Reactions to a HuffPost Article

One of the only positive things to come out of the 2016 dumpster fire we called an election (and year) was that some people are gaining a greater awareness of what is actually going on in the world.

I just finished an article called "Some Garbage Things I Used to Believe About Equality." This entire article feels like such a validation. It is a straight white man realizing that all the things we are saying about sexism, racism, and homophobia are real.  I can't even count the number of times that I would say something was sexist only the be brushed off and told that I was seeing things that weren't there. Or that I was just trying to be offended. I have been told that I am too emotional, questioned if I have some kind of mental disorder, and generally put down when I try to point out the sexism that is so rampant.

The article hit home at a lot of points, but the one that really made me think was when he quoted Sarah Sharp: "I did not want to work professionally with people who were allowed to get away with subtle sexist or homophobic jokes."

Hm. Can anyone say they have worked in an industry in which people weren't allowed to get away with this?

I worked in insurance. It is the personification of the old boys' club. It is Mad Men. It is men in charge, women do the work. Men drop work on your desk half an hour before they leave and expect it to be done because that's what the women are there for. Women are the worker bees. Even if there appears to be a woman in a position of power, she is held to an entirely different set of standards than the men are.

Don't even try to bring it up! The only thing worse than being a woman is being a Millennial (which is a whole other story) - any complaints you make are just you being entitled and wanting to be held to a different set of standards. Never mind that you just want to be treated like a person with some respect. The fact that I am a woman puts me at a disadvantage before I am even given the chance to show what I can do.

I had an interview with Uber to be a self-driving car operator. This interview consisted of going to a track and doing different maneuvers to show the drivers that you were capable of learning how to deal with stressful driving situations. There were about 35 people at the interview, and three of us were women. One of the men said something about how he was afraid the trainers would think he was a bad driver. My reply to him was that at least they would think he was just having a bad day - if I messed up, it would be because I am a woman. There was a round of awkward laughter, but no one disagreed with me. I think I may have hit upon what jokes were being made in the other cars.


If anything good can come out of 2016, it is that decent people will realize what is going on around them. And not take it anymore.