by Amanda Muhunde

Recently, I was speaking to a friend who works with a recruiting company for IT firms....or something close to that; she connects employers to potential employees. We were sitting at my mother's dining table and she was telling me a work story. There was a man she was trying to get hired but he was way more interested in her smile. Another asked her if she had a boyfriend. These guys were in an interview! To get a job! I was disgusted and did not conceal it in my "That's so sexist!" vociferation. At this particular moment, my brilliant and gorgeous cousin happened to be walking by. She made a comment on how militant I am and how "I'm the only one fighting." I think her point was "since no one else really feels as strongly about it as you do, why make things unpleasant?" I was incensed! "If it weren't for lone voices through the ages", I practically barked at her, "we wouldn't be wearing pants, or nail polish, or even talking about this openly!" I was screaming directly into her ear. The incident in question was an obvious example of misogyny, even she conceded to that, her issue was with how easily I scream "SEXISM!"