If it is 2 am and I am at a guy's house I expect him to walk me home or wait with me while I hail a cab, however, I would not expect myself to walk home a male guest (I would wait for him while he hailed a cab). Is this simply an acknowledgment of reality, that a woman on the streets at 2 am is in greater danger than a guy? Is it sexism? Or is it a bit of both?
Similarly, I feel objectified when guys blatantly check me out on the street, but I definitely have checked guys out on the street before - how blatantly, I am unsure. I try to be discreet. Does it matter that the guys' eyes are coming at me within a culture of male objectification of women, while my eyes are coming from a position of women's disempowerment? Does this justify the double standard?
I am unsure, but I think it is something that I as a feminist should be aware of. Equality means equality - not imposing sexism on men. I think one of the failings of the feminist movement is that we have allowed ourselves to be labeled as man-haters, and sometimes have even lived up to that label.
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