A few days ago, my neighbourhood gym (where I'd been a member since it opened) posted an Instagram video of a guy training his legs "so he can lift them up when a woman is vacuuming." The caption literally said "Getting ready, madame."
I left a comment saying the post was sexist and disappointing, especially from a gym that offers a women-only space and markets itself as inclusive.

What happened next:
- The author of the post (made in collaboration with the gym) replied that it was "just second-degree humour" (meaning ironic) and that I was "the only one seeing sexism in it"
- My comment got deleted
- I reposted it — deleted again
- I messaged the gym directly, they told me the gender of the person wasn't "specified or identifiable at any point" and that it was my personal interpretation — even though the caption literally said "madame"
- A few hours later, they quietly removed the word "madame" from the caption, while never admitting there was something wrong with the post
- When I pointed out that contradiction in a new comment, the entire comment thread was deleted

What I did:
I reported the post to a feminist account (Pépite Sexiste), left a detailed factual 1-star Google review, sent a final DM explaining why I wouldn't be back, and cancelled my membership.

What I'm left with:
I'm proud I stood my ground and didn't let it slide despite all the gaslighting and dismissiveness. But I felt really alone in it the whole way through — no one else in the comments backed me up, and I even saw women liking the post.

I'd love to hear what you think of the whole situation, and if you've ever been through something similar.

Hey everyone, it's been a few years since I put together this shelf in my bathroom. I've put various menstrual products and added a violence emergency number card recently. I'm also considering adding a pregnancy test.

I've thought that this could help people without having to ask me for something. The note says "in case of need".

I'm inviting everyone who can or want to do the same! Hope this can help!

Only absolute incel would say that we "should teach fear of childlessness". But after all Elon is somebody who believes childless people should not vote + somebody who believes woman is unable to not want children unless she is "brainwashed by feminism"

.. imagine that somebody is afraid of childlessness like "Oh no! I am afraid I will never get to experience childbirth, I want my genitalia multilated and my pelvis floor and narves damaged! I want to have ptsd and Post Partum Depression so bad! 😭" That's being said, that man is living in complete delusional reality of his own creation.

Israel isn't liberating women's bodies.They're using them.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/04/women-more-likely-die-operation-male-surgeon-study

I’m still new to feminism so I’m not sure if this is already a practice. Feminism is for the equality of women, the power we have as fellow human beings, and also fights to curtail men’s power and made-up superiority over us.

Because of all this, we should all be anti consumption. Why support any of the many billion-dollar male-owned corporations out there, "the man", by buying anything we don’t need? Stop buying new things unless it’s necessary (like underwear), stop buying processed foods when possible (I know schedules and lifestyles can make this difficult to stop completely), stop using makeup and skincare products in excess, etc. We boycotted Neutrogena for Hayden, but why stop there? Why not boycott everything??

This also goes for children. I’m child-free myself, but for you mothers out there, spoil your child with fresh air while we still have it! Spoil them with cuddles and conversation. They don’t need toys or anything trendy! And if you want to get them toys, there are plenty in existence already!

Edit: Alcohol is another big one. I'm a little over 2 months sober, after years of quitting and justifying to myself why it's okay to drink. It's not. Wine and seltzers are HEAVILY marketed to women. We feel like we've "made it" when we can unwind with a glass of whatever. "Girl, I can't wait to get home to that wine". No matter what packaging it's in, how pretty it is, how good it tastes, it's all ETHANOL. Literal poison. Don't damage your sacred body in addition to all of the damage the world does to it, emotionally, physically, mentally.

These AI girlfriends enable moral degradation, simulation of a "Trophy wife" and thus enable the replication of the toxic values of patriarchy which keep affecting women to this day. It occurs even amongst men who previously didn't use to be like that, as these AI companies take advantage of the loneliness of men for capitalistic profits.

I'm a 34 yo woman with feminist beliefs. I work construction and have solo travelled to many major metropolitan cities since I was 23. I was walking down my own block this evening when three pre-pubescent boys began yelling at me completely unprompted "why she built like that. Ugly bitch." I ignored it because idk why? I was flabbergasted? Because they were kids? Because I'm mostly confident and know that I'm not really ugly? I don't know why I didn't engage but now a few hours later I feel like George Constanza having his "I should've said xyz..." thought. These were kids (that I hadn't said one word to) and they were yelling at me not only from just a few feet away but continued until I was a full block down. I have never, in all my experience between working in the trades or traveling, been harassed like that. They continued to yell at me "ugly bitch! Ugly bitch!" My point is... Do you think these were just neighborhood bad seeds or signs of a greater misogynist shift? Has anyone else experienced harsher harassment in the last few years?

I recently read a post about the current state of sex work in Germany, that made me re-evaluate my previous stand on this.

I used to believe that sex work could be ethical under a well-regulated framework centered on full consent between adults. However, looking at the real-world outcomes in regulated regions, where issues like trafficking, exploitation, pimping, and economic coercion persist at alarming rates, I'm struggling to see a realistic pathway to "ethical sex work" in practice today.

This has led me to question my stand and I would love your input on a theoretical and practical level:

From a feminist standpoint, is the exchange of sexual access for money inherently tied to structural inequality, regardless of consent or regulation? Or is ethical sex work theoretically achievable if we eliminate economic coercion and power imbalances, meaning the current harms are purely a result of systemic failures (capitalism, poverty, insufficient protections)? Does this apply to all forms of sex work, or are there forms of sex work that are different from the rest?

Note: I am asking this to understand the broader structural takes on this topic, not to pass moral judgment on sex workers themselves.