"People order each other to smile because they feel uncomfortable around people who are not smiling, especially when those people are women (or are read as such). Women are expected to be nice and sweet, to make other people feel comfortable. A woman who says ‘hey, I think there’s a problem here’ is being ‘negative.’ A woman who doesn’t smile while she’s being harassed is ‘humourless.’ A woman who prefers to stay focused on tasks is a ‘cold bitch.’ Significant gendering is involved here; women have an obligation to look and act a certain way and when they don’t, they need to be hassled until they do."
I think it's really unfair the way women are treated as objects, as much we say it doesn't happen. I feel especially at work, when we're in a lower position we get treated horribly. As a server for weddings and events and such, I feel like my main job is to smile and look pretty. Although I've never been touched by a customer, the old men give you the weird looks and say things like, "hey, doll, get me a beer." It's just like, they would never say anything like that to a boy. And the way commands like that are phrased, it just brings up the idea of the woman being subordinate, and the little nicknames that men seem to think don't mean anything, like "babe," "sweetheart," and "doll," are actually kind of demeaning and make me feel like a sex object. I want to be treated with just as much respect as my male counterpart. Don't use some outdated phrase like that to get my attention. Say "waiter" or "waitress," or "ma'am" even, I don't care. Because I'm not your "doll," and I never will be.
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