'Am I a sexist? I have a daughter'

 

Just because you have a wife, a daughter or a female roommate doesn't mean you can't make sexist statements. Why are women still often used as a 'rhetorical shield', and how do we tackle this form of disguised sexism?

 

Not only men, women themselves regularly use themselves as shields. They do this to defend or reinforce a certain political agenda, says Anne-Floor Dekker, program manager at WO=MEN, which is committed to equal power relations between women, men and gender non-conforming persons worldwide. "You see it in various conservative parties in Europe (such as the French National Front or the Hungarian Fidesz, ed.). They often have an organized constituency of young, highly educated men and women. They often defend against allegations of sexism, because they call the criticism 'as a woman' nonsense.”