31 Times Sexists Tried To Explain Women But Embarrassing Themselves

Considering how much daily criticism women receive about their identities, it’s genuinely uplifting to find online spaces that make women feel seen and supported. Not How Girls Work does exactly that—it calls out the bizarre, outdated, and often sexist misconceptions some people still have about women.

Because let’s face it, anytime you try to point out misogyny online, there’s a high chance someone will show up to dismiss your experience or try to “prove you wrong.” That’s why communities like this matter. They offer a break from the exhausting need to constantly defend your reality.

If you’ve ever felt drained from having to repeatedly explain why gender equality still matters or found yourself being told to stop complaining because “everything’s already equal,” you’re not alone. There’s actually a term for that experience: gender fatigue. It refers to the frustration that comes from being expected to stay quiet about discrimination just because some people believe the fight is already over or think there are “more important” issues to address.

On the surface, gender fatigue can look like eye-roll-worthy comments. But its impact runs much deeper. It influences public opinion and slows down real progress toward equality. Feminists have been saying for decades that the fight isn’t over, and if you dig up an article from 2009, you’ll already see claims that feminism had achieved its goals back then. Now, in 2025, with abortion rights under threat even in countries considered progressive, those claims seem absurd.

For many women, this raises new concerns for the future, especially when we look at how younger generations perceive feminism. In the U.S., for instance, The Survey Center on American Life found a worrying 20-point gap between Gen Z men and women who identify as feminists. Only 43% of Gen Z men say they consider themselves feminist, compared to 61% of Gen Z women. No other generation shows such a wide divide.

So what’s fueling this change? Researchers Eva Bujalka and Ben Rich argue that one major factor is the rise of the “manosphere,” a loosely connected web of podcasts, forums, and websites that promote anti-feminist beliefs.

What makes the manosphere especially dangerous is that it doesn’t always come across as overtly misogynistic at first. It draws in young men by speaking to real issues—like loneliness, rejection, and a sense of purposelessness—and then gradually introduces the idea that women are to blame for their struggles.

“The manosphere appeals to its audience because it speaks to the very real lives of young men . . . romantic rejection, alienation, economic failure, loneliness, and a dim vision of the future,” explain Bujalka and Rich.

And when men like Andrew Tate are offering those young men a distorted roadmap to success, while progressives and feminists are seen as offering nothing, the gap only grows wider.

So where does that leave us? I don’t have all the answers, but I know one thing. We can’t let ourselves be silenced just because we’re tired. We can’t let gender fatigue win. If anything, it’s a sign that the conversations we’re having matter more than ever.

Of course, that brings up another tough question: how do we reach the young men who are deep in these online spaces? Because if we simply attack their beliefs, it often just reinforces them. Still, that doesn’t mean we should sugarcoat the truth or tone ourselves down. As Helen Lewis put it in her brilliant 2020 piece for The Guardian, “Fighting the tyranny of ‘niceness’: why we need difficult women,” we need to make space for women who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.

In that article, she pointed out how society tends to reward women who are pleasant and agreeable—but not the ones who speak up and make others uncomfortable. We need more of the latter.

“I’m not talking about being rude, thoughtless, obnoxious or a diva,” Lewis says. To her, difficult means complicated.

“Most of us are more than one thing; no one is pure; everyone is ‘problematic’. Look back at early feminists and you will find women with views that are unpalatable to their modern sisters. You will find women with views that were unpalatable to their contemporaries. They were awkward and wrong-headed and obstinate and sometimes downright odd—and that helped them to defy the expectations placed on them,” she believes.

To me, that message isn’t just provocative, it’s empowering. It makes me want to get up, be loud, and push for change. It makes me want to call things out, even when it’s uncomfortable. And I think that’s exactly the kind of energy we need to carry forward.

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