Then I saw this article on Huffington Post (ugh, I know, please don't judge me though) and I emailed it to myself to write about at a later date. It really wasn't the article so much as the Twitter snapshots below the article that struck me. Granted, the content of the article was also eerily accurate, but the tweets spoke volumes of truth that are completely valid and they weren't man hating, which was the best part.
Sadly, the #YesAllWomen blog and FB page seems pretty much deserted after this summer, but the hashtag is used pretty frequently on Twitter.
So many of the tweets at the bottom of the page resonated with me, so I'm going to save you the time of going to the website and loading them (because they are in a pretty obnoxious flash box and won't display as a full page).
So tell me, do any of these resonate with you? Do any of these APPLY to you? Because some of these directly apply to me and I hate it. Also, if you're a dude Gentle Reader, you're encouraged to comment and tell us about what it's like on the other side of the fence.
I've been concerned over walking through DC all alone on a Friday night, even if it was just a few blocks and it wasn't even that late. I've been told a boy hitting me was him "flirting" with me. I've read the female dress code page vs the paragraph describing the male dress code. I've been told by several people that if I was an officer they wouldn't salute me. I have male friends who have "jokingly" said to me "go make me a sammich" and when I responded with, "go fuck yourself" they got offended. I've been called out for/oogled while scratching my boob when it itched by a guy and when I pointed out that it's acceptable for guys to scratch their balls in public unchallenged, he said it wasn't the same (It isn't?). Also, I've gone to gyms where women have to wear a shirt, but men can wear shirts with half the sides cut out. I've been asked, "Is it that time of the month?" when I've been upset so many times that I don't even get upset about it anymore. Even worse is when I preface my irritation or anger rants with "No, I'm not PMSing/on my period... But blah blah blah."
I hope that for the sake of the next generation, there is more equality and the fight for what the original Feminists were aiming for continues on.
Some of these do resonate with me and that makes me mad. My daughter loves to point out to administration that if she as a lesbian can sit in a classroom and not want to attack the girl next to her, the boys should be able to do the same. Even if that girl is completely naked. Apparently her point isn't valid in their eyes.
ReplyDeleteSome of them apply to me, like the period one- seriously who doesn't hate that? I do think things are getting better, or maybe I've just trained myself to ignore some of the misogyny (which is sad, but helpful). It's really interesting to wonder what things will be like for say, my children, since I feel like even talking to people about 5 years younger they seem to be at least recognize what is PC and what isn't. So I have hope, at least, even though these screenshots are just the worst.
ReplyDeleteThose tweets enraged me because the fact the any woman can identify with them means we've failed. I want my daughter to grow up in a different culture and things need to start to change now in order to make that a reality. But if people are willing to at least open the discussion, then there's hope. And raising awareness to the problem is the first step to that discussion.
ReplyDeleteYep. I remember seeing this HuffPo article and reading these tweets and just nodding during all of them. Not sure if you remember or read it, but I wrote a post about online dating/harassment and the things females have to endure being online. NO, I don't think all men are creepy assholes...but YES, I think we're told as women to "be careful" and tread lightly with what we say so we don't rile up the guy and potentially put ourselves in a bad position. The double standards that still exist out there are CRAZY.
ReplyDeleteI had a conversation just last night with a friend who was in a terribly abusive relationship about ten years ago. She even told me a story about waking up to her boyfriend holding a butcher knife to her throat saying to her "are you scared?", "you should be", "I can do what I want, when I want to you". Yet she stayed with him. We discussed all the reasons that at the time she felt like she needed to "improve" herself to meet his standards. The fact that this story is much more common than it should be is what is so mind-boggling.
ReplyDeleteYes, some of those tweets directly apply to things I've experienced and/or witnessed.
I hate that a lot of these tweets are like every day thoughts really. It sucks that things haven't really evolved over the years. I am honestly now sure if they ever will? I feel like for every stop forward we take as a society, we take 10 steps back at the same time.
ReplyDeleteSo many of these hit right at home. What is sad is that there are men who aren't bad men but they honestly have no idea what it is like. One I have seen is Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will hurt or kill them. Seriously that is fucked up.
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