“My only true recourse is to just wait for a man to vouch for me before I’m taken seriously.”

As BuzzFeed's politics lead, my job is to do the doomscrolling for you.

Note: This post contains mention of domestic violence and sexual harassment. 

"As a 36-year-old woman with no children, my wife has been on the waiting list for a psychiatric evaluation for two years to assess her mental state. Once that's signed off, she then has to go to the back of the queue for a sterilization referral."

"At the end of the school year, all moms who helped got flowers and applause as a thank you, and I got taken aside by one teacher who told me in private, 'and also thank you, too.'"

"Even after reminding them that she was dead, and had been for a while, they still defaulted to 'mom' for everything."

"Things only changed after my neighbor gave a statement confirming what I’d said was true, but they were fully willing to charge me with false imprisonment for acting in self-defense."

"Like, 'No, sir, we have a healthy marriage and share all parenting responsibilities. I'm not an absent boomer father who's never touched a diaper.'"

"Anyway, she told me to always request a female doctor if possible, and they have always complied with my request when asked. The fact that this came from the female doctor who saw me kinda shocked me, but I felt vindicated because I knew I wasn't tripping 😭 (I now have no gallbladder lol, no pain since)."

"Whether I'm dealing with clients or joining a new team of coworkers, the men who don't know me start to automatically talk down to me, regardless of whether I've been in the position twice as long as they have." 

"Fortunately, I've worked in my field long enough that I have a pretty solid reputation and respect within the company, so it doesn't usually take long for these dudes to be set straight. It just sucks that it happens so often, and my only true recourse is to just wait for a man to vouch for me before I'm taken seriously."

Responses have been edited for clarity. 

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.