Context: We’re in a bit of a heat wave and my daughter loves to cool down by splashing in water. Today was no different.
Once she was done, I say to her “Let’s get you out of that wet dress. I imagine it must be uncomfortable. I’ve never actually worn a wet dress before”.
Before I can follow that up with “I’ve worn wet clothes before, and that’s not the nicest”, my wife jumps in and claims that me saying I’ve never worn a wet dress is sexist.
Is it?
Classic. It’s only sexist if you are sexist. If you assume dresses are ‘womens’ clothes,’ and that women are inferior, it’s possibly sexist because you are elevating yourself by declaring yourself to not be one of those lowly dress-wearers. If you don’t have that internalized misogyny, it’s just a statement of boring fact.