I once went to see Dale Spender speak. She's quite a famous Australian feminist/educationalist. As an illustration of how women are treated, unconsciously, in both the classroom and in wider life, she deliberatly ignored any questions or comments from male members of the audience, but would answer the question if it came from a woman. The results were hilarious. I've certainly been in that position many a time, ignored in favour of the male voice, but to see the effect on men when the tables are turned was fantastic. They got agressive, demanding and, dare I say it, shrill. She addressed them using the sort of language women expect when they speak up and defend themselves; shrill, bossy, strident etc.
I've never seen such a group of agressive, frustrated men in an education setting. The joke was, whe had said very clearly what she was going to do at the beginning of the lecture, and discussed the impact again at the end. Yet these men refused to believe she was doing anything other than 'picking on them'.
That really opened my eyes to the different way we are treated in society. How many times is Ed Balls' derss sense discussed in the media, yet Harriet Harman is always having her choice of neckline discussed. And how often are women's ages mentioned or they are labelled with their title, Mrs, miss etc, yet men are addressed by their name only?
I am proudly a feminist.