HollaBack242) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis being asked if I'd like some white meat. No, but would you like some black fist? — Mae Diansangu (@ConnieLingusss) March 3, 2014

There's a false notion that if #woc speak up against #sh in our communities we're traitors & countering racial justice work #harassmentis — jamiaw (@jamiaw) March 3, 2014

One thing I've noticed: many white men have no problem harassing but get irate if they see men of color harass white women. #harassmentis — Charlotte Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) March 3, 2014

#HarassmentIs Men of color pulling my hair to get my attention — Alien Mamita (@sazon_completa) March 3, 2014

2. Portrayals of harassment in US media are informed by stereotypes that incorporate historical representations of race, bodies and power. Mainstream press rarely covers harassment as a legitimate concern, or as a societal problem, and when they do it is written about as a problem "over there."

For case study in racism+ignorance in convos abt #streetharassment:see news coverage of Dwayne Buckle attack on Black lesbians #harassmentis — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

.@debjroy But if it's European men, it's "romantic." Brown/Black men are just dangerous. #harassmentis — Patricia Valoy (@PatriciaValoy) March 3, 2014

Q5: Myth that men of color do most harassing 1)invisibilizes white #streetharassment perps &lets them off hook for such abuse; #harassmentis — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

3. Harassment is expensive and inhibiting. We take cabs, we join gyms, we go out of our way, avoid activities, and travel inefficiently to avoid being harassed. In any case we're often blamed for, or expected to politely endure, our harassment.

#Harassmentis a crime that affects women's right to go about their daily business in peace. — Harvey Jeni (@GappyTales) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis that I walk down the street with my head bowed down bc eye contact is 'asking for it' — Ella Achola (@ella_achola) March 3, 2014

Had2 walk past my bldg so guy won't see my apt. MT @LeahDoolittle #harassmentis followed 10blocks by man asking my name/where I'm going/my # — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis being too uncomfortable/scared to go swimming even though I love it. — Miss&Mx&Mr McKinky (@Tipsy_princess_) March 3, 2014

@iHollaback WOC are hypersexualized and then blamed when their sexiness "provokes" harassment. Frustrating on many levels. #harassmentis — Nuala Cabral (@nualacabral) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis justified because "ur black & wearing a short skirt so they probably thought u were a prostitute" — Mae Diansangu (@ConnieLingusss) March 3, 2014

I have learned just don't go certain places to avoid #HarassmentIs #StreetHarassment — Not my President (@Tawnivixen3) March 3, 2014

4. Street harassment enforces heteronormativity, which is also an expression of patriarchal dominance. Members of the LGTBQ community experience higher rates of harassment and violence in public because they are so visibly non-conforming.

#harassmentis the fact that 33% of DC's trans community reports being disrespected by police via @GLOVDC — Collective Action for Safe Spaces (@SafeSpacesDC) March 3, 2014

Cis men & others largely spared from street harassment: Take some time to read the #harassmentis hashtag. Powerful testimony & analysis. — Matt (@mistergoat) March 3, 2014

5. Harassment is often not only ignored and tolerated by the police and people with authority to confront it, but often involves the them. Additionally, the idea of confronting harassment by criminalizing it is untenable given how institutionalized racism is in our police and judicial systems.

#harassmentis the cops telling me that "oh, the men just think you are a prostitute so don't feel unsafe" — melissa byrne (@mcbyrne) March 3, 2014

1of2 Yes--efforts 2 criminalize #streetharassment disprop impact people of color, bec criminal justice system at large does so #harassmentis — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis a police officer following you on a motorcycle to make sure, on a sunny day with 100s of people around, that you're "safe" — Soraya Chemaly (@schemaly) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis the fact that 33% of DC's trans community reports being disrespected by police via @GLOVDC — CollectiveActionDC (@SafeSpacesDC) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis being cornered by three yt men demanding to know what black girls look like "down there"& 2 police m walking straight past you — Miss&Mx&Mr McKinky (@Tipsy_princess_) March 3, 2014

Sexually Harassed on Metro: “I Reported It, But The Metro Official Laughed At Me.” http://t.co/CfYvMhr5DL via @SafeSpacesDC #harassmentis — Fem2pt0 (@Fem2pt0) March 3, 2014

#HarassmentIs LAPD officers going out of their way to talk to me, comment on my appearance, ask me my name, while armed #StreetHarassment — Alien Mamita (@sazon_completa) March 3, 2014

