# What Is The Most Egregiously Sexist Act You Have Ever Seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565 "2009-07-19T23:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![SmashTheState](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@SmashTheState](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmashTheState)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/221 "2009-07-24T23:21:57Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > As a teacher who has organized trips, it drives me crazy that so many boys won’t share a bed, no matter how large–over and over again I’ve seen teenage boys sleep on the floor rather than share a queen size bed with a buddy. It’s simple homophobia, but deeply entrenched. I think the problem is that boys and girls are about equally likely to want to sample the forbidden fruit of same-sex experimentation, but the repercussions of being found out (or rejected) are wildly, disproporionately, more extremely negative for boys than girls. The whole gay-'til-graduation thing is so common among girls that it’s become a stereotype in popular culture and an annoyance to real lesbians. For boys, though… well, I’ll quote Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay on this one: “Either ya suck dick or ya don’t.” As far as the guys are concerned, once you’ve partaken of the forbidden sausage, there’s no going back; they are forever locked into a destiny of pink feather boas and Barbara Streisand records. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Girls did seem to get more privacy than we did. For example if the female PE teacher needed something from the boys lockerroom (the balls were kept there) or talk to one of the male teachers she’d just yell a warning and come in while we were changing. No man would’ve dared do that with the girls lockerroom. She once caught 3 football players (who took a _rare_ shower after gym) buck naked :o. The girls also got more privacy for their physicals. There was a time in the not-to-distant past where it seems it was just assumed that the gym teachers would be pedos. It was traditional, like Father O’Malley having a little private communion with the altar boys. People didn’t talk about it, but it was just assumed to be happening. I remember when I was in middle school, the girls’ gym teacher would walk into the boys’ changing room, stand in the middle with her arms crossed, and have a good look around. If anyone complained, she’d just sneer and say, “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Well, yes, that’s because you did the same thing last week. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/222 "2009-07-24T23:36:10Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > On that trip most of the guys simply took the mattresses off the bedframes and split the bedding up. The housekeeping staff must’ve loved our group :rolleyes:. > > Girls did seem to get more privacy than we did. For example if the female PE teacher needed something from the boys lockerroom (the balls were kept there) or talk to one of the male teachers she’d just yell a warning and come in while we were changing. No man would’ve dared do that with the girls lockerroom. She once caught 3 football players (who took a _rare_ shower after gym) buck naked :o. The girls also got more privacy for their physicals. But, again, from a different point of view, that can also be “boys had a lot more freedom to be naked”–being treated like your body is shameful and must be covered is not exactly a boon. I do think this is changing because boys are much more modest than they used to be–witness all the threads we’ve had about naked boys swim lessons in the 50s, and certainly boys go shirtless much less often than they used to. The infrastructure and routines are tied to an earlier time period. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/223 "2009-07-25T00:22:22Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I do agree with your wider point that there is a lot of sexism towards boys in high school–in fact, the typical teacher call for help “Do any big strong boys want to help me carry in stuff from my car” is really insulting to everyone, I think. Oh my God, that reminds me of this assignment in Grade 8. Our teacher was big on Home Ec skills so she got our class to cook a meal for the whole school (it was a really small rural school). She took us to buy ingredients in two different groups, one consisting of the boys and one of the girls. When we girls went, we automatically loaded and unloaded the groceries from the car, but the boys just hopped into the car and waited for our teacher to do it! They were just all so used to their mothers and sisters handling it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/224 "2009-07-25T01:14:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Again, this is not the administration’s concern. If she doesn’t have clothes with pockets for those days, then she needs to get some clothes with pockets. Hell, I’ve seen bras with pockets sewn into them to hold money or a tampon discreetly. Or what about a binder? I used binders all through high school (I did carry my bookbag all day though), they all had extra pockets or slots to store stuff. You are seriously underestimating the amount of space some females need to store their tampons/pads. When I was in high school and college, I needed to change my tampon AND pad at least every two hours. None of those minipads would do, either. I needed the equivalent of a maxipad. Those puppies are about four inches long and two inches thick by three inches wide when folded. So I needed about five or six of those during my school day, in case I was having an exceptionally heavy flow day. Tampons (and I was wearing tampons WITH the pads) are more compact, but are more likely to allow clots to pass through) are more or less fingersized, and add another finger or so for the applicator. Again, I’d need a half dozen or so of these. A bra pocket could maybe hold ONE mini pad or TWO non-applicator tampons. Binders? You expect teens to keep their sanitary supplies in BINDERS, which are opened several times each class period? Anyway, there’s really not enough room in them either. Good luck in finding women’s clothes with pockets in them, especially pockets that are large enough to hold a day’s supply of protection. And it’s a good idea to have at least one pad in your possessions, in case of sudden onset of menstruation. