We may be living in more progressive times where gender equality is getting more attention, but society itself is still largely patriarchal. There remain power imbalances that favor men, and many people still uphold traditions that put women in a second tier.
So, as a way to stand up to the system, these people are sharing how they incorporate microfeminism into their daily lives. Yes, many of their actions will ruffle some feathers, but they are intent on making a statement, even in their own little ways.
These came from a recent Threads post that grew traction, and you will see why as you read through.
Anytime someone says “the US team could win this year!” (In regards to the World Cup), I say haven’t we won like 4 times? And when they say no i say “oh you must be talking about the men’s team”
I’m a law student. In my notes, if I’m writing something positive, I use ‘her’ but for example I’m writing about a criminal or anything vile, I use ‘him’ 😂
one of my favorites is, whenever a man makes you laugh, turning to the closest girl and saying “See? Men can be funny after all!”
I don’t move out of the way of men. I just stop in my tracks and wait for them to go around.
Recently at the grocery store a man crashed into my grocery cart because I stopped instead of moved and I guess he was that confident that I was going to haul my big old cart out of his way that he literally walked right into it.
Oh and my favorite way to address an angry man is to tell them there is no need to be so emotional. They hate that.
When a dad brings his kid into our clinic and doesn’t know their DOB or why they’re there I casually laugh and say “oh my bad I thought you were the Dad, sorry!” You should see their faces 🤭
I found a few online:
Always assuming the professional is a woman, like if someone says they’ve been to the doctor lately, and you assume the doctor is a lady and ask, oh what did she say/do
Starting speeches with women and children of women.
Always referring to someone as miss, even if you know she’s married, only exception is Dr.
I’m a nurse and I say, “Your body, your choice” to male patients every opportunity I can.
Male patient doesn’t want medicine…”Your body, your choice.”
Male patient says they want to leave AMA…”Your body, your choice.”
The list goes on…😂
I’m a public accountant. I put the woman down as “taxpayer” and the husband down as “spouse” for every new client that is filing a married filing joint return.
I tell men that they’d be more attractive if they smiled, and when they do, I say, “I guess it doesn’t work all the time.”
* Every time a man tries to skip the line, i say “it’s ok, let the weak go first”.
* Every time when men get triggered by healthy feminism, i say “girls, let’s not oppress the vulnerable”.
I’m a teacher and whenever I need to move something I ask if any of my strong girls can help
When a kid gets hurt or is unwell and I am the one who has to make the call (I’m a teacher), you bet your bum I’m calling dad. Every time.
Always correcting a man when he uses the word “female” instead of “woman”.
I don’t flick off men in traffic, I give them a thumbs down. It creates disappointment vibes instead of anger. Many are really surprised 😳
When building a healthcare related website I made sure all the doctor stock photos were women doctors.
I call the World Cup from this year the Men’s World Cup and the one for next year (when the women play) the real World Cup
If a man seems insistent on cutting me off or walking ahead of me, I stop and say “after you, princess”
As a college student, I-
•assume all doctors and all professors are female until proven otherwise.
• Whenever I need to name off professionals in a field (like science) I name women first.
• question everything and do not stop kids from questioning everything
• do not smile at or be polite to men until given a good reason (like introductions or the door being held open)
I’m also a business minor so that’s pretty microfeminising in & of its self 😌
Today, in a meeting, I said “You would be grandmothered in”, instead of “grandfathered in”
I’ve decided to use “cute top” instead of “nice shirt”
i’m a passport agent. no matter what, i’m putting moms name above dads on a child’s passport application so mom has to sign above dad. extra sparkle points if the dad is “running” the appointment.
I try to actively use the word “women” for anyone 18 and older instead of “girls.” Guys are automatically “men” in print and elsewhere when they turn 18 (and even younger). We deserve the same respect.
We need the lady architects to always put the women’s bathroom first in the hallway of every restaurant.
