It can often be hard to believe that, in the 21st century, misogyny can still be so rampant.
But one viral thread recently pointed out just how deeply ingrained and pervasive it truly is in our society.
It all started when Twitter user @sswyers tweeted about a snide comment her boss made after viewing the thumbnail of a woman's profile picture on LinkedIn.
After some confusion, @sswyers tried to dig a little deeper into what her boss meant.
The boss finally got down to the matter.
He thought the picture was "slutty."
@sswyers wasn't having any of it.
I was getting annoyed right back, so I told him to just explain what he meant. He talked for a minute about how if… https://t.co/db9TEfsBze— Sawyer (@Sawyer) 1560550026.0
And then, after some back and forth, @sswyrs finally got down to what it was really about.
Needless to say, @sswyers was appalled, and called out exactly what was happening here.
This man saw a THUMBNAIL of a picture of an attractive woman, and decided that not only was she a "slut", but that… https://t.co/f8FA4SD845— Sawyer (@Sawyer) 1560550545.0
A woman has her smiling face on her profile. A man she has never met sees it and instantly feels rage and disgust.… https://t.co/Oy6lBe77nI— Sawyer (@Sawyer) 1560550955.0
@ men: Don't you ever ask women why they're afraid again.— Sawyer (@Sawyer) 1560550968.0
People were left shaking their heads.
@babenofun @sswyrs SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK— ☀️🌻🏳️🌈 (@☀️🌻🏳️🌈) 1560687660.0
@BrettHethering @sswyrs It's too common at that! As in not every man feels/thinks that way, not by a long shot (!)… https://t.co/mTpkf93yy1— Good Omens Ivy (@Good Omens Ivy) 1560631938.0
Other women soon chimed in with their own horror stories of misogyny from both men and women.
@MTA_1996 @sswyrs When me and my sister were kids, our neighbor asked my mom to put up curtains in our shared room… https://t.co/3ZwVOsLDws— Elisabeth (@Elisabeth) 1560667226.0
@Elisabeth__E @MTA_1996 @sswyrs Ugh. Reminds me of my highly religious neighbors as a kid. The wife tried to get me… https://t.co/jOxmm7vN1p— Snap, Crackle, Pop (@Snap, Crackle, Pop) 1560668221.0
You've been warned, ladies.
No attractive profile pictures that might make men all hot and bothered.
@Mickey_Marine @sswyrs @battleborngoali To be fair, you’re showing a bit of earlobe.— diecastzinc (@diecastzinc) 1560651163.0
@FionaMMarsden @diecastzinc @sswyrs @battleborngoali *Scribbles note* "Must appear dead in the eyes." Got it.— 💗💜💙Foul-Mouthed Engineer💗💜💙 (@💗💜💙Foul-Mouthed Engineer💗💜💙) 1560653789.0
If you're dealing with a toxic work environment, there are things you can do to protect yourself. The book The Arsonist in the Office: Fireproofing Your Life Against Toxic Coworkers, Bosses, Employees, and Cultures by Pete Havel, available here, offers suggestions for workplace survival.
The ultimate tribute to office misery, the film Office Space, turned 20 years old in 2019 and issued a 20th anniversary edition, available here.
***WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!***
I can't think of anything hilarious at the moment. Make us LOL.
Lady
Shocked Oh No GIF by Yêu LuGiphy"I have this friend, love him to bits, but his wife has a tendency of just constantly showing everyone pictures of their son at every social event. At the start it was understandable, but now I'm just like 'Lady, it's been two years; they're not going to find him.'"
UnoriginalUse
at 9am...
"Not the most morbid but I love Anthony Jeselnik’s story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s. 'One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.'"
"'Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time. Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”
dreagan021
Comedy?
"Why can't orphans play baseball? They don't know where home is."
GW2RNGR
"Why can't orphans play tennis? They get confused when they hear love."
JayDub506
People who make comedy are evil. LOL.
The Darkness
That 70S Show Reaction GIF by LaffGiphy"Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it."
storm_the_castle
God Laughs?
"A Holocaust survivor dies and goes to heaven, where she meets God. To break the tension she tells God a joke about the Holocaust, but God doesn’t laugh. The lady shrugs and says 'I guess you had to be there.'"
“'I guess you had to be there' is a common expression used when someone doesn’t laugh at a joke. It means that the comedy may not translate without the context of the situation."
"In this case the Holocaust survivor is saying it, meaning that during the Holocaust God was nowhere to be found. It’s not really a joke about the Holocaust, but the absurdity of belief in a benevolent God. Hilarious right?"
semimillennial
Oh Baby
"How many dead babies does it take to fix a light bulb? More than 3 cause my garage is still dark."
sirnibs3
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Because I don't know what it says about us as people if we laugh. Oye.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"
You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.