Whistler

I want to go snowboarding in Canada. I think it'd be sweet. And less crowded than even the fairly empty (compare to NJ) mountains of Colorado. But that's not the point of my post, just came to mind when I put up the title.

Why do men whistle at women?

This is the question of the day.

I am dressed for work today in summer work clothes, specifically black capris, wedges and a nice colorful shell. I do think its a flattering outfit. Appearently I'm not alone.
The shopping center where I picked up lunch today is doing some construction. There were workers gathered around the dumpster, several of whom whistled at me (well, either me or the rather chunky middle aged guy about 10 feet in front of me, equal opportunity perhaps?) What is their goal in whistling at women? Do they expect the women to stop and give them her number? Flash them? Grab one and plant a big wet one? I chose none of these and opted to ignore them and walk on by.

I've been whistled at before. A couple of times on the street doing [whatever], more frequenrly when running. There's also the occassional honker. I can only assume these are the obnoxious teenage boys that feel the need to call attention to the fact they are old enough to drive. (I am trying to give men some credit here). Honkers tend to startle me and I don't like them much.

I guess in general I should take the whistling as a compliment. But I still don't understand.