Not supporting cruel to women religions even if my opinion is not popular and ppl will block me everywhere
I work in healthcare + insurance and I refuse to use the terms husband or wife. “Partner” across the board. You’d be surprised how many straights get offended
Replacing ‘Sorry to bother you’ with ‘Thank you for your time’ or ‘Thanks for your patience’ in emails. It subtly shifts the dynamic from apologizing for occupying space to assuming mutual professional respect
if my delivery person is a woman, i wait for her to get inside her car and drive off before i go back upstairs.
Anytime any man Tries to refer to any other man in any sport as the greatest athlete of blah blah blah, I mention Serena Williams, as in “yeah, but he’s no Serena Williams”
I do an Uno reverse on the country music radio standard of only playing one song by a woman per hour. When my phone is connected to the work truck Bluetooth, the whole crew is going to be listening to 98% women, trans, and non-binary musicians for the whole drive to the work site. They have to put in requests if they want to hear a straight white man sing.
I interrupt interrupters in meetings a la “Hang on just a second, Gary. I think we should finish hearing what Cathy had to say.”
I intentionally sought out female medical professionals, leaders, mentors, etc for my two boys. Now they’re bamboozled when they see a men in high achieving professions. Once they had a male resident pediatrician.
Mouths agape, 6 asked “boys can be doctors too?!?!”
Me: “I guess bro, but they have to work like SUPER hard.”
Everytime I’m arguing with a man I always remain calm and indifferent. When he starts taking things personally or showing he’s minimally nervous, I say he’s too emotional right now and we can talk again later, when he’s feeling calmer.
If he starts shouting, I say he’s “too hysterical”.
When I spell things on the phone, I don’t use any male names for the letters. F like Francesca, L like Lucy, M like Michelle.
I also don’t watch men’s sports anymore. I only watch women’s sports. It’s literally the best. Women are amazing.
I noticed men more often say they live by themselves, and women say they live alone, and I didn’t like that people may errantly conflate “alone” and “lonely,” so now I write “by herself” instead of “alone” so women’s aloneness doesn’t get viewed as loneliness more easily than men’s.
I decided female is the standard gender for things, unless proven otherwise. For ex, if i see a spider or bird or any creature idk the gender of, its a she.
You know how everyone who owns power tools ends up with one brand-family that they stick to? (DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, etc)
Well you are now a “___”-girly.
“Oh yeah my dad’s always been a DeWalt-girly too”
It brings a lot of fun to the conversation.
I ask men if they work outside the home
And also ask “if you’re here then who is taking care of your kids?”
Related to both: Ask how they balance work and fatherhood
PCP here. I always discuss evidence for/against prostate exams at an annual. Present the evidence. Then say, “your body, your choice”, to drive home why bodily autonomy is important. Also call the dad’s with results from kiddos testing, etc. This may be a controversial one. When the heterosexual male is in my office with his wife/GF, and she attempts to speak for him, I tell her “Ma’am, you may not always feel well to attend. It would be a disadvantage to him to not learn to answer for himself.”
Not moving out of the way when you’re walking by men is elite but also just loudly taking up space anywhere feels good
feminism just means we want to be equal. so I like to point out when we don’t have equal representation on boards, as CEOs, as founders, as VC, as famous chefs, etc.
Whenever a woman apologizes to me for “being in the way”, for instance if I say excuse me in a grocery store and they say sorry, I always tell them “Girl, never apologize for taking up space. We do that way too often as women.” most of the time I get a response of something like, “You know what?! You’re right!” It’s like my fun, little, feminism pass it on game!
I always ask men to repeat what they said, I can’t ever “hear” them the first time.
Male populated not male dominated field “Being a ____ is a male populated field”
They don’t dominate
Asking expectant fathers if they’re going part time when baby arrives
I make travel arrangements and when it is wife/husband traveling together, I book everything in the wife’s name from the car to the hotel. And I always put her name first in the email when I say “Hi [insert wife’s name] and [insert husband’s name]
I don’t stop talking when someone talks over me. Sometimes I put my hand up as I finish. Then I politely yield the floor to the interrupter.
