Walking in Her Shoes: Virtual Reality Increases Male Sensitivity to Catcalling Experiences

Street harassment is a pervasive issue that disproportionately affects women. It takes many forms, including catcalling, i.e., unsolicited verbal comments and/or gestures, often focused on physical appearance. In this study, male participants embody a female avatar in virtual reality to have a firsthand experience of street harassment. We analyze their emotional responses to this virtual experience using both explicit and implicit measures. Explicit measures are based on Ekman’s emotion model, while implicit measures derived from participants’ verbal responses allow us to capture emotional reactions that extend beyond predetermined categories. Our findings reveal two key outcomes: i) an increased feeling of anger and disgust, which are typically associated with moral disapproval; and ii) significant correlations between the emotions experienced in virtual reality and the participants’ sense of embodiment. Additionally, a byproduct of our study includes an AI-driven method to infer local implicit measures from user reports. This study highlights the potential of the Metaverse to promote social safety and suggests promising applications in both clinical and educational settings.