My Friends Call Me Femi-Nazi

By Alex G.

Reprinted from Behind the Mask, 2016

Here’s a joke: why did God make women? Do you think He’s going to wash the dishes? Or this one: what is woman spelled backwards? It’s spelled k-i-t-c-h-e-n. Pretty funny right? Well, I would say that the really funny part is that these kinds of jokes still resonate as true, or perhaps there is more to these jokes than meets the eye?

Statistically only 3% of women across 15 countries agreed that a woman’s job is to produce children, take care of the family and aspire to do nothing more. Three percent is a very small number. This means that 97% of women in 15 countries across the world are aspiring to be something more than housewives; maybe hoping that the men in their lives will be supportive of them.

However, one big barrier that these women are confronted with is sexism, and this is a major problem — especially in day-to-day communication within couples – regardless of whether or not they are married. Sexism is made from prejudiced attitudes and judgements about men and women based on severe beliefs about gender roles. The idea that women should only be caretakers, sensitive at all times, and agree to a man’s decision regarding political or financial matters is ridiculous. This is so mind blowing to me. Why should any woman be expected to agree to any man’s decisions at all, about anything?

Sexism is a major problem, especially when it manifests in the form of hostility and defensiveness between partners in a couple. If I was to take the mask off of this issue of sexism, I wonder how many women I would find defending themselves and resisting their partner’s tempers when they didn’t have enough time to clean, cook, do laundry, and the list goes on… Just think about how many times you have questioned what matters more to you – having a career or dedicating yourself to an existing or potential family?

Sexism is the cause for gender role assumptions, gender inequalities and discrimination against women. Sexism is the cause for negative and aggressive attitudes towards women who deviate from traditional gender roles and who dispute men’s power. Or, on the other hand, it is also the cause for caring and protective attitudes toward women who adopt conventional roles in the home depicting women as wonderful and compassionate but fragile and in need of men’s care and protection.

So, if we are nice and we cook, then we’ll be cared for and protected, but if we refuse and want to do something different with our lives, then we’ll get negative and aggressive attitudes. Yet the most interesting part is that sexist beliefs are not considered by most people to be sexist at all. Does this mean that the idea that it is strictly women’s duty to clean or cook is considered the norm? What I see is male dominance in all aspects of women’s lives.

More and more women around the world aspire to personal growth and something besides being well suited for domestic work. However, today sexism remains a true problem encountered in families and unmarried couples which is an enormous barrier faced by women. Perhaps we can be the ones to diminish or even put an end to sexism. The bottom line is that women can do it all: take care of domestic work while raising children and having full time careers. All we need to know is that we are not being taken for granted because of our sex.

Alex G. is an exceptional risk taker. Her life is ruled by passion and positivity and she believes that everything she does needs to be fun and fulfilling. She lives and plays in Carbondale, CO, and is continuously looking for opportunities to improve.