Trump did to Merkel what men do to women all the time
Trump did to Merkel what men do to women all the time
Men constantly ignore women but most of the time no one notices it. Except, that is, when it happens on the world stage
A few years ago, my husband and I ran into a mutual acquaintance at a restaurant. This young man a person who would surely identify as progressive spent the entirety our interaction completely ignoring me. He spoke only to my husband; he wouldnt even look at me when I asked a direct question. While it would be tempting to write off the exchange as simple rudeness, this brand of slight is familiar to most women. Perhaps it happens when you go to buy a car and the salesperson only speaks to your male partner. Or when you meet someone at a work event and they only introduce themselves to the male colleague beside you. Or, if youre Angela Merkel, maybe the notoriously misogynist president of the United States refuses to shake your hand or even deign to look at you during a press conference. We hear quite a lot about explicit sexism like cat calls or discrimination, but less overt indignities can be just as infuriating in part, because theyre so hard to explain to those who havent experienced them.
Aziz Ansaris hit Netflix show, Master of None, had a brilliant episode dedicated to just this topic. Ansaris character, Dev, spends the majority of the episode realizing how much sexism women have to deal with: from men following women home and flashing them on subways, to lewd comments on social media. But when Devs girlfriend, Rachel, points out that his director only introduced himself to the men at the table ignoring the two women sitting there he balks slightly. Surely, he says, there was some misunderstanding: The director was in a rush, or Rachel is reading too much into it.
When Dev finally admits that perhaps the interaction was gendered, Rachel explains why what happened was so painful: There are lot of subtle little things that happen to me and all women, even in our little progressive world. And when somebody, especially my boyfriend, tells me Im wrong without having any way of knowing my personal experience, its insulting.
When I tweeted about Trump ignoring Merkel, and how familiar an experience it is to women, dozens chimed in. One said both she and her husband were journalists but men will generally only ask him about his work. Another noted that the bosses on her team are all women, but its the teenage male intern who gets the questions.The assumption, of course, is that the women in the room simply arent important enough to warrant attention or conversation. Its a phenomenon Ive noticed increases as women get older, and ever more invisible.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/21/trump-did-to-merkel-what-men-do-to-women-all-the-time
Laffy Kat
(16,386 posts)KT2000
(20,588 posts)they do not hear. I don't know how many times I have had to repeat things because it was obvious the male I was talking to did not process what I had said. This goes for meetings, customer service calls etc. Long ago I thought I was dealing with people who were not very bright but then learned it is a thing with some men. Actually my brother clued me in - when expressing my frustration about this he said - you have to understand, men don't listen to women.
Exceptions of course but it happens often.
niyad
(113,560 posts)Pacifist Patriot
(24,654 posts)Or wondered if my voice sounded way louder to me than it did to everyone else. Until one day it dawned on me that I generally only had to repeat myself to males. Very eye opening realization.
KT2000
(20,588 posts)In meetings I started to wonder if they registered total silence or maybe a whooshing sound.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,654 posts)Duppers
(28,127 posts)Over and over.
raccoon
(31,120 posts)Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)A lot of people put their focus and eye contact on me and hardy focus on what my wife has to say or even give her a chance.
The thing with a lot of prejudices and sexism is a lot of it is done and perpetuated unconsciously. It's the way you saw you parents act and how you were treated growing up and it is how you unconsciously act. It takes a little bit of awareness and effort to change.
JudyM
(29,277 posts)Ever notice how guys (strangers) are careful/aware of each other's space in close quarters like a crowded happy hour... but they'll bump into us, crowd us, etc, like nothing, when they're not flirting, I mean.