I’m from New Zealand and it took me moving to London to realise how real everyday sexism is. It was actually my well travelled Uncle who got me onto Laura’s book which I am currently reading. I have never been an anxious person in my life and have always ignored cat-calling or inappropriate comments about my gender or appearance but now, I don’t know if it’s because I’m more aware of it or because it’s getting worse, I feel like an object everyday I wall out the door. There is always a cat-call or an outrageously inappropriate comment that makes me feel disgusting inside. It’s affected the way I dress, my lack of wanting any new relationships (my last relationship was a classic example of how some people still believe a women’s opinion doesn’t matter) and also my confidence because I feel unsafe addressing it for fear of getting myself into a dangerous situation and then guilt for not standing up for myself.
There have many stories I can share about my own run-in’s with everyday sexism but one of the worst most recently happened to a co-worker of mine. We both work in a pub, and we both live above the pub. Our front door is out to an alleyway between our pub and the pub next door. This is where the staff from both pubs usually smoke. On a busy Friday night, my friend went outside to smoke where she encountered one of our male patrons urinating in the alley. She asked him to not do this as this was our front doorstep, to which the response was ‘Shut up or I’ll shove my dick down your throat’. I actually don’t know what was worse, the comment or the fact that when she told all of us what happened, I was the only one who asked her if she was okay and was completely disgusted by the remark. The others both women and men, including my friend at the time (she later realised it was wrong) thought it was just a rude drunk comment. I know alcohol was involved but since when does that count as an exuse to promote rape culture?
So many other stories to share but all of the same issue.
Thanks Laura for your book.
