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29 People Call Out What Things We Should Stop Accepting As Normal And Call Them What They Are – Sexist
Society has normalized a lot of things that are blatantly sexist—that’s what the ‘Power To Her’ channel shared in a viral TikTok video that caught the attention of many women on the platform. According to the ‘Power to Her’ project’s video, one of the most mind-blowingly sexist things that are still prevalent in modern society is the fact that women are pressured to change their last names once they get married.
Meanwhile, other TikTokers pitched in with their own examples of what kinds of sexist behaviors have been normalized. From brides wearing white dresses that symbolize purity, innocence, and virginity, and fathers ‘giving away’ their daughters after they walk them down the aisle to other sexist behaviors that you can find in everyday life. Have a look at some of the most insightful responses to ‘Power To Her’s’ video and upvote the ones that you’ve noticed in society, too, dear Pandas.
More info: TikTok | PowerToHer.org
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I've tried numerous times and asked numerous doctors if I can have my tubes tied because I don't want to have children, nor does my husband. They want to have a meeting with both me and my husband, they tell me I'll probably change my mind, that I'm too young or that I need to wait until I have at least one child. Even though I don't want any. But my husband can make a phone call and set up an appointment, just like that.
Eslamala 3 years ago
THIS. Even if the laws are on your side, most doctors won't do it and give you all kinds of illegal and irrelevant excuses, and there's nothing you can do about it, except for going from doctor to doctor until you luck out. Had a huge fight with my former OBG/YN because he wouldn't tie my tubes because "I was too young (23) and eventually *my husband* could want kids. I literally kicked him in the nuts while cursing at him. Would do it again.
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#2
School dress codes. This logic about girls needing to "cover up" is so problematic and flawed, because we're teaching girls that they are responsible for how men act when they show any part of their body.
#3
The prefix for men is Mr. and the prefix for women is Miss, Ms. and Mrs. A prefix for women is directly dependent on if she is single or married. It stays Mr. for men all their lives.
The ‘Power To Her’ organization aims to empower women in their communities. “We hope to encourage social change through promoting, educating and providing the necessary tools and services for progress,” the project explains on its website.
The founder of ‘Power To Her,’ Sachreet Chahal and Shuchi Jain, seek to end gender-based inequalities on a global level. Having met at the Schulich School of Business, the two women eventually grew closer together, shared the things they faced as women, and decided to form the organization.
#4
Back in 2017 I bought a house as a single woman, this year I sold it. My and my partner decided to buy a new house together. With the money I made from selling my old house, I put the entire down payment on the new one. The mortgage company, the insurance, home warranty addresses him as the owner of this house and I'm the "co-borrower".
#5
A woman with boundaries is selfish, rude, mean, harsh. A man with boundaries is confident, powerful, successful, ambitious.
#6
When people come up to me and tell me my daughter's really beautiful and that I better watch our for her when she gets older. Like, they're actually expecting our daughters to be sexually assaulted.
lunar eclipse 3 years ago (edited)
Okay. So where I live. We have arranged marriages. I don’t mind. What I do mind is that I’m 17 and our weird neighbour hinted my mom that she thought I was pretty and her son was at marrying age. Ewgh. Creepy old ladies. Edit: Yes my parents shoed her away.
“Power To Her means giving the power back to each and every single woman and providing them with the help and resources to live their most authentic life,” they explain.
Founder Shuchi, a professional dancer and choreographer with a penchant for traveling and content creation, hopes to raise awareness about the issues that women face through the project. Meanwhile, Sachreet, an aspiring writer and a philanthropist, has always had a passion for social activism and always dreamed about starting a non-profit organization.
#7
Women are forced to take sole responsibility for contraception, when women are only fertile 3-5 days of the year. Men are fertile every single day of the year. The biggest gimmick of all was that it was sold to us as a way of independence.
Celeste Grant 3 years ago
That must mean 3-5 days a month, not a year! Most women have a fertile period every cycle.
#8
How male actors like Ryan Gosling or Leonardo DiCaprio can play the main character their entire careers but each time their female co-star/love interest gets younger.
#9
It's not only normalized but viewed as "cute" when a man can't do the basic parts of parenting. "Oh my husband can't even be with the kids for two hours without calling me haha". "That's nothing, mine won't even touch the dirty diapers." What's funny about only women being expected to know how to take care of their children?