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/225 "2009-07-25T12:29:02Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Forgot to add: I (female) did register for the draft on my 18th birthday. I got a lot of flak from the guys at the Post Office, and they called their buddies out from the back to laugh at me. When it quieted down a bit, I looked up at the ring leader and calmly said “Equal rights: equal responsibility.” > > . But you don’t have equal rights. > [@](#): > > An Opinion Research Corporation poll commissioned in 2001 by the ERA Campaign Network of Princeton, NJ shows that nearly all U.S. adults – 96% – believe that male and female citizens should have equal rights. The vast majority – 88% – also believe that the U.S. Constitution should make it clear that these rights are supposed to be equal. However, \*\*nearly three-quarters of the respondents – 72% – mistakenly assume that the Constitution already includes such a guarantee. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/226 "2009-07-25T12:53:03Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > But you don’t have equal rights. Please, is there anyone anywhere that doesn’t read “All men are created equal” in the Constitution through the modern day filter of “All men [and women] are created equal.”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/227 "2009-07-25T14:46:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Please, is there anyone anywhere that doesn’t read “All men are created equal” in the Constitution through the modern day filter of “All men [and women] are created equal.”? “All men are created equal” is in the Declaration of Independence not the Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/228 "2009-07-25T14:47:39Z")
And on the topic of sexism, [pick the one](http://www.oddee.com/item_96674.aspx) you find most offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/229 "2009-07-25T14:49:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “All men are created equal” is in the Declaration of Independence not the Constitution. It’s still early in the morning, give me a break. But seriously, the ERA and whether it passed or not has no bearing on whether or not women are treated equally today because everyone knows about discrimination suits and protected classes and very other ways your ass will get sued for sexism. It’s an institutional solution where the institutional problem disappeared. Offer not valid when dealing with individual bigots and people who are just plain jerkasses. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/230 "2009-07-25T15:49:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And on the topic of sexism, [pick the one](http://www.oddee.com/item_96674.aspx) you find most offensive. I can’t pick just one. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/231 "2009-07-25T17:27:20Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Girls and women DO have to carry tampons and pads around, you know. And women’s clothing is notorious for the lack of useful pockets. > > However, boys and men should have been allowed to carry a manbag if they wanted, just to even things up. I suppose I’m not the only one here whose high school banned wearing shorts (outside of gym class), and so a group of boys showed up for school wearing miniskirts in protest, based on “why can girls wear miniskirts, but guys can’t wear shorts?” > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Which is why I say this was an attempt to enforce social norms. The woman did not wish your son to think cooking was appropriate for a man, even if she did not articulate that thought. Unless he’s getting paid for it, of course. Nobody thinks twice when the cook at their favorite restaurant is a man (which it almost always is). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/232 "2009-07-25T17:51:23Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I suppose I’m not the only one here whose high school banned wearing shorts (outside of gym class), and so a group of boys showed up for school wearing miniskirts in protest, based on “why can girls wear miniskirts, but guys can’t wear shorts?” > Unless he’s getting paid for it, of course. Nobody thinks twice when the cook at their favorite restaurant is a man (which it almost always is). Sure. I should have written that the social norm being enforced is that HUSBANDS, not wives, should cook. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/233 "2009-07-25T19:49:55Z")
This happened a couple of weeks ago and involved a guy who in the past has _seriously_ indicated that he thought guys he liked jelly beans – except for the licorice ones – are gay. I’m gay (though he doesn’t know this for sure) so I now don’t really engage in much conversation with this guy. There’s also a lot of sexual banter around the office, especially involving him and my female supervisor. She doesn’t seem to mind it, so why should I? The latest incident took place, while my supervisor was talking to a group (including him) in the hallway, she dropped a piece of paper. It fell close to my foot so I reached down and picked it up. As I reached for it, he said, “Don’t pick it up; let her, let her.” I picked it up anyway, at which point, he walks away disgusted, stating, “I thought you were alright.” How sexist! Not only to her, but to _ME_ (poor me), for thinking I, as a male, need to be a selfish, rude ass just to get a glimpse of a female’s derrière. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/234 "2009-07-25T20:31:09Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I suppose I’m not the only one here whose high school banned wearing shorts (outside of gym class), and so a group of boys showed up for school wearing miniskirts in protest, based on "why can girls wear miniskirts, but guys can’t wear shorts?.. We could only wear shorts until they early October and then again from April (the principal would decide the exact dates and make an announcement). Girls could were skirts/dresses year round, but only a few girls ever wore a dress or skirt to school. I don’t recall any guys ever showing up in kilts, but there was year we had a mini-heatwave in January and everybody realized the principal forgot make the long-pants-only announcement. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/235 "2009-07-25T20:34:16Z")
