The Daily Dose of Sexism

New feature for this blog: the Daily Dose of Sexism. A list of the little daily indignities that come from not presenting the right genitalia in the right place at the right time.

1. At Wal-Mart the other day, my bear was looking for a wireless router. I wandered into the HDTV aisle, since we’re also thinking about buying one of those. The male sales person who lived in the HDTV department walked by me several times with a nod and a smile, but never asked if I needed help. Later I went to retrieve my bear and tell him there was an HDTV we might like in that aisle. My bear and I went back to stand at the exact place I had been, and immediately, the sales guy appeared, made eye contact with my bear, and asked if he needed assistance.

2. I needed a business casual suit to wear to an interview with a grant-maker. So me and my bear headed down to Target. I couldn’t find anything in the women’s department even vaguely professional (no, the bright pink suit jacket and mini-skirt don’t count). I finally gave up and decided to just get a white button-up shirt and go to another store to find some appropriate jacket. But, alas, there was not a single white button-up shirt that wasn’t completely and 100% transparent and did not have bows, glitter, or other ribbons of no apparent purpose attached. On a whim, my bear and I went over to the men’s section, where there was an entire rack of nothing but business casual — regular white button-up shirts, jackets, and pants.

More to come, as they happen, because let’s be honest, this happens just about every day. Feel free to share your own.