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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Everyday sexism or am I being oversensitive?

15 replies

Jessica147 · 04/03/2015 09:11

I've just been in assembly with my form (all boys school) and the head teacher named every man in the room and said "we're all giving up alcohol for lent and donating the money to charity". Then named every woman in the room and said "they're all giving up chocolate and donating the money". I'm really annoyed and don't know if I'm reading too much in to it, but surely this is a pretty good example of how our boys learn to be sexist?!

OP posts:
gingerfluffball · 04/03/2015 09:13

Ugh, yes. This kind of thing pisses me right off. Because men can't like chocolate and women can't like alcohol, right?! It just ingrains lazy stereotypes.

LingDiLong · 04/03/2015 09:15

I don't know - when you say 'your form', do you mean you're a teacher there and the head has unilaterally decided for you that you've giving up chocolate? If so then yes the assumption that giving up chocolate would be hard for every single woman would piss me off.

If you were at your child's school and this has been decided amongst the teachers themselves then it's not necessarily sexism. To be honest, it's not exactly great to assume all men would struggle to give up alcohol either! I know plenty of blokes who don't drink that much and could do it easily. It's kind of offensive to both sexes.

Vivacia · 04/03/2015 09:44

I agree with the offensive to both sexes thing. Alcohol-consumption is certainly likely to be a sensitive subject to quite a few people in the room.

I had my own, am I reading too much in to this yesterday. I was on a train, and the only female in the carriage. Checking the tickets, the train guard thanked all of the male passengers, calling them "sir" but said "thanks flower" to me.
It was very noticeable. And although he was being friendly and I'm sure meant no offence, I did feel very "other-ed".

Original poster
Jessica147 · 04/03/2015 10:40

Yes, I'm a teacher. I don't even eat much chocolate, and I've given up alcohol!

OP posts:
harrietTheFly · 04/03/2015 12:18

Yes lazy stereotyping really irritates me. And I love to prove it wrong so have to point out here I'm not much of a chocolate fan but my male dp can't get enough of the stuff. Neither of us are big drinkers though.

PilchardPrincess · 04/03/2015 21:09

WTF

He was being a tit
And a sexist one at that

Basically he told all the children something that wasn't true (as clearly this had not been decided amongst the staff) and was really sexist.

Great job!

CtrlAltDelicious · 04/03/2015 21:12

Pathetic lazy stereotyping.
MEN drink BEER.
Ladies scoff chocolate.

sashh · 05/03/2015 07:32

Vivacia

I was in a pub a couple of weeks age with my dad, I asked the bar man why he called all the men 'Sir' and me 'Darling', he mumbled something about being on a course.

It's a chain pub and they ask for feedback so I told them, I got an oppology phone call from the member of staff he 'didn't think anything of it, but understood how it could be offensive and hoped I'd come back to the pub so he could address me correctly when he served me'

OP it's sexist, it's also teaching school children that alcohol and chocolate are equal in terms of their consumption by adults and their affect on the human body - not a good message.

Yops · 05/03/2015 08:24

Turn up at work pissed every day for 40 days, and point out that you haven't agreed to give up alcohol.

AshleyDavidson · 05/03/2015 08:42

I think guys should be way more offended - he basically called them all alcoholics. And, the chocolate thing... I agree, it's an annoying stereotype, but it's not something to get offended of. There are worse generalizations for women, so let's not get too hyped up over chocolate :)

AskBasil · 05/03/2015 08:56

No-one's getting hyped up over chocolate.

They're pointing out the everyday sexism involved in this incident.

If you don't point it out, you don't notice it and you don't ever stop it.

Vivacia · 05/03/2015 09:25

Good post Basil

WorkingBling · 05/03/2015 16:03

Honestly, I think we should start a book on how long on one of these threads it takes someone to come along and say, "it's just , there are much bigger problems in the world." It is so excruciatingly tiring. Because of course, any woman noticing something that demonstrates day to day sexism can only point it out if it's very very serious.

I'm sure civil rights campaigners in the U.S. felt the same way when people pointed out that they could always take a different bus ....

Argh.

Lottapianos · 05/03/2015 16:13

'Honestly, I think we should start a book on how long on one of these threads it takes someone to come along and say, "it's just , there are much bigger problems in the world." '

Grin The answer is always the same - 'really not very long at all'. Agree that its tiring. Makes me tired right down to my bones, having to explain the same thing over and over again to the hard of thinking.

Jessica and Vivacia - you havent' gone mad, and are not reading too much into anything. Both examples of cut and dried sexism as far as I'm concerned.

HelenaDove · 09/03/2015 18:28

Im teetotal and dont eat chocolate so i would love to have known their suggestion for me had i been there.

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