Women are tweeting how sexism affects their everyday lives

[Photo: Pexels]

Of all the sexism that women face in their day-to-day lives, some instances are more obvious than others. Aggressive cat caller? Check. A colleague telling us to ‘calm down’? Double check.

But there are other, more subtle ways in which sexism affects us, but that we’ve often got so used to we take it for granted.

And that’s how we adjust our behaviour around sexism in order to avoid it. From changing outfits and routes home to making sure we don’t speak too loudly, it’s deeply integrated into both our personal and professional lives.

Ash Sarkar, senior editor of Novara Media, wanted to draw attention to just this - so asked women on Twitter to share when they last changed their behaviour in order to avoid sexism.

And the responses came flooding in.

One Twitter user wrote: “Walk home the long way, wear more clothes, wear less clothes, pretend I’ve read Hegel, run through the park at night.”

Another said: “Adjusted my skirt; adjusted my voice; adjusted my presence; adjusted my opinions; adjusted my politics; adjusted my body.”

Many brought up fears of appearing too ‘emotional’, as one person explained: “Laughing off sexual harassment because I’m so scared of ‘making a scene’, feigning coldness w. partners [sic] to avoid seeming 'needy'”.

Walking alone at night was also a common issue in the thread: “Last time I wanted something from the corner shop and didn’t go because it was dark. Saturday.”

As the discussion grew, Sarkar tweeted: “Thanks to everyone who responded to this prompt: your candour, depth, humour and lyricism have had me spinnin for the last 12 hours.”

What do you think about the discussion? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.

Signs you might have SAD - and what to do

Why hundreds of women are wearing their wedding dresses to work this Wednesday