I work as a volunteer in a library, and am in my mid fifties. Recently there was a meeting between our local councillor and three of us volunteers. It was fairly impromptu, but had been organised for the time when I was going to be working there by one of the other (male) volunteers because, he said, I was ‘gobby’. The meeting lasted an hour and a half, during which time I spoke less than any of the three men there. Despite this, half way through the meeting, after I had raised a single point, this same man said ‘You see what I mean, you’re gobby.’SO in a meeting of 4 people, 3 people spoke more than me, 1 person was female(me) and the one who was typified as speaking too much was me (the one who spoke the least). I told the man that I was not happy with his remarks and he stated that it seemed to him like thats what I was. I asked him why he hadn’t called the other men gobby, and there was no reply…. There are a number of adjectives that could have been used…eloquent, articulate, able to express opinions, knowledgeable, cogent etc etc. But the chosen word was ‘gobby’, which in my experience is almost always used by men to talk about women who dare to speak in meetings where there are men. Never heard a man talking about another man and calling him ‘gobby’. Its a small thing, but it is symptomatic of the way in which sexist words are used every single day.