That is part of it. A lot of times it is passed off as just goofing around. What happens typically is that when a person is first harassed, they say, "What was that? Did that person just say something to me like that?" It doesn't really register with them. They have a large sense-making process around it. Typically, they'll talk to their friends and say that this happened to them and what do they think about it. The first time it happens, it's likely not a big deal to the person. It's more of a curiosity. Then when it happens a couple more times, that's when they start to feel the negative consequences, rather than just thinking, “What the heck was that?”
I do think it's a slippery slope. I think the culture extends to words used, like “bitches”. I don't want to be rude but it extends to situations where there's that kind of language denigrating women and it is tolerated. Another thing with culture is that if reports of harassment are shrugged off instead of being taken seriously, then people will not want to report it. If there's any backlash for reporting, that would be a really negative culture.