There are so many aspects that make being a woman hard, and that includes having to deal with sexism, whether on a big or small scale. Recently, we asked women from the BuzzFeed Community to share the acts of sexism they encounter daily, and it'll be almost impossible to get through all of them without getting angry:
1."Being asked if I'm pregnant just because my stomach is more round. Women can have stress bellies and beer bellies just like men. Personally, I have PCOS, which causes hormonal imbalance. I got asked if I was pregnant four to five times in my two years of working retail. Needless to say, I hate retail."
2."Multiple times, I've had an idea or solution to a problem that I've shared with a man, only for them to brush me off. But when another man (or their mom) says the same exact thing I did, it's suddenly the best idea ever."
3."When men ask you what you do for a living, only to follow up with questions like they're trying to quiz you. It's a way of belittling someone. I'll never understand it; I love asking questions to learn more about a new topic, but I'd never ask in a way that implies you don't deserve your job title."
4."I'm a camp counselor at a music camp for kids ages 7–11. I work in the office, so while I don't directly teach music, I handle administrative work, supervise the kids when they're not in class, and run sign-in and sign-out. The two things I've noticed: first, some parents (especially the male ones) are much more dismissive toward me than my male peers. They speak down to me, roll their eyes, and act like I have no authority, even though I have the highest level of responsibility out of all the counselors my age. Second, despite being in the musical group for eight years, some of the campers still assume I can't play as well as the boys — even those who've been playing for far less time. It's frustrating and discouraging, but I love being a counselor, I love this group, and I love the people. I'll be doing it forever."
—Anonymous, Kentucky
5."I work in a male-dominated department. My specific office has about 20 people, five of whom are women. Two women work from home, so there are only three women present, including me, on a daily basis. Once, when the three of us women were speaking, one of our male coworkers walked into the room and asked, 'Is this a coven?' Another time, I was carrying a large package that was heavy but manageable. One coworker asked if I needed help carrying it, and I said that I had it. He looked at me in disbelief and said he KNEW it was heavy, implying that I was lying about being able to carry it."
—Kylie, 23, California
6."Every spring or so, my male boss would ask only the women in the department to schedule a clean-up day, organize it, and make sure they got the other workers (85% men) to adhere to the schedule and clean up the office and workstations. He did this for how many years in a row, where only the women would be in charge of these days."
—Anonymous, California
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7."One time, during my career, I had a male manager who wanted to put me on a performance plan with 30+ things I'd done wrong in just two months. One of the things he'd pointed out the most was that I was 'too aggressive.' Oh, please. I quit that day!"
—Anonymous, 49, Arizona
8."While working on a project for our email campaigns, I was collaborating with two other women in an open workspace. We had printed and taped up dozens of emails on the wall to review and discuss them more easily. As we were working, a man walked by and said, 'Ooh, what are y'all talking about? Makeup?' None of us said anything, and he just scurried away."
—Anonymous
9."I'm a private music teacher who works at a K-6 school. Sometimes I've gotten negative feedback for not being 'warm' or 'maternal' enough with the kids, even though I discourage a positive, growth-driven environment and healthy boundaries. Similarly, when I was an administrative assistant, I got told I was 'curt' when on the phone. Again, while doing my basic responsibilities. If women don't adopt warm, gushy personas, we're perceived as cold and rude. Ugh."
—Anonymous
10."When you say you're into sports, cars, or something else 'for the guys,' and they quiz you about it."
—Anonymous
11."I hate that whenever I get angry, people ask if I'm on my period."
—Anonymous
12."My mother-in-law thinks that women only have value when they have children. Mind you, I don't want any."
13."I'm a female physician. 98% of the time, if I'm in scrubs outside of the hospital, people assume I'm a nurse. Even in the hospital, patients call me nurse multiple times a day, despite introducing myself as the doctor and having a badge that indicates me as such. It's incredibly frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I love my nurses and know they are incredibly important, but I'm a physician and would like to be referred to by my title. It stinks that people (both men and women) see a woman in scrubs and rarely think 'doctor.'"
—SG, 28, Alabama
14."My ex-boss decided to make my chest (and the size of it) a public conversation in the middle of the office. Joke's on him, because he got fired, and I took his job."
Related: I’m A Middle-Aged Woman. This Is What Happened When I Got A Happy Ending Massage.
15."I regularly get asked what I spend all my time doing when I don't have children to take care of (or told how I must get bored with all the 'free time' I have). My husband is never asked this. As if a woman's only hobbies should involve entertaining their kids."
16.Lastly: "When my kids are sick, the school calls me and only me. They don't even bother trying to call my husband, even though they have both of our phone numbers. It's me who's expected to drop everything I'm doing, even though I have to commute to a whole other city for work once a month and my husband doesn't."
*Sigh.* If you're a woman, what are some everyday forms of sexism that you encounter? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using the form below.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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