Recently, we asked women of the BuzzFeed Community to share the acts of sexism they face in their daily lives. We received so many infuriating and eye-opening stories that we had to keep the conversation going. Here are more stories that'll make your blood boil:
Warning: This post contains mentions of sexual harassment.
1. "When I told my employer I had decided to go back to school to get a Masters of Divinity to become a pastor, he said, 'Well, the men must be failing if God is raising up women.'"
2. "One time I held a door for a man in my office and he said, 'Well, I guess chivalry IS dead!' What a rude response! Just say thank you? Your masculinity must be extremely fragile if it’s threatened by a woman holding a door for you."
3. "I parked in a 'Veterans and Military' parking spot, got out of my car, and a guy cut me off with his truck. He said, 'That spot is for vets, ya know.' I replied, ' I know. It’s nice to be appreciated!' Women have been serving for decades! It’s so weird when people make inaccurate assumptions and feel the need to try and call me out."
4. "While studying for my undergrad in engineering, I had a summer internship at an energy company. When introduced to a senior engineer in a different office, I went in for a handshake and he opted for a kiss on my hand instead."
5. "My last office job had a few employee appreciation parties where food or ice cream was brought in, and only the women were tasked with ordering the food, setting it up in the break-room, serving it, then cleaning up after the men."
6. "My brother told me that it was disgusting that my legs were hairy in the middle of winter (not that I care much in summer either)."
7. "When I was in college, I did a STEM internship one summer. At the end of the internship, we presented our research findings in an event that was open to the public. A photographer from a local newspaper was covering the event, and four of us interns ended up with our photos in the newspaper — two men and two women. I was so excited to have my photo in the newspaper, until I looked at the story in more detail."
8. "I'm a doctor — my husband is not. Apparently addressing things to Mr. and Dr. is too complex for most people. We're introduced as Dr. and Mrs. all the goddamn time."
9. "Over a period of seven years, I tried many different gynecologists because I wanted to get my tubes tied. I was denied again and again because I was unmarried, under 30, and only had one child. I finally found a doctor who was willing to perform the procedure, and I was thrilled."
10. "I work as a cashier at a grocery store. One day I was watching the self-checkout station and a male customer complained about something being the wrong price. After a few seconds of back-and-forth arguing with him about how the price was correct, I finally changed it just so he would pay and leave. He said, 'Good girl' to me in the most condescending tone, like I was some kind of dog, and left."
11. "My male boss frequently tells me that 'red isn’t my color.' Sometimes he says, 'Wow, I actually approve of your outfit today.' I dress professionally appropriate every day. One day I wore a dress with heeled sandals and he looked me up and down, then made me walk in front of him down the hallway."
12. "I decided to go back to school next year to complete my degree in education. Every time I told a relative or a friend I had news, everyone assumed I was either pregnant or getting married! I have a full life that doesn't revolve around my expected gender roles!"
13. "While working at Home Depot, I constantly had customers say they didn't need my help, only to go find a male associate to talk to instead. My favorite is when my associates then have to direct them back to me because I'm the only one with electrical department knowledge."
14. "When filling out the parent information on my children's enrollment forms, I put my husband's (their father's) name, phone number, and email in the top section as the primary contact and mine in the section beneath it. My husband's work schedule makes him much more available than I am to respond to calls or emails. Yet, the school only ever attempts to contact ME."
15. "I was at a car dealership with my husband and speaking with a salesperson at their desk. The dealer mostly spoke towards my husband, rarely making eye contact with me. Then he made an analogy about shopping and turned to look directly at me."
16. "I was a bartender for six years, and men would often say, 'You should smile more' to me. Oh really? Well, you should tip more."
17. "I live with my male partner, and each month I mail a rent check with my name on it to our landlord. Every month, he mails a rent receipt back addressed to my partner."
18. "One time I told this guy my hair was naturally blonde, though I'd been dying it red for six years. He replied, 'But guys usually like blondes more.' I replied, 'Well it's a good thing then that I like red hair!'"
19. "In my school we have class ranks, which my teacher writes on the whiteboard, and I am always on the top. My name happens to be gender neutral, so whenever a male substitute comes in, he always assumes it's a guy and says, 'Where's this boy who's at the top of the class?'"
20. "I was buying a car a few years back and was 100% paying for it myself. I brought then-fiancé with me because I figured he'd be driving it too and I wanted his opinions. At one of the dealerships I visited, the salesman ignored me completely and kept directing his questions to my partner."
21. "My husband and I both work full-time. While I was pregnant, no one asked him what we planned to do for childcare, but everyone asked me who was going to watch the baby when I went back to work."
22. "When I'm playing a video game and decide to turn my mic on, all the guys get suddenly silent or start talking like I'm not there. 'Oh, it's a girl. I didn't know there was a girl in here? Why did you invite a girl?' They think it's a compliment to say that, as a girl, you can 'actually' play."
23. "I was at a client lunch with my CEO after I was promoted to Communications Director for a DC public relations firm. The client automatically assumed because I was young, blonde, and female that I was the secretary. He never even asked for my name."
24. "We went to switch to T-Mobile because of their 50% discount for military service. Every single employee thanked my husband for his service. Every time he had to point to me and say, 'She’s the vet. I haven’t served.'"
25. "I'm tired of middle-aged men stopping me to quiz me about the band t-shirt I’m wearing. Yeah, I was born in 1997, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to listen to music made before I was born."
26. "I had a new boss ask, 'What's you and your husband's plan for the next few years? Kids? I just need to plan how this campaign will work and if you’ll be around.” Implying that if I had kids, I would mess up his work plan."
27. "I just had a baby and I constantly get comments from STRANGERS, even male strangers, telling me that I look great for having just had a baby. I know it's meant as a compliment, but I honestly hate having my body viewed and judged on how it looks after it just did a pretty amazing thing."
28. "I took my car in for maintenance when it started making a strange noise and shaking. The guy behind the counter just gave me a condescending smile, told me it was fine, and said, 'Cars do that sometimes,' without even coming out to see it."
29. "My high school had a pool, so swim was an option for gym. Once a month I opted out of swim for a week because of my period. My male gym teacher was having none of it and told me to just wear a tampon because 'that's what the girls on the swim team do.' I don't wear tampons, and it was none of his business as to why I don't. He failed me at swim class anyway."
30. "I currently live in a different state than the one I'm from. I can't say how often I get asked, 'Did you move here for a man?'"
31. "In elementary school, I had a teacher who gave his boys basketball team a lecture in front of the whole class because they lost against the girls basketball team. Not only was it super insulting to the girls team, but it was also a total dick move to punish the boys for not beating the girls."
32. "I started to notice that while walking, I always move out of the way for guys. I stopped moving out of their way, and you wouldn’t believe how many men walk full-speed into me as if it’s just customary for a woman to move out of their way."
33. Finally: "I bought a house on my own when I was 25. A month after I bought the house, the air conditioner stopped working, so I called a repair service. It turned out that a valve had cracked and all the freon leaked out. It was not a cheap fix, and at the end of the repair, the repair man asked if I wanted to keep the broken valve. When I asked why I would want to keep it, he said, 'So you can show it to your husband to prove you didn’t spend a bunch of his money for no reason.'"
Now I'm MAD!!! Have you ever had to deal with overt sexism? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.