HOW MISOGYNY AFFECTS US
“When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.”
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
(white POV) As a white woman, I’ve experienced/seen all types of misogyny, though my race has never been a factor. Schoolboys would pick on one another when me or any other girl bested them in a sport. Dress codes from elementary to middle school meant other girls and I couldn’t wear shorts far above the knees or tops that exposed our shoulders, but boys didn’t get the same treatment once. I’ve been catcalled and sexually harassed, nearly sexually assaulted when a seventh grade boy tried to grope my butt when I was in ninth grade, but fell over while doing so. The fear of being attacked or verbally harassed because I’m a woman is so strong that I’m constantly anxious about it whenever I walk anywhere alone.
(east-asian POV) When I was younger, I remember, when my family went to the Philippines, my younger sister would often get stared at by older men and made us both uncomfortable, even if it wasn’t directed towards me. Also growing up, I had to learn to be a good host and be accommodating to anyone who entered the house. I was also taught that I should smile even if I wasn't happy and that I should because "girls are prettier if they smile."
(south-asian POV) As a child I was always told that I should know how to cook and clean for when I get married. So at a young age I started to learn how to cook and clean up around the house. I was told that the women would take care of the house and the children while the man would go out and make money for the family. However, when my cousins from Vancouver would come over the boy would never clean the house or cook the food but instead sit on the sofa and play games or watch videos while the girls would be helping out in the kitchen.
This issue may differ among cultures but stays predominant in all races, not just one or the other. Women are often seen as the "caregivers", the "housewives", or the ones who give pleasure to heterosexual men. A woman's power and strength is often overlooked and ignored, or even mocked.
A man in a high position isn't seen as a cause for concern but a woman in that very same position would be the most extraordinary concept.
In business settings, you see men wear the same outfit day after day and do nothing more than brush their hair in the mornings. If a woman were to do the exact same thing, everyone would call her sloppy and lazy, that she wasn't being professional.
Women are expected to be docile and obedient and "pretty." They are expected to take up the caring roles in society, whereas a man is expected to be strong and strict and take up positions of power.