Question: which social norm do you think has the most harmful effect on women?

Marjorie Pichon answered on 8 Mar 2021:

Hi Maya, this is a great question thank you! It is hard to choose just one, and I think it really depends about which country/context we are talking about. In the UK, I think one very harmful social norm is that people think women/girls should be agreeable, friendly, and submissive. There is nothing wrong with being nice, but it means that when people take advantage of a women/girls or makes her feel uncomfortable, it can be difficult for her to speak up or tell that person to leave her alone. A great example of this is street harassment. It also means that when women/girls do get angry, upset or frustrated, people may not take her feelings seriously and think that she is overreacting, or that she shouldn’t be having those kinds of feelings.