The more stories I heard, the more I tried to talk about the problem. And yet time and time again I found myself coming up against the same response: Sexism doesn’t exist anymore. Women are equal now, more or less. You career girls these days have the best of all worlds – what more do you want? Think about the women in other countries dealing with real problems, people told me – you women in the West have no idea how lucky you are. You have “gilded lives”! You’re making a fuss about nothing. You’re overreacting. You’re uptight, or frigid. You need to learn to take a joke, get a sense of humor, light up…You really need to learn to take a compliment.

The more stories I heard, the more I tried to talk about the problem. And yet time and time again I found myself coming up against the same response: Sexism doesn’t exist anymore. Women are equal now, more or less. You career girls these days have the best of all worlds – what more do you want? Think about the women in other countries dealing with real problems, people told me – you women in the West have no idea how lucky you are. You have “gilded lives”! You’re making a fuss about nothing. You’re overreacting. You’re uptight, or frigid. You need to learn to take a joke, get a sense of humor, light up…You really need to learn to take a compliment.

– Laura Bates –

Everyday Sexism

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