Feminism
About the Feminism section
The Feminism section of The Body Optimist covers gender equality in everyday life: everyday sexism, violence against women, work, the domestic load, rights and representation. Its explainers, first-person stories and practical advice are for anyone who wants to understand inequality and act against it, with special attention to the pressures placed on women’s bodies.
What you’ll find in the Feminism section
- Everyday sexism: remarks, jokes and expressions that normalize inequality, like the familiar “you scare men” comment so many women hear.
- Violence and harassment: street and online harassment, consent, intimate partner violence and tools to help recognize abuse early.
- Work and money: pay gaps, entrepreneurship, the division of household labor and the extra expenses that inequality places on women.
- Bodies and expectations: body hair, clothing, age and appearance, and the debates over women’s freedom to decide about their own bodies and image.
- History and symbols: pioneers, inventors and rallying symbols that tell the story of feminist movements.
- Women’s rights around the world: access to education, sports and public space, and the fights being waged from Afghanistan to Ethiopia, like Afghan girls defying the ban on schooling.
How do you respond to everyday sexism?
Responding to everyday sexism starts with naming what was just said, without justifying yourself or apologizing. A few strategies that work:
- Ask a neutral question (“Can you explain what you mean?”): having to spell out a remark is often enough to defuse it.
- Describe the facts instead of judging the person (“That joke reduces women to their looks”).
- Assess your safety: you are never obligated to respond on the spot.
- At work, write down dates, words and witnesses: in many countries, sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the workplace are against the law.
- As a bystander, support the person being targeted rather than letting silence validate the remark.
For situations at the office, our guide on setting boundaries with unwanted advances at work offers more concrete responses.
Our approach: an inclusive, practical feminism
Our feminism includes all women: fat or thin, women of color, lesbian, trans, disabled, younger or older. We connect the big questions of equality to lived situations, from a comment at the office to the division of chores, and we prefer explanations and practical steps to controversy, without ranking struggles or pitting women against each other.
Articles to start with
- The invisible costs women bear every day, and what they reveal about inequality.
- The “cool girl” myth, or how being seen as desirable often comes down to never making waves.
- Why women’s bodies after 45 are still such a hot topic, and what ageism has to do with it.
- How dress codes expose double standards between men and women.
Frequently asked questions
What is feminism?
Feminism refers to the ideas and movements that seek equal rights, opportunities and living conditions for women and men. It spans many schools of thought that share one observation: inequality between the sexes is socially constructed, which means it can be challenged, in the law as well as in attitudes.
What is the difference between sexism and misogyny?
Sexism covers prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination based on sex, often so normalized that they go unnoticed. Misogyny refers more specifically to contempt or hostility toward women. A joke about “women drivers” is everyday sexism; a speech claiming that women are incompetent by nature is misogyny.
What is the mental load?
The mental load is the invisible work of anticipating and organizing household and family life: remembering appointments, groceries, birthdays and whatever is running low. Even when chores are shared, this project-manager role still often falls to women, with effects on their fatigue and their free time.
What should you do if you experience intimate partner violence?
If you are in immediate danger, call the emergency number in your country. Many countries have a free, confidential helpline for people experiencing domestic violence, and a doctor, a social worker or a specialized organization can help you plan your next steps. Tools such as the “violentometer,” a scale that runs from green to red, can also help you recognize behaviors that call for caution or signal danger.
Want to go further? Explore all our Society topics, along with our Fatphobia and LGBTQIA+ sections.