Sorry Guys, This Is What Girls Actually Do When You’re Not Around

Impact

Each time a woman like Sen. Kiristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reveals the extent of men's sexist behavior, even in a place like Congress, it becomes increasingly clear that members of the "Boys' Club" still cling to the most limiting ideas of what it means to be a woman.

With this in mind, a new video produced by BuzzFeed debunks some of the most sexist stereotypes about women. It contrasts the everyday reality for women with the reality most men envision.

Importantly, the video shows that women have a range of emotions and experiences that should be celebrated, affirmed and respected. 

Even though women actually make up 51% of the U.S. population, according to the latest U.S. Census data, they still don't have equal representation in the government, in management positions, in how they're paid for doing the same work as men and their ability to access vital health care resources

That's a whole lot of people whose lives are affected every day by outdated gender stereotypes.

Women aren't actually monsters during their periods. They don't only talk about boys with their girlfriends, and they don't have a problem checking out people they find attractive. They can go out with or without makeup, handle intense workout routines, throw back more than a few brews and belch louder than a bro with a beer gut.

Image Credit: BuzzFeed Violet via YouTube

Yet at the same time, countless aspects of women's identities and experiences make them truly unique individuals, including the shared experience of combating sexism as individuals and as a group.

In light of this video, perhaps men can take a moment to consider how their words, thoughts and actions reduce women down to stereotypes that strip them of their humanity. Maybe if more of the guys actually took a moment to be conscientious, we wouldn't have one of the most powerful women in government writing a book about how male senators kept calling her a pig.