We live in a sexist society — fact.
Also fact: it’s not just women who deal with sexism . Men are also at the hands of it, whether it’s women commenting on their height, telling them to “man up,” or women assuming that all men are the same.
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Fixing these problems requires being aware of it. So here are 19 sexist things (toward both women and men) in society that we need to erase!
Women not being acknowledged the same way as men.
This woman notices that men are addressed first and seen as the main focus when buying a car or even browsing at a store.
“Men shake hands, introduce, but often make no effort to introduce themselves to me or even acknowledge I’m there.”
Fathers being gatekeepers of their daughters’ sexualities and love lives.
“It all comes to the grand finale of ultimately forfeiting her to her new husband at the alter. (I know some people love this tradition and want to walk with their dads on their wedding day, but I personally don’t like what the tradition represents so I don’t want that for myself.)” – u/caffeinesdependant
Women being punished for not having kids.
Since this woman doesn’t have kids and is single, her employers treat her differently. She’s always the one who is expected to work late and work special events.
Females being called “sweetheart” or “sweetie.”
“Please stop calling me honey/sweetie unless you know me well. When coworkers who are twice my age call me honey, it comes across as patronizing, even if they don’t intend it that way.” – u/_procyon
Females getting groped in public.
“I live in LA, and nearly every time I go out to a crowded bar a guy is copping a feel on my upper thighs/butt. I’ve even grabbed their wrists while they’re doing it and they still look me in the face and deny it. ‘It was an accident! You’re crazy!!!'” – u/pfquestion824
Men getting groped by women.
Yep, it’s not just women dealing with this! This Redditor wrote about the time a female colleague got drunk and very handsy with them. When they told her to stop, she wouldn’t.
Workplaces putting females in mainly customer-facing positions, while men work behind the scenes.
“I don’t have the skills or inclination to do customer-facing work, but when I was working student jobs they kept putting me upfront. Even for things like fast food.” – u/deleted
Women being told to smile.
“I don’t need to be smiling all the time. I am a person with a life, i’m not here just to brighten up your surroundings, and I have every right to not smile whenever the hell I want.” – u/fringerella
The lack of sexual harassment training for women.
At this Redditor’s work, they have to watch sexual harassment training. But since all of the examples are of men harassing women, this implies that women are never the perpetrators.
Accusing women of being on their period if they’re moody.
“Not all guys do this, and yes some girls do get a little touchy that time of month. However, that does not give anyone the right to discount their feelings or ideas just because they might be ‘on the rag.'” – u/Saturnynian
Men saying “you throw/run/hit/etc like a girl” or “don’t throw/run/hit/etc like a girl, now.”
“The second one drives me crazy. Since when did doing something ‘like a girl’ represent weakness? And then when a woman can do these kinds of things ‘like a man,’ her femininity is questioned.” – u/EarthDayEveryday
The double standard of females commenting on a male’s appearance.
This Redditor has female friends who get mad when men comment on a female’s appearance.
Yet, they don’t bat an eye when they comment on a guy’s height, weight, muscular build, athletic ability, and so on.
Men being told to “man up” or “grow a pair.”
“It’s the same sort of idea: that a man cannot show any kind of weakness without being seen as ‘lesser.’ This sort of language invalidates men’s feelings and is simply not okay.” – u/charenton_
Women being left out of conversations about cars.
“I get tuned out of conversations about them all the time and it drives me crazy. I hate the feeling that I’ve ceased to exist just because the conversation isn’t feminine in nature.” – u/Miaoshan
Men ignoring women in serious competition.
If you watched Squid Game , you saw how women were always chosen last for the teams since they were perceived as being weak. Just because a woman is competing with men doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be taken seriously!
Men assuming women know nothing about sports.
“There is always a look of surprise when I am talking about baseball with a guy I have just met or encountered. Yes, I know all of the players on the team and yes, I am able to talk about how the players have been doing while having stats to back me up.” – u/goosepea
Men taking up a lot of space.
“Men will splay their legs out on busses and take up a ton of space while the women will make themselves as small as possible. Whenever I’m walking down the sidewalk if there’s a group of men coming from the opposite direction they will almost never move aside so there’s enough room for us to comfortably pass each other.” – u/deleted
Women making fun of a man’s muscle mass.
This Redditor is sick of being teased about not being able to gain weight easily. He said that asking him if he can move an eighty-pound box while asking if he’s more than 100 pounds is hurtful and rude.
Women refusing to date men less than six feet.
“Just the thought you won’t give a guy a chance over something he has no control over. I’d rather them say no to guys who are to fat or skinny, they can fix that.” – u/Littlebigs5
