Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Subtle sexism in the professional world

I am an artist.

I take it very seriously, and it is what I wish to do with my future.
However, I've noticed that I don't get taken nearly as seriously as I would if I was a man. There have been multiple occasions where I am at an exhibition and men (always men, never women) come up to me and say, surprisingly, "You did this yourself?"
It never gets any less disheartening for me to hear that. Men even go as far to say "you didn't do that." (I have heard this more than once.) They just flat out don't believe me when I tell them I created a painting.
One time a man said to me- "It's so cool when a woman has a talent."
Although they mean it as a compliment most of the time, this subtle sexism is so deeply rooted that they have no idea how insulting they are being.

What is maybe even more annoying is when men act like they are interested in my work, only to continue to hit on me.
That is the beginning of a conversation with a man who acted like he was interested in my work; it only got worse from there, with him continuing to suggest we should "hang out" and that I should paint him in the nude.

These unwarranted comments are annoying, unprofessional and make everyone look bad.
Being a woman, I could do the same amount of work as a man and I'm still only laughed and not taken seriously.
And this epidemic is not only in creative professions, but in MANY workplaces in America.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/

According to PEW Research, 42% of women face discrimination in the workplace because of their gender. What will we have to do to be considered equals? How can we teach our sons and peers to treat women like humans and take their work seriously?

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