I have come to realize that in this day and age, what with the current presidential administration, misogyny is at a particularly high point. The world recently has been full of sexual harassment and assault, and it's appalling. The issue of sexism has been about for quite some time now, and the fact that many women are still scared to walk alone at night (or at any time of day, for that matter) is so frustrating. Upon examining my everyday life, I realize how many blatantly sexist situations I've encountered, and, even worse, how used to them I am.
When it comes to comments where a guy tells me I'm being "bossy" (which happens a lot), or they ask me why I'm being hysterical, or if I'm on my period, I tend to brush it off, acknowledging that it's probably not the best thing to say, but sometimes I just chalk it up to immaturity, or lack of knowledge about common courtesy. Recently, I've been trying to remind myself it's because I'm intimidating them (because I probably am).
So, here's a couple ways to deal with sexist comments.
-When it comes to catcalling, ignoring might be the best policy. It's like when you don't pay attention to kids doing bad things, so they don't associate it with getting attention. This also works when you know someone just wants a reaction out of you. Just don't give it to them.
-If you're being repeatedly harassed, or someone continues to do something after you've said "no," it becomes super not ok. If it's in the workplace or school, you need to alert the higher-ups wherever you are.
-Just straight up say "is that supposed to be funny?" or come up with another retort that shows exactly how much you care.
-Educate them. Tell them why what they're saying is offensive, and shut it down. If they're genuinely confused about what they should and should not say, help them.
And for goodness' sake, please PLEASE don't ever talk about a woman's (or anyone's) body, or physical appearance, or call them bossy, or ask them if they're on their period, or make offensive jokes about being a woman (i.e. periods, boobs, etc.). It's just a sucky thing to do. It doesn't make anyone involved feel good, and it doesn't move our society forward.