"Make me a sandwich," your friend pleads. Your crew laughs, assuming he's just joking, but you're cringing on the inside. Do you say something? Do you laugh along? What exactly do you do when a friend makes a sexist joke? Hannah Witton has some suggestions.
“It’s these kinds of casual jokes and the everyday language that we use that subtly help feed a culture of sexism," Witton says in the video. This type of everyday sexism is what perpetuates gender inequality. In many cases, addressing it carefully and with patience can have the greatest impact.
Instead of laughing along with everyone else or starting a shouting match, here are three tips from Witton for addressing people when they make sexist jokes:
- Make it personal.
- Be respectful.
- Don't expect immediate results.
“No matter how tempting it is, you don’t want to alienate people by shoving your opinion down their throats,” Witton says. "If you’re respectful it'll help you seem more approachable."