If I could I would live under water 3 years ago
I have to say where I come from, that's not true (anymore). When I go on a 3 day trip with my girlfriends, the dads stay with the kids and it's perfectly normal. No problems whatsoever.
‘Power To Her’ bases its activities on three main pillars in order to empower “a large network of women from different backgrounds and ethnicities.”
The first pillar that the project is founded on is all about mutual support and growth. The second is about educating society about women’s issues, gender stereotypes, toxic beauty standards, access to education, inequality in the workplace, and the lack of women in positions of power. The final pillar is providing people with the necessary tools and services to empower them to give back to marginalized communities.
#10
Whenever a girl has an attitude or is in a bad mood, she gets asked if it's her "time of the month".
#11
It's so normalized for women to change their last name after getting married. This is the name you got your degree with, the name associated with all your accomplishments. Yet society just expects you to pack it up and change it the second you get married.
The fact that so many men expect their S/O to change their last name for them is a red flag.
I understand all the arguments for why you would want to change your last name. To be part of the family and it's easier for the kids and all that. BUT the fact is that the pressure is solely put on women.
#12
When anything happens to a woman, be a crime or an accident, they're almost always referred to as a wife/mother first on a news broadcast. The fact that she's not reffered by her name first but by her relationship to others is messed up. There's always a difference when men are mentioned. It's always "local man", and then they later mention that he's a husband or a father.
Liset Vossen 3 years ago
In the netherlands they recently referred to the royal couple as "The queen and her husband" in a newspaper, fun fact: in this case the husband is actually the monarch of the country i.e. he is the king
#13
Literally everything about traditional weddings. Your dad gives you away so that you can be passed from one man to another man. You have to wear a white dress, because if you're not a virgin, you're [useless]. It's bad luck for the man to see the bride on the day of the wedding because back when marriages were all arranged, if the guy saw the bride before, sometimes he would want to call it off because he didn't fancy her, and that would bring shame on...the bride. That's also why the veil is a thing. Traditionally, the bride's family pays for the wedding.
Random Panda 3 years ago (edited)
This depends on where you live, most of these don't apply to my culture. In my country the bride and groom make their entrance together for both the civil and church marriage ceremonies. There is no giving away of the bride as part of the marriage ceremony itself.
#14
Shaving. If a woman doesn't shave, it's considered "manly" and "nasty". Makeup is targeted specifically towards women, and when a man uses it, he's considered less of a man.
Kelli from Fitness Blender 3 years ago
I personally like how my legs look when I shave them, which is why I shave them. If someone doesn't like that on themselves or just doesn't want to, they shouldn't be forced to. Same thing for makeup.
#15
Giving the mothers the custody on Monday-Friday, and giving the dads the weekends where they get to be the fun parent, no school, no pickups, no homework.
#16
The way society expects girls to be polite vs the way women expect men to be polite. Women are raised to be overly polite from childhood. This is a huge disservice to women — their conditioning to be polite can be so strong that it can lead to situations that put their safety in danger.
If I could I would live under water 3 years ago
I once saw a experiment on TV, where the girl stopped saying "thank you" for a whole day. She wasn't being rude at all, was smiling when she felt like it and talking in a normal tone. Whenever her boyfriend gave her a compliment or something, or did something normal like passing the remote control or just normal relationship stuff, she answered him but didn't thank him. and by the end of the day he was absolutely mad at her, for no "real" reason. I think about this sometimes, because I say "thank you"all the time, even when it's not "my turn" to say it but men don't say "thank you" half as much, and it's totally okay.
#17
I carried my baby for 9 months and birthed her, and yet she has my husband's last name.
#18
Why do we say "grow a pair" or "get some balls" when referring to a situation where someone needs to be strong or tough?
If I could I would live under water 3 years ago
Works both ways, "crying like a girl" and "being a pussy"
#19
If you're a woman and you're walking anywhere, and there's a man coming at you, they'll expect you to move to accommodate them, they won't do it for you. I started playing a little game where I don't move for the man, and the amount of times they've run into me, because they expected me to move, is actually insane.
troufaki13 3 years ago
I call bs. I'm a woman and I've noticed that it's usually the women who won't move
#20
It's normalized to ask a woman "when are you expecting to have kids?". Would you ask that if I was a man? When corportations hire women, they usually anticipate that they're going to take a maternity leave and this is considered a due cost for them, and this is something that people use to justify the pay gap.
