What to Do When You Encounter Male Chauvinism

 
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Show Notes:

Call it what you want: male chauvinism, misogyny, bro culture, being a condescending jerk, or otherwise. You know what I'm talking about. When a man treats you in a demeaning way by dismissing your ideas, giving you unsolicited and arrogant advice, or treating you more like an object than a person--that's male chauvinism.

Male chauvinists see women as inferior to men and treat them as such. Even if they may not articulate those thoughts/feelings with those words, you can identify it through their actions and how they treat others.

In professional settings, it can be extremely tricky to know how to respond to this type of behavior. Especially when other people are around. I've talked with many women who've told me that dealing with male chauvinism is one of the hardest things they're trying to figure out in their career.

I get it!

I just recently experienced this behavior in a way that made my blood boil. As I've been processing how I want to handle that situation (and others like it) going forward, I knew I had to share with you on the podcast!

In this episode:

  • 1:03 - Overview of the male chauvinism discussion.

  • 2:00 - What I really wanted to title this episode, any why I decided not to.

  • 3:20 - Answering the question, “What is male chauvinism?”

  • 4:20 - Why encountering male chauvinism in professional situations can feel more tricky.

  • 5:00 - The story I’m challenging you to leave behind is that chauvinistic behavior is to be expected of men, or the belief that “that’s just how it is.”

  • 6:18 - The story I’m challenging you to embrace is that we can be intentional about our interactions, who we chose to work with/for and why types of communication we accept.

  • 7:07 - Most of my professional work experience has been in male-dominated industries, which has led to a lot of personal experiences of male chauvinism.

  • 8:10 - Why I struggled with processing some of these experiences and had a difficult time talking with my friends about it.

  • 9:07 - Why I felt crazy and personally responsible for some of the ways men treated me or talked to me (even though that wasn’t the case).

  • 10:19 - Why we can’t blame ourselves or let ourselves think that we are responsible for other’s decisions about how they treat us.

  • 11:16 - How this quote can help you: “People tell you they are idiots all the time, you just have to listen.”

  • 12:04 - Why I want to talk about this topic now and some background on my most recent experience with male chauvinism.

  • 13:12 - My thoughts on what people say, “I’m not trying to be a d***, I’m just....”

  • 13:46 - How the experience made me feel and the way I reacted.

  • 15:12 - A reminder that if you’re a generally well-mannered, self-controlled person, what you feel is “expressing your anger” may not be picked up on by others.

  • 16:09 - How I recommend handling these situations in the future.

  • 17:03 - The reality that even the “perfect comeback” wouldn’t have been enough to change someone’s mind.

  • 17:40 - Learning how to recognize when a conversation is headed in an unhelpful direction and what to do about it.

  • 19:19 - Hot takes on the situation by Dr. Janelle Briggs and her partner, Ryan.

  • 19:50 - What it would like to truly inherit our power as women.

  • 21:15 - What does it look like in practice to “ignore d***s”?

  • 22:30 - How holding the belief that “I am not here for someone else’s entertainment” has shaped how I handle myself in uncomfortable situations.

  • 23:50 - What I’m personally doing to work on exercising my own personal power this week.

  • 24:50 - Recap of the stories I’m challenging you to leave behind and which ones I’m challenging you to embrace.

  • 25:43 - How to contact me.

  • 26:30 - Recommended listening:

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