6. Harassment is a global problem for girls and women. While men, particularly gay and transgender men are targeted in high proportions, it is usually by other men. Girls and women are generally not harassing people, grabbing their bodies or otherwise threatening them in public -- muttering obscenities, making pornographic suggestions, touching people they don't know in intimate ways, lurking on stoops, staring from benches, and following girls in cars. Everyday Sexism's Twitter feed is a litany of hundreds of incidents a day, some in real time. However, we all experience harassment differently because of the ways that race, class, ability, and sexuality intersect. I understand why many people don't like universalist arguments based on gender because we cannot modularize these parts of our identities. It's not that harassment might be racialized, it's that by it's very nature it is racialized. The same mechanism that informs sexism, informs racism, homophobia, transphobia and more. They are mutually dependent ways of oppressing people. All I can say is that, based on my own experiences, regardless of who was doing the harassing -- no matter what the age, race, class and other components of the interaction were - gendered intimidation and violence -- employing ideas about race, class and sexuality - was the intent. The dynamics of my identity are fluid and change depending on context. It's hugely unsettling some times. What is important in the US becomes entirely unimportant in, say, Morocco. Some places I'm "white," others I'm not. In some places class matters, in others it's subsumed by race and caste. I've lived in four very different countries on three continents and travelled extensively to others where harassment, divorced from the issue of race entirely, is so woven into the fabric of life that it's a miracle girls and women ever leave their homes. Which is the point. One thing has remained constant: My harassment, something that started in a racialized way when I was 9 and continues today, has always been used to reinforce male power in public space. This is not to question the experiences of women for whom this is not the case, just to explain my own. The clearest incident I remember that might illustrate this was one when I was not alone but walking with my boyfriend. As we walked, a group of men started to harass me. When we both ignored them, they grabbed my boyfriend's arm from around my back. The men, my boyfriend and I were categorizable by appearance into three racial groups. While I was the target of the harassment, it ultimately had far less to do with me, than with their exercising racialized male dominance.

@schemaly an it happens across countries: harassers react alike #harassmentis — maria del rio (@maria_delrio) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis getting cursed at by the perpetrator for attempting to ignore the initial harassment! — Karina de Sousa (@intlKDS) March 3, 2014

Recognize that street harassment is a worldwide problem. Focus on how race/gender play a role, but don't vilify MoC only. #harassmentis — Patricia Valoy (@PatriciaValoy) March 3, 2014

@jennpozner my experience have been similar both here and abroad. I wrote about my experience in DR here: http://t.co/jbTglA2VYH — Dena Simmons (@DenaSimmons) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis such an issue back home in #saudi. Covered and all, men still think they have the right to hit on you, chase you, catcall,etc — Ahd Niazy عهد نيازي (@Ahd_HN) March 3, 2014

@iHollaback My visual impairment is a "hidden disability." Been yelled @ for not giving eye contact or looking when spoken to. #harassmentis — jamiaw (@jamiaw) March 3, 2014

#HarassmentIs a common experience for many of us. But HOW it manifests is NOT universal. Raciallized women experience diff tone, freq. — Rebecca Faria (@RebelBeckerton) March 3, 2014

Anywhere between 80 percent and 98 percent of women surveyed report persistent, aggressive street harassment. A spectrum of street harassment is a universal constant for women and it imparts the understanding that girls and women should not feel too safe or confident in public.

7. Harassment is not flattery and "compliments" don't scare people or make them uncomfortable. The use of words that involve consumption is also interesting and telling. Of the more than 50,000 submissions sent to the site Everyday Sexism, a significant percentage involve common the street harassment. Typical submissions look like this: "A guy came up behind me and put his shirt over my head while simultaneously grabbing my breasts, hard," "Harassed by a group of twenty year olds...shouting 'Nice rack!'" (to 13-year-old), and "A hand grabbed me from behind and pushed between my legs." Girls' and women's responses range from being intimidated, embarrassed and humiliated to being enraged and fighting back. Most men express amazement that we experience these exchanges regularly.

