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A Lesson From a Lady
Today for the first time I experienced something different, I felt how it feels to be the face on the other side of the coin. Both sides so close they're touching, but never never both sharing the same view. I met a woman who told me that should I want to speak to her, I would have to change my gender to female. A simple task you might think. I don't think there's anything inherently humiliating about being female. Apart from the arbitrarily sexist pink colour, it's just a setting right? But what I experienced surprised me. I learnt what it was like for women on this site. Literally within seconds of changing my gender the messages started. First one, then two, and then more and more. The sheer speed with which they came in shocked me. Invasive little red flashes on the side of my screen. The flood was intimidating. Some were polite, most were not. Entitled and demanding, insistent, persistent, pictures of genitals, commands and demands. I have nothing but a sentence on my profile, no interests no pictures, yet the colour of my name was enough to set them off. I felt invaded. Finally I was given permission to change my gender back, reply to my messages and explain myself. Some were polite, understanding of the lesson I was being taught. Most were not. For each explanation I sent in came back the insults, the allegations, the complete disregard even for what I was trying to say. I felt the entitlement of my peers, and I didn't like it. |
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