The everyday sexism project website was launched in April 2012 by Laura Bates. The website is a platform where women and men can send anonymous accounts of their experience with sexism from all over the world. The goal is to ensure that women can share their experiences of sexism without fear or prejudice, creating a safe space.
Laura Bates, who is a feminist English writer, founded the movement after she encountered several experiences of sexism during her auditions as an actress. She even noted that during her time as a nanny, the young girls under her care were already having issues with their body images, at such a young age.
So far, the project has successfully documented about 60,000 stories from all around the world, from a total of over 50,000 users. The success of the website inspired Bates’s first book titled “Everyday Sexism” which collates some of the most interesting accounts and entries from the website.
The campaign has also recorded some noteworthy successes, like when the movement campaigned for the removal of the app, Plastic Surgery & Plastic Doctor & Plastic Hospital Office for Barbie Version from the app store, and the google play store for reinforcing and promoting body image issues to young girls and boys.
The project has also influenced several policies on how to tackle sexual harassment and consent, in many parliaments. They recently liaised with the British Transport police on how to handle complaints of sexual behaviour appropriately.
Sexism reinforces that one gender is inherently better or superior to another, which is a huge factor that contributes to gender inequality. We must discuss the impact of sexism, as it’ll help us better combat it in the best possible ways. It is not unpopular to find people that sexism is non-existent, because according to them, we now live in a “progressive world.” This is why movements like Everyday sexism should be encouraged, to ensure that victims of sexism can freely share their experiences without being gaslighted.
Overall, the everyday sexism project has been a huge success.
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