It’s been over two weeks since I was intentionally instructed to encourage sexism as a 21-year-old female in the 21st century. It still bothers me.
I was in a politics class and we had a guest speaker in the room. He is a military captain who served in South Korea a few years ago. My professor, a majorly accomplished woman who is an active duty army veteran who served in Iraq, was thrilled to have this man sharing his experiences.
I was excited, too. He was sharing these incredible stories and using his unique knowledge to inform our class of what life is like in that region of the world. He was a fantastic teacher.
Then, he moved on to give the class advice about seeking jobs in the future and his best advice? “Men are in charge of everything, so do whatever you can to make your male boss feel good. Especially if you’re a heterosexual female.”
Every time I think about it, I feel disgusted, annoyed, and angry. This man said this to a predominantly female class in front of a professor who fought a war in Iraq and returned to teaching our class a week after giving birth.
Are you kidding?
I understand, we are very far from gender equality but you cannot deny the fact that women are just as capable, intelligent, and strong as any man. The fact that this young man (who has without a doubt witnessed women do noteworthy things in his lifetime) felt the right thing to encourage young women to do is fuel the fire of sexism is disgusting and offensive.
Women are powerful. We aren’t here to “make our male boss[es] feel good.” And we certainly aren’t here to listen to misogynistic men suggest we do so.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Featured image via Fader