Society has normalized a lot of things that are blatantly sexist—that’s what the ‘Power To Her’ channel shared in a viral TikTok video that caught the attention of many women on the platform. According to the ‘Power to Her’ project’s video, one of the most mind-blowingly sexist things that are still prevalent in modern society is the fact that women are pressured to change their last names once they get married.
Meanwhile, other TikTokers pitched in with their own examples of what kinds of sexist behaviors have been normalized. From brides wearing white dresses that symbolize purity, innocence, and virginity, and fathers ‘giving away’ their daughters after they walk them down the aisle to other sexist behaviors that you can find in everyday life. Have a look at some of the most insightful responses to ‘Power To Her’s’ video and upvote the ones that you’ve noticed in society, too, dear Pandas.
More info: TikTok | PowerToHer.org
#1
I've tried numerous times and asked numerous doctors if I can have my tubes tied because I don't want to have children, nor does my husband. They want to have a meeting with both me and my husband, they tell me I'll probably change my mind, that I'm too young or that I need to wait until I have at least one child. Even though I don't want any. But my husband can make a phone call and set up an appointment, just like that.
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301points
#2
School dress codes. This logic about girls needing to "cover up" is so problematic and flawed, because we're teaching girls that they are responsible for how men act when they show any part of their body.
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277points
#3
The prefix for men is Mr. and the prefix for women is Miss, Ms. and Mrs. A prefix for women is directly dependent on if she is single or married. It stays Mr. for men all their lives.
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247points
The ‘Power To Her’ organization aims to empower women in their communities. “We hope to encourage social change through promoting, educating and providing the necessary tools and services for progress,” the project explains on its website.
The founder of ‘Power To Her,’ Sachreet Chahal and Shuchi Jain, seek to end gender-based inequalities on a global level. Having met at the Schulich School of Business, the two women eventually grew closer together, shared the things they faced as women, and decided to form the organization.
#4
Back in 2017 I bought a house as a single woman, this year I sold it. My and my partner decided to buy a new house together. With the money I made from selling my old house, I put the entire down payment on the new one. The mortgage company, the insurance, home warranty addresses him as the owner of this house and I'm the "co-borrower".
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208points
#5
A woman with boundaries is selfish, rude, mean, harsh. A man with boundaries is confident, powerful, successful, ambitious.
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208points
#6
When people come up to me and tell me my daughter's really beautiful and that I better watch our for her when she gets older. Like, they're actually expecting our daughters to be sexually assaulted.
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204points
“Power To Her means giving the power back to each and every single woman and providing them with the help and resources to live their most authentic life,” they explain.
Founder Shuchi, a professional dancer and choreographer with a penchant for traveling and content creation, hopes to raise awareness about the issues that women face through the project. Meanwhile, Sachreet, an aspiring writer and a philanthropist, has always had a passion for social activism and always dreamed about starting a non-profit organization.
#7
Women are forced to take sole responsibility for contraception, when women are only fertile 3-5 days of the year. Men are fertile every single day of the year. The biggest gimmick of all was that it was sold to us as a way of independence.
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193points
#8
How male actors like Ryan Gosling or Leonardo DiCaprio can play the main character their entire careers but each time their female co-star/love interest gets younger.
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183points
#9
It's not only normalized but viewed as "cute" when a man can't do the basic parts of parenting. "Oh my husband can't even be with the kids for two hours without calling me haha". "That's nothing, mine won't even touch the dirty diapers." What's funny about only women being expected to know how to take care of their children?
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180points
‘Power To Her’ bases its activities on three main pillars in order to empower “a large network of women from different backgrounds and ethnicities.”
The first pillar that the project is founded on is all about mutual support and growth. The second is about educating society about women’s issues, gender stereotypes, toxic beauty standards, access to education, inequality in the workplace, and the lack of women in positions of power. The final pillar is providing people with the necessary tools and services to empower them to give back to marginalized communities.
#10
Whenever a girl has an attitude or is in a bad mood, she gets asked if it's her "time of the month".
174points
#11
It's so normalized for women to change their last name after getting married. This is the name you got your degree with, the name associated with all your accomplishments. Yet society just expects you to pack it up and change it the second you get married.
The fact that so many men expect their S/O to change their last name for them is a red flag.
I understand all the arguments for why you would want to change your last name. To be part of the family and it's easier for the kids and all that. BUT the fact is that the pressure is solely put on women.
The fact that so many men expect their S/O to change their last name for them is a red flag.
I understand all the arguments for why you would want to change your last name. To be part of the family and it's easier for the kids and all that. BUT the fact is that the pressure is solely put on women.
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166points
#12
When anything happens to a woman, be a crime or an accident, they're almost always referred to as a wife/mother first on a news broadcast. The fact that she's not reffered by her name first but by her relationship to others is messed up. There's always a difference when men are mentioned. It's always "local man", and then they later mention that he's a husband or a father.
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158points
#13
Literally everything about traditional weddings. Your dad gives you away so that you can be passed from one man to another man. You have to wear a white dress, because if you're not a virgin, you're [useless]. It's bad luck for the man to see the bride on the day of the wedding because back when marriages were all arranged, if the guy saw the bride before, sometimes he would want to call it off because he didn't fancy her, and that would bring shame on...the bride. That's also why the veil is a thing. Traditionally, the bride's family pays for the wedding.
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153points
#14
Shaving. If a woman doesn't shave, it's considered "manly" and "nasty". Makeup is targeted specifically towards women, and when a man uses it, he's considered less of a man.
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138points
#15
Giving the mothers the custody on Monday-Friday, and giving the dads the weekends where they get to be the fun parent, no school, no pickups, no homework.
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137points
#16
The way society expects girls to be polite vs the way women expect men to be polite. Women are raised to be overly polite from childhood. This is a huge disservice to women — their conditioning to be polite can be so strong that it can lead to situations that put their safety in danger.
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137points
#17
I carried my baby for 9 months and birthed her, and yet she has my husband's last name.
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131points
#18
Why do we say "grow a pair" or "get some balls" when referring to a situation where someone needs to be strong or tough?
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125points
#19
If you're a woman and you're walking anywhere, and there's a man coming at you, they'll expect you to move to accommodate them, they won't do it for you. I started playing a little game where I don't move for the man, and the amount of times they've run into me, because they expected me to move, is actually insane.
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117points
#20
It's normalized to ask a woman "when are you expecting to have kids?". Would you ask that if I was a man? When corportations hire women, they usually anticipate that they're going to take a maternity leave and this is considered a due cost for them, and this is something that people use to justify the pay gap.
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102points