From rants to romps: inside a feminist's mind
Jessica Job
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Calling all firecrackers! We want to hear you bitch and moan.
Do your feathers get ruffled when a prepubescent store clerk calls you "sweetie" instead of "Miss?" Do you hate seeing advertisements for baby carriages and cleaning supplies in the women's locker room at the gym? Do you have gripes about how utterly gendered and sexist the world around you can be? If so, we're here to listen.
Society proliferates heaps of double standards - many of which go unnoticed if you don't pay close enough attention. However, these seemingly insignificant occurances are all hints and signs of larger systems of oppression at work. (Newsflash: Floor cleaner and baby carriages are advertised to women because we are considered the floor-scrubbers and child-rearers.)
So next time a guy friend refuses to allow "weak little you" to carry your own bags up the stairs, make a mental note of the situation - and be sure to let us know why it makes you howlingly mad!
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(Please note that zee Bitch and Moan section is a forum reserved for slightly trivial pet peeves... the daily manifestations of sexism that make you foam at the mouth. Hence, "man, I'm really pissed off that rape is used as a war tactic" wouldn't really work! :)
Why does the cashier at Dunk n Donuts insist on giving the change to my male friends after he *just* saw me take the money out of my own damn pocket and place it in his hand? Am I missing something? Did somebody forget to send me a memo? The procedure is pretty simple, fellas. Take money. Get change. Give change to paying customer, not her male company. Wish her a pleasant day.
Similarly, nothing boils my blood more than walking into a store to have the salesman greet me with "Is there something I can help you with, sweetie?" Do I really need to be treated like a child by some ninny in a plastic nametag and khakis? Yeah, I know I look like I'm sixteen, but nobody greets a male customers using food names regardless of their age or stature. Stick with Ma'am or Miss. If you can't handle that, leave me to buy my overpriced cardigans in peace.
My roommate has a gripe of her own. When she goes out to a restaurant and orders a steak while her boyfriend orders pasta, the waiter often assumes the "manlier" dish belongs to - you guessed it - the man. Same goes for "girly" and hard liquor drinks. Ok people, we genderize hygiene products. We genderize movies. We even genderize cars. But does my dinner really need to scream penis or vagina? Newsflash: women eat meat and some can even kegstand better than the roughest and earth-crunchiest frat boys out there. Stop assuming we're too busy watching our girlish figures to eat and drink like human beings.