Don’t let the abuse scare you: we can confront the sexists

[niyad]

Don’t let the abuse scare you: we can confront the sexists
Charlotte Proudman

I’ve received death threats for going public about the abuse I got, but it’s the only way to achieve gender equality

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/charlotte-proudman-women-sexist-misogyny
‘Calling out a single instance of workplace sexism hit a nerve far deeper than I ever imagined.’


This morning I opened my email account to find another death threat. The sender said they knew where I live and work. They said they would be waiting. Within two months they would cut off my head and place it in a plastic bag, and my head would be their prize possession. My head – my body – their possession. My offence? Last week I refused to accept a sexist and demeaning message sent to me by a senior lawyer via LinkedIn. I tweeted it, along with my response. I believed I had the right – as I believe any woman has the right – to challenge sexism in the workplace and on professional social media.

Calling out a single instance of sexism in a professional space hit a nerve far deeper than I ever imagined. Why has one tweet that sought to challenge the objectification of women in professional spaces caused a furore? The truth is, I have committed a double transgression. Not only have I refused to passively accept being objectified; I have also refused to apologise for having the temerity to take a stand. What I did therefore was doubly threatening to vested power. It is a tragic irony that the misogynist abuse I have endured is an attempt to reassert the patriarchal status quo, in which women in the public space are to be seen but not heard.

. . . . .


Yet many professional women believe that because of their relative disempowerment they simply have to tolerate such intrusive and oppressive behaviour. After all, it is just casual, everyday sexism – just a bit of “fun”. Properly understood, however, it constitutes social policing, gender control, and – in its darker manifestations – a hidden form of social violence. We have to fully recognise this fact and take it seriously before we can change it.

Instead of addressing the insidious nature of sexism in the workplace, the rightwing media attempted to ridicule, berate and attack me. They created their very own Charlotte Proudman. That Charlotte is a man-hater. And yet the real Charlotte had never uttered a word of hatred towards men. I was dubbed a “feminazi”. Consider the term’s core components: femi (half a feminist) and Nazi. They raked over my private life, published untruthful material about me and my family, and harassed and distressed my relatives and friends. After the negative coverage came the barrage of misogynistic abuse and death threats from trolls. But you can do these things with impunity to a feminazi. As the subliminal messaging goes, the feminazi deserves it. Why? Because she did not stay silent. My future silence would be their victory.

. . . .

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/16/charlotte-proudman-women-sexist-misogyny

[Stargazer09]

1. Wow

For not wanting some senior lawyer to think its okay to judge her abilities solely on her looks, she somehow deserves death threats?

Reading stuff like that makes me want to move to another planet.

[niyad]

2. you and me, both.