#21
Drinking. Everytime I order a whiskey on the rocks, men look at me like "really, you like whiskey?" Where does it say that girls are only allowed to drink wine or sangrias, and if she likes stronger drinks, she's trying to be something that she's not. And even with roles reversed, why are guys not allowed to order fruity drinks, how does that make him less of a man?
#22
I'd have to say gift giving. Presents from "mom and dad", but the dad has no idea what's in them because mom bought them.
Monika Rhodes 3 years ago
That's not sexist- your partner is lazy ass if they can't be bothered to shop for their own kids.
#23
Our fathers walking us down the aisle whenever we get married, because that comes from a time when women were considered property. The father is giving his property away to a new man, because now the woman is supposed to be the husband's property. I feel like that should've been done with when women got rights, it's not cute. I'm not doing that.
#24
Organizing parties. Not only do women take care of the food, they also clean everything up afterwards. Men are just standing there unbothered.
#25
Men playing video games all day. If I were to play video games all day then I'd be neglecting my kid, but when a man does it, it's a good thing that he's home and not out there cheating.
#26
Girls are raised to be wives and told what they can or can't do in their present for what their future husband might like. You have to keep your "purity" because your future husband might like that, you can't wear that, you can't look this way, you can't post those videos, you have to know how to cook and clean as if those aren't human traits that we all need to know how to do as adults to stay alive. But "boys will be boys" and are allowed to do whatever they want.
#27
Engagement rings. We have a "symbol" on our hand saying we belong to someone else, while men get to go around and do whatever they want, no one knows if they're taken.
#28
When a woman decides to propose to a man, she is looked down by society. It's so normalized for only men to propose.
Random Panda 3 years ago (edited)
It's unusual for sure, but are women who do this actually looked down on? I've never met anyone who'd think that.
#29
Why are ships and cars referred to with the pronouns she/her? The English language doesn't really refer to things as "masculine" or "feminine". The fact that we personify these inanimate objects as women and give them female names, doesn't sit right with me. Research says that this has a variety of reasons, ranging from viewing a vessel as a motherly, womb-like, life sustaining figure, to jokingly likening a ship to a woman who is "expensive" to keep and needs a man to guide her, and a lick of paint to look good.
What do you think ?
Eslamala 3 years ago
Unpopular as usual, but most of these are enforced, allowed, encouraged and even justified by other women. If you married a useless slob and keep doing everything for him, it's not society forcing you to do it, it's just you being dumb. If it bothers you, stop putting up with it. It's really simple. Also, anyone can say crap to you, but it's you who give importance to their opinions.. this kind of posts piss me off, because it's just women complaining about crap they willingly put up with. Grow a pair of tits and ovaries, ffs!
Nadine Bamberger 3 years ago
I understand that some of these posts piss you off fir those reasons, but please consider that you are talking like someone who is in a position of power, not all women are being born into societies where that's the norm. Maybe try to see things from different angles before you're blaming the victim. Try to empower, not put down, feels better.
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𝓴𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓲𝓲_𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓻𝓮𝔂 3 years ago
I personally hate the phrase "Boys will be boys" because it just gives them an excuse to treat people however they want.
Jill 3 years ago
I especially hate it when male teachers say this about predominantly male classes. I try to explain to them that they are giving the boys excuses that will backfire later and arent teaching them anything other than it is ok to be pains in the a**.
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Eslamala 3 years ago
Unpopular as usual, but most of these are enforced, allowed, encouraged and even justified by other women. If you married a useless slob and keep doing everything for him, it's not society forcing you to do it, it's just you being dumb. If it bothers you, stop putting up with it. It's really simple. Also, anyone can say crap to you, but it's you who give importance to their opinions.. this kind of posts piss me off, because it's just women complaining about crap they willingly put up with. Grow a pair of tits and ovaries, ffs!
Nadine Bamberger 3 years ago
I understand that some of these posts piss you off fir those reasons, but please consider that you are talking like someone who is in a position of power, not all women are being born into societies where that's the norm. Maybe try to see things from different angles before you're blaming the victim. Try to empower, not put down, feels better.
Load More Replies... 𝓴𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓲𝓲_𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓻𝓮𝔂 3 years ago
I personally hate the phrase "Boys will be boys" because it just gives them an excuse to treat people however they want.
Jill 3 years ago
I especially hate it when male teachers say this about predominantly male classes. I try to explain to them that they are giving the boys excuses that will backfire later and arent teaching them anything other than it is ok to be pains in the a**.
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