Even the most macho men face sexism. These real-life incidents will prove it to you

We all know that sexism is real. But what we don't understand is that it can be faced by women and men alike. We might not realize this, but every time we expect a man to open the gate in spite of having fully-functional limbs ourselves, we are being sexist. Every time we ridicule a man for showing his emotions or his soft side, we are being sexist.

 

Now these daily life incidents may not sound like a big deal to most people, but it doesn't take away from the fact that men actually do face sexism. Still don't believe us? Check out what these 10 Indian men have to say.  

1.Blame the Patriachial Conditioning

I feel that we are conditioned to look at men and women differently from the very start. I am from a typical South-India, Brahmin family, and back home men are not allowed to enter the kitchen, because apparently, it is a woman's job. You may grow out of these situations, but these values are so deeply embedded in our system that they do show up somewhere or the other."
--Naveen Siromoni
 

2. Because Men Should Never Be Pretty in Pink

"My girlfriend doesn't let me wear pink. She thinks I don't look macho in it. Hence blue is my colour for life."
--Bunty Bhalla

3. Certain Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

"Every time my friends and I are coming back from a late-night party, no one lets me drive. Instead a girl, who is just as high as the rest of us is pushed to the driver's seat. Because you know what? Cops don't stop female drivers at night."
--Karan Kataria

 

4. Boys Don't Cry

"My best friend happens to be a woman and I am very attached to her. Every time she cries, I cry too. And every time I cry watching her cry, she says, "why are you crying, you're not a girl", while she is still sobbing."
--Kartikay Aggarwal

 

5. The Stereotypes Are The Worst

"Strangely, I faced it when I broke up with my girlfriend. Most people around me blamed me for it without even knowing the complete story. Apparently it's always the guy's fault. The truth is that we broke up because it did not work out between us, that is it."
--Sumit Gulati

6. Beauty Over Brains

"During my initial days as a journalist, I pitched in a story to my editor. My colleague who happened to be a female also pitched in hers at the same time. I was hundred per cent sure that my idea was better, but she got the chance to present hers on T.V. When I asked my boss for the reason, he told me that being a female, she would look better on camera."
--Saurabh Dwivedi

7. Because Being a Man Means Beating Someone Up

"During my childhood, I got into a fight with a dude who lived in my colony. When I came back home and narrated the incident to my family, I was slapped by my uncle for not being man enough to beat that guy up. The next day I went and beat up that guy's innocent brother just to prove my manhood."
--Aadil Hassan

8. If You're Fashionable, Then You Must Be Gay

"If I start talking about nail paint colours or fashion, there's shock and often dismissal. In fact, all my male friends, who are a part of the fashion industry are perceived to be gay."
--Shreshth Gupta

9. Only Girls Are Sensitive, Didn't You Know?

"I am a very sensitive man, to a level that even silly Bollywood dramas make me weep. I've often been asked to 'act like a man' and not cry during movies. I get emotional easily and tears roll down even when I am enraged, and I've been asked to 'fight like a man'. I have been asked, 'why are you crying like girls?'. I've been asked to rise from the seat I secured in a general coach in the Delhi metro, the one I managed after standing for an hour after a long, tiring day at office, not for an old man or woman, not for a physically handicapped, not for a pregnant woman, not for an ailing man, not for someone who was travelling with an infant, but for a normal, healthy, college-going girl, only because I am a 'man'."
--Vivek Surendran

10. Macho is Equal to Muscle

"I am a gym-rat and I love weight-training. But there are days when I just stick to higher number of repetitions with lighter weights. So many guys taunt me saying, 'stop lifting weights like a girl.'"
--Amar Rathore