At SPHYR Summit 2017, Jenkins SPHYR club lead a workshop called The Flames of Sexism. (This is a lengthy metaphor, so stay with me).
The logs of the fire represent the systems that feed that flames of sexism, including; schools, media, home life, work, and sporting events.
The flames are the consequences of sexism, which include limited opportunities for women to succeed, societal expectations, and harmful gender roles.
So, how do we put out the flames? Why, the water of equality, of course! Rain drops added at the end of the workshop included sayings such as “Hobbies are gender neutral” “There are more than two genders” “Men can be emotional” “Women can be tough” and more.
And who are the firefighters? These awesome, inspiring, world changing, teenage activists that are working everyday to create a society where all people are equal in all ways.
(The smoke of the fire represents the consequences that men face, which also include harmful gender roles and expectations. However, you cannot be sexist towards men, the same way you cannot be racist towards white people. Standing in the smoke of the fire isn’t great, but it’s a lot better than being stuck in the fire pit.)