@EverydaySexism at one point are men going to accept it's not ok to shout after a girl has ignored you? It's not flattering, it's unnerving. — Mischa Smith (@mischa_amber) March 3, 2014

Driving in car with window down. Man in car approaching shouts "Ugly Bitch" and tries to spit through my window as he passes #everydaysexism — Lucy Pickard (@LucyAnnLinda) March 3, 2014

being forced to ask boyfriend to escort me to dorm bathroom after boys on another floor physically blocked me from passing @EverydaySexism — alice lalicon (@alicelaalicon) March 3, 2014

I have been called every "exotic" chocolate pastry in the book by harassers of all backgrounds. I'm not yours to consume dude. #harassmentis — jamiaw (@jamiaw) March 3, 2014

Exactly! There are the comments on my skin being like chocolate/caramel like I'm not an effin dessert. @Besito86 @iHollaback #harassmentis — Joneka Percentie (@jpercentie) March 3, 2014

8. Harassment is something everyone's silent about, even thought it is a public issue.

2of2 @HollabackBmore but yeah, no men or women on subway spoke out when he harassed me or girl, even the rape/death threats. #harassmentis — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

#harassmentis being objectified embarrassed and having to look at the bystanders blank pitiful faces. — ् (@HabibahPerez) March 3, 2014

9. Street harassment has nothing to do with what a person is wearing. Some people think that covering up entirely makes a difference, when it clearly doesn't.

#harassmentis such an issue back home in #saudi. Covered and all, men still think they have the right to hit on you, chase you, catcall,etc — Ahd Niazy عهد نيازي (@Ahd_HN) March 3, 2014

10. Street harassment gets its power from the threat of violence. It's frequently abusive and can be really frightening. The potential for real and lethal violence is real.

"Hey girl, suck my cock!"

I don't respond.

"You're missing out, fat bitch!" #harassmentis — Leah (@LeahIsAGhost) March 3, 2014

@schemaly @fazlalizadeh Even if people have never been harassed, there is an underlying fear of harassment + decision to avoid #HarassmentIs — HollaBack! Bahamas (@HollaBack242) March 3, 2014

2of3 businessman who cornered me in remote Port Authority subway hallway &grabbed my breasts--clearly planned2 rape me @jamiaw #harassmentis — Jennifer L. Pozner (@jennpozner) March 3, 2014

Earlier this week, Laura Bates, founder of Everyday Sexism, wrote about her recent experience with street harassment in which the men harassing her thought it was a funny to say, "I'd hold a knife to that." If you ask most women, even if they haven't talked about it before, they will probably tell you similar stories or at least stories where they went out of their way to avoid having a similar story.

As I've written before, these are common occurrences, and the idea that violence simmers under our public examinations and men's casual assumptions is never far from the minds of people who live with regular harassment. The problem with street harassment isn't the demand that a person smile or perform fellatio, the problem is the answer to the question, "What if I refuse?" Going to school, commuting to work, or meeting friends should not have to involve an assessment of whether or not you are putting yourself in a "dangerous situation." It starts when girls are as young as 9, as was my experience, and never ends.

"11yr girls write to @EverydaySexism describing shouted comments abt their breasts as they walk in uniform to school" http://t.co/nDF9qsrhYi — Shelina Janmohamed (@loveinheadscarf) March 3, 2014

Yup since 10 😷 RT"@HabibahPerez: #harassmentis a daily part of my life since I was 11." — BROOKLYN BOMBSHELL (@LADYGRINNINS0UL) March 3, 2014

#HarassmentIs walking home from school at 14 -man follows me in car, stops me, tries forcing me into car. I was FOURTEEN #StreetHarassment — Alien Mamita (@sazon_completa) March 3, 2014

The younger the person, the more negative the possible effects, which are well documented and can include depression, shame, headaches, anxiety, withdrawal, fear, self-objectification and more. While I'd like to say that girls should be taught as early as possible to confront harassers and to stand up for themselves this is not realistic and is, indeed, for too many seriously bad advice. As Jamie Nesbitt Golden noted last year, "Just telling men 'no' doesn't necessarily work for everyone - and can even be dangerous," because, like so much else related to violence, this has real class and race implications. Hollaback has written an excellent exploration of these topics in #Harassmentis: Identity and Street Harassment.

Today's chat closed with some great ways to learn more about how to end street harassment.

Q11: We have a great reading list on the topic! http://t.co/JPgv5oo5mS #harassmentis — Safe Hub Collective (@SafeHubCollect) March 3, 2014

7 Steps You Can Take To Address Street Harassmenthttp://t.co/HkN5LsIFhk #harassmentis #EndSH — Collective Action for Safe Spaces (@SafeSpacesDC) March 3, 2014