What the title says. I see it everywhere.

Okay so my friend (cis guy), said nosebleeds are worse than a period, is that acceptable? I got really mad at him because everyone knows periods are worse, we're 16, and he's SO childish. I got a pad out of my bad because, I'm on my period, and tampons suck, "EW Olivia, why do you have..I can't even say It, that's nasty" Beleive it or not, and 16 year old boy said that. I just can't with him anymore, he's so against women, AND he's homophobic. He also asked me if i could just 'hold in' my period so i didnt cramp so bad. He does NOT have enough knowledge. He disgusts me, what can i even say to him?

Not sure if this is the right subreddit but I’m looking for some good feminist literature. Books that include women of all races and aren’t just focused on white women. Preferably non fiction but if there are some good fiction stories, I’d definitely be interested!

I know this is a controversial question, but this has been on my mind for a while. I feel like men are always valued for their athletic ability, but it seems like for women, it’s the opposite. It’s actively valued for women to be weak, skinny, delicate, smaller than the man. And discouraged for us to be muscular and fit. From a biological pov this doesn’t make sense. Why do so many men without fail find weak, submissive women attractive instead of naturally finding strong, assertive women attractive. Evolution wise it would make more sense for males to find the fittest women attractive yet this fails to be the case.

As the title says, what's something you've seen recently that gives you hope? Perhaps something you witnessed, or something you saw online. Something that reminded you that progress is being made, even if there are still so many problems.

It can be easy to think that everything is bad, all the time. It's easy to lose hope. I hope people will be able to read the comments here and feel a little better.

For my part, there's a boy who's been attending the feminist club meetings at my school, and at first I assumed he'd been dragged there, or that he was only there for the snacks. But he's started adding to the discussions, and sometimes he can be ignorant, but he's always very thoughtful and very eager to learn. It's nice to see.

Sign this petiontion to allow Afgan women an education

https://c.org/xR7fxLfh58

I was watching a reality show where a guy had been cheating on his girlfriend. He claimed to like and be emotionally attached to another girl on the show, who was unaware that he was in a committed relationship.
I agree that she shouldn’t have gotten so close to him, knowing he was committed. However, when he was exposed, almost everyone started blaming the girl and started saying stuff like that guy had been manipulated, as if he were a child who couldn’t make his own decisions.
I’ve seen this happen so many times, and the misogyny is becoming quite obvious. People come out of nowhere to defend men, sympathise with them, and say things like maybe he made a mistake or that he deserves another chance but when it’s a woman, apparently it’s different. Suddenly it’s a reflection of her character.
One thing I’ve never understood is what does character even mean and why is this word used to judge women more than men.

Kind of a long title so sorry about that but I'm looking for books that truly get into the root of sexism and misogyny for myself and so I can recommend them to others. Topics I really want the book(s) to dive into are like "when God is male, male is God" and how the vast majority of religions depict a male god and their respective teachings are very misogynistic, how it can be a way to resource-guard for women as men have higher systemic power than women (still get paid more, men are more likely to accept a "no" from women who have a husband or boyfriend and are less likely to attack if said husband or bf is physically present as well, medical providers are more likely to listen to a woman's health issues and investigate if a man is present to advocate for her, etc), and how sexism taught to all of us from birth through our society. It's ok if those are all from different books but bonus points if one book touches on all those points. Thanks everyone

When people think that the word consent is when a woman is over thinking...

They say that women talk a lot but we're never really heard. I got tired of hearing doctors tell my mother that her severe pain was "mild discomfort". I kept seeing stories from women trying to get medical help for serious ailment and conditions but they got dismissed or gaslit instead.

I wanted more than anything to get every doctor in a room and give them a good talking to about how they care for women.

I started a non profit to bring the conversation right to the source, ie to have conferences for doctors, nurses, med students, and insurers to breakdown myths about women's healthcare, give them more information about our bodies, etc...

It keeps feeling like 1) it's impossible to try to educate doctors who already think they know everything and 2) that medical sexism is ingrained deeper than knowledge can reach.

I'm interested in you thoughts- do you think that healthcare equity issues come from ignorance or malicious sexism?

A quick note:
This post isn’t a debate about whether or not the B-word is a slur, I feel like many people here already agree that it is. I’m more concerned about why there’s so much unnecessary aggression towards women who speak up about anything they find misogynistic.

I saw a video of a guy using the B-word very freely, and someone in the comments pointed out that they view it as a slur. I agree with them, however the replies didn’t.
It’s completely normal to have a disagreement, but I can’t help but notice how none of the replies were respectfully disagreeing. Almost all of them were full of people calling the original commenter a bitch and telling them to fuck off. Even other women were joining in on this behaviour.
This is made me feel like we are never going to make it out of the patriarchy, because instead of people trying to understand where the original comment is coming from, they automatically dismiss it and get aggressive

Placing the focus on repairing harm rather then punishment, My understanding is that this would be in addition to prison sentences.