We weren’t allowed to wear shorts at all, even in elementary school. I graduated HS in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![Telcontar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Telcontar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telcontar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/236 "2009-07-25T21:48:28Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I suppose I’m not the only one here whose high school banned wearing shorts (outside of gym class), and so a group of boys showed up for school wearing miniskirts in protest, based on “why can girls wear miniskirts, but guys can’t wear shorts?” > . I was tempted to do this when confronted with a similar rule at my first job. I really wonder what the old librarians would have thought… ---
**Author:** ![Skylark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Skylark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skylark)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/237 "2009-07-25T23:18:58Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Disagree, because if it was a guy walking home after spending the night at the woman’s house, he would NOT be doing a walk of “shame”. That’s my issue. I’m a guy and I’ve done the walk of shame. Walk of Regret? Walk of The Hell Did I Do? Walk of Shame rolls off the tongue better. ETA: **filling pages** did it better. > [@SmashTheState](#): > > Yes, it has. I recall reading a psych study done in which they had men and women approach random individuals on the street and ask the same question, “Will you have sex with me?” According to what I read, 2% of women assented. In other words, if you approach a random woman and make a blatant offer of sex, the odds say you’ll score 1 out of every 50 times. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find the study right now, perhaps someone else with better Googling skills can find it? That’s the secret to being a pick up artist. Lose your fear of rejection, don’t “put the pussy on a pedestal” (_40 Year Old Virgin_), then play the odds. Most people know it by the smooth-talkingness of the guy, but that skill is developed only over hundreds of pick up attempts. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And on the topic of sexism, [pick the one](http://www.oddee.com/item_96674.aspx) you find most offensive. > **[Burger King's New Ad: A New Low In Vulgar Ads Aimed At Young Customers...](https://themoderatevoice.com/burger-kings-new-ad-a-new-low-in-vulgar-ads-aimed-at-young-customers/)** > > Just when you thought the vulgarization of culture that is now worldwide due to the unifying influence of cable, the Internet and You Tube can’t get any more vulgar, Burger King proves you wrong with news of its new advertising campaign for its... They’ve gotten cocky… ballsier… cheekier… more explicit these days. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/238 "2009-07-26T00:54:02Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > We weren’t allowed to wear shorts at all, even in elementary school. I graduated HS in 1977. We were allowed to wear shorts, but only under skirts or dresses. Otherwise, we couldn’t wear shorts, except for the field trip to the local amusement park. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/239 "2009-07-26T01:56:33Z")
I would quote whoever asked whether anyone has ever gotten positive results from cat-calls but I’m far too lazy to find the post. I can say from personal experience that they have worked about 40% of the time for me. I will attach a heavy disclaimer to this statement however. I’ve never made a vulgar cat-call or a whistle or an animal sound, more of a “Hey, you!” sort of call across a campus quad; not from a moving car. Also I was never persistent, I would only ever yell once unless they did a “Who? Me?” sort of gesture. Some women that I’ve called to may have felt harassed, I’ll never know. And at the time it seemed like a reasonably good way to get someone’s attention. I probably could have run up and tried to start a conversation several of the times but that out of breath “Hi, how are you” sort of thing reeks of just as much desperation as yelling without all the physical effort. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565/240 "2009-07-26T01:56:39Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s still early in the morning, give me a break. > > But seriously, the ERA and whether it passed or not has no bearing on whether or not women are treated equally today because everyone knows about discrimination suits and protected classes and very other ways your ass will get sued for sexism. > > It’s an institutional solution where the institutional problem disappeared. Offer not valid when dealing with individual bigots and people who are just plain jerkasses. It’s a huge point. The Constitution is American law; the Declaration of Independence is not. So “all men created equal” only has legal weight if it’s in the Constitution. In the Declaration of Indepedence it’s just a nice slogan. You can’t file a discrimination suit just because you’ve been discriminated against. You can only file the suit if discrimination is illegal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-egregiously-sexist-act-you-have-ever-seen/503565.md?page=13)