A 12 Year-Old Girl Explains How Sexism Works in Her School
Or at age nine, when I and many other girls were being judged with the word “bossy” whereas the boys never were. This happened, for instance, when we wanted to be in charge of a class project or to choose the book that the teacher would read. Or in some cases, when girls disagreed with the boys or had another opinion, they were labelled as “pushy”. At some point, I didn’t want to state my opinion or start an argument because I was afraid of being labelled with these words.
Or, just last year, at the age of eleven, when a boy put his hand up my skirt and lifted it up for the entire schoolyard to see. When I told my teacher, he simply ignored me and acted like it was normal.
After these and many other experiences, plus some research, I decided that I am a feminist. After facing more catcalls and similar behaviour, I faced the bully and confronted the problem. People were surprised, but not in a good way. The most common responses were eye-rolls and comments like “don’t make such a fuss about it”.
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