Introduction

If you identify as a woman, odds are you’ve experienced some degree of sexism in your lifetime. When we think about sexism, we most commonly think of blatant actions or remarks that are prejudiced towards women. However, there are many less obvious forms of sexism that are ingrained in our society. In order to stand up for yourself and others, you must be able to recognize and call out sexist behavior. 

Everyday sexism

Sexism towards women is fairly common, even in our current day and age. You might have even gotten so used to some of the actions that you don’t even register them as sexism. In our society, it seems as if undermining women is almost “normal.” It’s not! In order to make any sort of change, you have to be educated about how to respond to everyday sexism, including:

• Street harassment: Being cat-called on the street is a form of sexism. Men feel that they have the right to give unsolicited comments on a stranger’s body, just because she is a woman. This isn’t right, and should not be tolerated. It’s even more of an issue because many women are scared to speak up to the men on the street who cat-call them.

• Maternity leave: In our country, only women are given maternity leave. This enforces the existing stereotypes that men should be the working ones and women belong in the home. In certain other countries, men and women are given maternity leave!

• Common phrases: A lot of well-known phrases that people say are sexist towards women. “You play like a girl,” or “You drive like a girl,” all make women seem weak or lesser. Unfortunately, even a lot of women use these phrases!

• Office behavior: If you’ve ever had a job where you work in an office, you might have felt like you weren’t considered equally to the men. Maybe a male boss never asks for your opinion, or when you do give any insight, he brushes it off. This is not uncommon, as many men don’t take professional women seriously.

Because this topic is so important, we dedicated a whole blog post to it. Check it out here for a more detailed explanation of everyday racism. 

Why it’s hard for women to speak up

Photo by Oleg Laptevon Unsplash

Once you realize how often you run into subtle sexism, it’s not always easy to then call it out. In last week’s article, I talked about how our society can make women feel ashamed of their femininity. I know that when I’ve encountered a man making a sexist joke, I often just laugh it off. I think when we are exposed to sexist behavior regularly, we start to think of it as normal. Or, we even start to believe the comments are true. 

I’ve had a lot of personal experience with men who think feminists are “annoying,” “petty,” or “dumb.” I think since I was constantly exposed to that kind of thinking, I never thought of myself as outwardly “feminist.” And I just brushed off many sexist comments or behaviors that I experienced. I even began to agree with them, sometimes. As I got older, and got to know myself better, I learned what I want to stand for. I want to stand for women, and equality. I want to be an ally to anyone who doesn’t have an equal voice. In order to stand up for other people, I need to stand up for myself. Calling out sexism is a way to stand up for myself, and work to make a change for women in general. 

How to call out sexist behavior in your daily life

      Photo by Joyce McCownon Unsplash

Whether you know someone who is repeatedly sexist towards you, or not, it’s good to be educated about how to respond. That way, if you ever do experience it, you’re prepared to speak up for yourself. 

• Stop laughing as a way to brush off comments that make you uncomfortable. Respond in a different way, instead. You can do this by outwardly telling the person that what they said was sexist. Or, you can let your silence speak for itself. 
• If you notice your friends or family members having a conversation that is subtly sexist, explain to them how and why their words are wrong. Sometimes, people honestly don’t understand how their behavior can be harmful.
• ONLY IF IT’S SAFE, you can speak up to cat-callers, by saying “I don’t appreciate those comments.” Please only do this if there are other people around, and you feel comfortable. It is completely understandable to fear or your safety if you are being street-harassed. If this is the case, do not engage in the cat-calling, and pretend like you didn’t hear it.
• Encourage your other female friends to be more mindful of their own behavior. Even women can be sexist towards females, and unknowingly promote sexist behavior. Women who bring other girls down, or shame them, are adding to the sexism in our society. Girls need to support girls!
• Have meaningful conversations with your loved ones about how their sexist behavior hurts your feelings. This is a great article by ABC Life that explains how to have an effective conversation about sexism.

Conclusion

Although great strides have been made in the fight for women’s equality, sexism is still present in our society. Learning how to deal with it is a crucial step in working to undo it.

Our mission at Safe Harbor International Ministries is to provide family restoration. Learning how to have important conversations with your family members about sensitive topics is a part of that. Throughout this month we will be providing more content to highlight women. We hope it encourages you all to show appreciation for the women in your life, even if that woman is yourself! 

Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/.