CharlieJulietTango

No, I Won’t Smile, But I’ll Show You My Teeth A man told me to smile at work a couple of   months   ago. And I’m still trying to process it.  And I clearly haven’t processed it, and it obviously is an issue, because I told my psychologist about it. Her reaction, incidentally, was “fuck, is that really still happening?” A man, junior in rank, senior in age, rounded a corner, walked into me, and demanded I smil e. I had an oh so familiar surge of adrenalin, that painful rush in your gut when you experience something that you know isn’t cool. (For context, this happens to me daily. It’s not always casual sexism, it’s not always a legitimate threat to my safety, but it happens daily.)   If you’re rolling your eyes right now, I get it. I do. There are many causes deserving of our attention. Sheikh Jarrah. The vaccine stroll-out. Enforcing a really simple “don’t contact the head” rule. Microaggressions are a death by a thousand cuts when you experience the disrespect, feel...