Femme Fatale
You've Been Friend Zoned
Yet, even though the friend zone is a gender-neutral concept, it seems to be almost exclusively used by men to describe their relationships with women. Sometimes, men who use this term actually start off as good friends with a woman and develop feelings for her over time—a perfectly natural and innocuous phenomenon that nobody can control.
Yellow Fever
“Yes, he has yellow fever,” my friend confirms. No, not the potentially fatal viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, but rather a preference for Asian women. The term is most commonly ascribed to white men who seem to only ever date Asian women.
Cleavage
But at the same time, women are also told to hide their breasts. Dress codes that permit men to wear revealing tops or no tops at all often prohibit women from showing cleavage. Breastfeeding mothers are told to cover up in restaurants for being inappropriate. Female nipples are banned on Instagram, while male nipples are allowed.
Smile, Sweetheart
“Damn, sexy ladies!” A chorus of whistles followed. A group of men were sitting on the stoop across the street from us, wearing dirty denim and even dirtier grins. One of them looked directly at me. “Smile, sweetheart!”
I’m Sorry, But...
For the longest time, I didn’t understand what I was apologizing for. Was I sorry for asking a stupid question? Was I sorry for wasting my teacher’s time?