This is crazy! Not sure if it’s true but it’s disturbing if it is

Noa, help reduce femicide by voting for our project, just comment 1 on this Instagram post (we are Brazilian).

https://www.instagram.com/p/De4cNVYoFTi/?cplk=OWhuOGplMXlhZGRx

I (F17) have become more and more aware at the current state of the world right now and it feels absolutely draining. For my whole childhood I have felt that there was just something I was missing and that this was something I would understand when I was older but as I have realised that I will soon be an adult I am understanding that this is it. That the society we live in doesn’t respect women in the least and that no matter what the patriarchy will always come out on top. The bias society holds on any person of colour or with a disability is also something that I cannot look forward to living with in adulthood.

My recent fear is that I am alone entirely in this world and that I am just the entirety of the stereotype “That one woke friend”. I am so scared that I will never find one person who is the same as me and believes that Women are worthy of breathing the same air as Men. I am a truly an optimistic person by heart and try my best to see the good in someone but lately it is just let down after let down of friends and classmates and anyone I meet.

My question is, what do I do with all this anger I have?? I am in therapy but that doesn’t really help in this area as I just end up debating whether or not AI is really problematic which is probably entirely unproductive. I would love to protest or doing public speaking but I am doing my HSC and have zero time. I don’t really know if there is even an answer for this but I thought I would give it a go

EDIT:
I do not know how to use reddit so I have no clue why my replies aren’t being seen but please everyone know that all your comments have been read and I am so overwhelmed with joy.

I must thank everyone for all the kind replies because it means the absolute world to me. I am not in a position where I receive much of the good advice that I feel I need to hear sometimes. I am usually the one to give the advice but on this occasion I was running out of options and desperate times call for desperate needs.

You have all changed my entire outlook on life and have removed that massive weight off my chest that I have been carrying for about 12 months.
Thank you dearly for everyone’s kindness and helpfulness. Yesterday on my break at work I genuinely couldn't handle the pressure and the only thing I could think of to do was to ask reddit and safe to say it was the right decision. I have never used reddit before and when I got a notification that my post was deleted I just let it go but that afternoon I opened the app and to my surprise it did upload and for the first time I burst into tears with the pure joy of being understood.

I have read everybody's comments and will not take any of your advice for granted !!

The multiple perspectives I have been given in the replies; from Women across the world in a much less fortunate situation than I am in, the ones who have been in the same position as me many years ago, everyone in university/college and all your recommendations of what to listen to, study, to filter out my social media, hobbies to pursue and things to create will all be followed. I have also registered to vote because of someone who recommended this. (I thought I had to wait until 18 so I really appreciate this!)

I have so much to say to everyone individually but i can't :( so once again,
Thank you!!

I’ve been through a breakup in the last six months. This breakup was more imposed than a choice at the time, and I’ve been avoiding and repressing my emotions since then. I always consume video essays on feminism and cultural critique, and I read mostly books written by women. I’m really into fiction when it comes to books, so bell hooks *All About Love* was the first book I read that is mostly calling out the patriarchy and linking it with this loveless society we’re living in.

I really thought I was educated about the matter because I mostly consume content that comes from women who are feminists. But this book broke me, because it made me feel, it opened my heart to what I was repressing. It made it loud and clear that I was doing it all wrong, that what I thought was strength was actually me mirroring male behaviors to protect myself and to be validated by the men around me. It destroyed me and humbled me so badly. It even pushed me to start missing my misogynistic ex, who was feminist verbally but not in practice. It made me feel empathy for him and see his emotional unavailability as a consequence of the patriarchy.

It’s like all this love that I discovered through the book is making me sad, nostalgic, and this need to take care of someone, to fix, is still so alive. I’m so love and male-centered in this moment, I’m having trouble functioning because all these emotions are popping up and I’m not ignoring them or repressing them. But I’m having trouble functioning in my everyday tasks like work, everything I want to do is just to feel and to cry, and sadly I miss my ex more than ever.

I remembered that as a girl and as a teenager I had so much love in me, so much to give, and now as an adult I want to use it for myself. Now that I can feel it, I want to give this love to myself. But everything I feel is sadness that I couldn’t fix the men who left me. And to be authentic that is what it made me feel, I'm mourning the love that I lost. There has to be something else for me without repression. What do I do with all this sensitivity? How can I function now that I’m not willing to deal with my emotions like a man? How do I love myself without being too individualistic or selfish, (which I tend to do when I feel like this). Do you have any other books to recommend on how to love yourself, that empowered you (not in a capitalist way)? Am I the only one that got demolished after a breakup with this book?

Hi, i'm an art student who is currently working on her biggest art project and i need your help.

I've recently decided my project would be talking about how pornogaphy has affected women's image and how we are now unable to do certain things in fear of appearing too "provocative".

Eating bananas, ice creams or lollipop. Wearing red lipstick, short skirts or high heels. Things as simple as drinking milk and yet so oftenly associated to s*x.

I would love you to give some examples of things you stopped doing because of that.

Thank u sm for reading and thank u if you reply, you're helping a lot