24 August 2012

How Can you Tell When Some Sexism is happening at you?

"Well, in this matter, what ultimately aides us is to simply apply this question to the issue: Is this polite? If we--the entire population of the earth, male and female alike--are just, essentially, "the guys," then was one of the guys just...uncouth to a fellow guy?

Don't call it sexism. Call it "manners" instead. When a woman blinks a little, shakes her head like Columbo, and says, "I'm sorry, but that sounded a little...uncivil," a man is apt to apologize. Because even the most rampant bigot on earth has no defense against a charge of simply being rude.

After all, you can argue--argue until you cry--about what modern, codified misogyny is, but straight-up ungentlemanliness...is inarguable. It doesn't need to be a "man vs. woman" thing. It's just a tiff between the guys.

Seeing the whole world as "the guys" is important. The idea that we're all, at the end of the day, just a bunch of well-meaning schlumps trying to get along is the basic alpha and omega of my worldview. I'm neither "pro-women" nor "anti-men." I'm just 'Thumbs up for the six billion.'"

~Caitlin Moran, How to Be A Woman

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