Jo

I was with my ex-boyfriend for several years, and every time we would meet with the rest of his family they would undermine me and make me feel small. He is one of three brothers who were all competitive with each other, but the way they extended this to me as a woman was exceptional. Every time I expressed an opinion on something – even something I had studied at Masters level and they had not – I was met with a ‘correction’ – which ironically showed only the level of their ignorance about the topic at hand. Their assumption of superiority was incredible. Unfortunately, this was also true of the mother, who assumed I was an airhead despite being the first in my family to go to university, obtaining the highest grades in my year in a number of subjects, and gaining a scholarship. She seemed to be obsessed with sizing me up physically instead, making comments about my body and would do the same to other women in a similar fashion. What was so surprising to me was that these were highly educated people, but their prejudice knew no bounds, and was deeply irrational, rooted in misogyny. I’m glad they never made it to in-law status, sometimes it’s good to look back and realise you’ve had a lucky escape.