I have experienced benevolent sexism before, many times while dating. My experiences usually ended arguing over paying the check or having to explain that I may be a woman, but I am not helpless. It felt like they were looking for a woman that acted as delicate as a Snow White or Aurora. Rarely have I ever experienced hostile sexism, but I did notice it often during high school. Male classmates that felt like they had to be known as dominant I had often witnessed parading their girlfriends around. While they showed off their “trophy,” I would hear the frightening tones of voice and cruel comments that they would make towards them. One even told his already thin girlfriend that she wasn’t allowed to gain any more weight if she expected to be seen with …show more content…
These young men came off as reckless, exasperating, and ferocious. I felt disgusted by the ways that these couples interacted with each other and the fact that they allowed themselves to be used by such monstrous men. More so that they could smile and laugh at such insults, then proceed to either ignore it or fall into self-harm through following their advice of staying thin in various ways. Benevolent sexism is not the same in my opinion as hostile sexism, but it is just as bad for social change and equality among the sexes. Some women may like that their man treats them like a princess, but others, like myself, easily see between the lines. The motives for both forms of sexism are both to exert dominance over women; just one is less recognizable than the other is. It is possible to be guilty of benevolent and/or hostile sexism even if they are not trying to be sexist based off the cultures of which they