One in five women are sexually assaulted while they are in college. — National Sexual Violence Resource Center
WE IMAGINE A WORLD where the onus is taken off female-presenting individuals to learn how to prevent their own assault, and instead, young men are given the opportunity to gain perspectives that can encourage them to become active participants in individuals’ safety.
WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CAMPUS SAVE ACT IN 2015 and the rise of women’s empowerment movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up, colleges are responsible for taking active measures to prevent sexual assault on campus.
While most initiatives centre around bystander intervention and prevention, THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE immerses students in the experience of being on the receiving end of catcalling in an effort to promote understanding and stop the misogynistic patterns that have become embedded in our culture.
THIS EMPATHY-BASED APPROACH is an impactful way to expose men (often for the first time) to social norms that endanger female-presenting individuals, therefore mobilising them as allies.
THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE is a simple and
impactful interactive auditory exhibit.
The minimal structure features a blacked-out space, inside which the participant stands in front of a mirror under a dim light. They put on a pair of headphones for one minute, hearing a succession of varying levels of catcalls and objectifying statements.
While the basic physical structure is standard for all THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE exhibits, the audio content is customised to each campus. Female-identifying people from each school are interviewed about their experiences, yielding an authentic representation of each community. By utilising harassment specific to the school, young female-presenting individuals on campus are given a voice — they are heard and understood, and their experiences are validated.
THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE is small, minimal, and ready to be
efficiently set up on college campuses across the globe.
Within three weeks of its original opening in Sacramento, California in February of 2017, the installation received 10,000+ walkthroughs and has since traveled to festivals, cultural events and college campuses in the U.S. and Canada, receiving millions of online impressions.
As of May 2026, THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE has travelled to Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Calgary Stampede, Art Street, the California Democratic Party Convention, California State Capital, Sacramento State University, University of Alberta, MacEwan University, and Penn State.
HELP US BRING THIS CHANGE TO YOUR CAMPUS
FALL 2026 FOR ORIENTATION WEEK
Because more than 50% of sexual assaults on campus happen between the start of the fall semester and Thanksgiving break, for the greatest impact, we suggest having THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE on campus during the fall months. This experiential project will help create allies in male students across college campuses at the start of the year and thus prevent potential sexual assaults.
“Risk of Unwanted Sex for College Women: Evidence for a Red Zone”, a study done by the Journal of American College Health
FOR BUDGET INQUIRY AND AVAILABILITY, CONTACT THISISWHATITFEELSLIKEPROJECT@GMAIL.COM
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