Tough one. Very tough. And I am gonna be saying some unpopular things, so readers be warned.
Drags out the soapbox.
First off, it isn't as bad as you think.
Yes, you open the paper at random and you are almost guaranteed to find a sexual assault story looking back at you under a sensationalist headline. Are there more sexual assaults now? Not really. More women report that sh*t now. It has always been horrendous, but now more as*holes are caught and punished for it.
A mere 10 years ago the cases of sexual assault reported to the police were estimated to be about 1 in every 50. Now it is around 1 in 9. Still not great, but a damn sight better than it was. It is more in the public eye. Women know it is OK to report this and it is usually, though sadly not always, taken seriously. The biggest thing that prevents them reporting sexual assault is their sense of shame.
You want to do something about sexual assault? Don't sit around talking about it. Any fool with spare breath and a chair to sit on can do that. Get out there and get involved.
Volunteer. Teach women that there is no shame in reporting this bullcrap. Talk to them. It is a simple enough procedure. That the only shame involved is on the guy, and taking the blame on themselves is simply, totally, wrong.
Yet they won't speak out if there is no one there to listen. Be there for them!
Secondly, the misogyny part.
Yes, it exists. And yes it is pervasive. And yes, it flicks you on the raw because it is aimed at you.
Misogyny is the tiniest fraction of the verbal and physical discrimination that goes on every damned day.
Believe it or not, women don't always get the worst of it.
You think some of the comments shouted at you are bad? A couple of very good friends are transgender, trans-women to be accurate. You want to see the sh*t they get every day simply using a public toilet ("Which one?" is a perpetual question, to which the answer is always "The empty one.") or simply walking down the street. Dating for them is damn nigh impossible. So much for the idea of "be yourself."
Several other friends are devout and traditional Muslims. You may be able to almost imagine the sort of crap they go through daily. I can't. I just hear about it and it makes me ashamed of the as*holes who share my religion and skin tone.
Expand your horizons. Discrimination is wrong, pure and simple, so don't accept it and don't confine it to just things that affect you. No need to make a giant song and dance over a misplaced word, but correct the speaker. Self defense classes are sounding better all the time, right?
Your college has groups. Mostly do nothing talk shops, but there are always good people there who are actively trying to help out and make a difference. Running phone lines, support groups, awareness meetings. They need help.
Your town has a womans shelter - support it with the most valuable thing you can give: your time. (Yes, I am back on that again, so sue me.)
Hell, take lessons, get good, and teach self defense classes! Good, competent female self defense teachers are in desperately short supply, since many of the ladies who take the classes are not that good at being around men and violence any more. Or men at all, for that matter. The rest of them usually make the male instructors grateful as hell for the padding worn!
You can complain and get depressed, or you make a difference. There is no middle ground. Talk is cheap. If you go the active route and try to make a difference, you will be called many things by people. Most of them highly uncomplimentary. Many of them vulgar enough to make a dockworker blush.
I'll call you impressive.
OP here. MM, thank you for replying, but I think the soapbox was a little unnecessary.
First of all, I didn't mean to say that it happened more, just that I'm more aware of it. It's not stuff I read in the news (aside from the story of Eman Al-Obeidy, which, if you haven't by now, you should look up); it's the stuff going on around me. I know of at least 10 women I know here - most of them very good friends of mine - who have been assaulted either at school or in the past. Secondly, I know there's a lot of discrimination in the world (many of my good friends are also LGBT). I'm not blind to it, and please don't assume that I am. However, you are right: discrimination is discrimination, wherever it may be.
Your suggestions are excellent ones; I have a friend (one who has turned her own horrific experience into something positive) who works with a sexual assault hotline on campus that I will speak with about getting involved. These women (and the male victims that seem to never have a voice) need our time, our show of support and love.
I really don't think he meant to specifically imply that you don't know about the trials trans and other LGBT go through, he wouldn't know whether you do or don't, this is read by many more people than the question askers, and it's the platform from which he can bring light to issues that are important to him. I happen to have a very close trans friend, and while I am very aware of the discrimination he faces, I am happy to see it being talked about openly. This answer isn't just for you, it's for everyone that reads it.
He was doing what he told you to, educating the public.
Yep.
Everyone has a couple of hours to spare - why not use them well?
I recently had a discussion with a woman about a male to female transgender woman who lost her job because of it. She said she couldn't share a bathroom with her at walmart and couldn't expect the patrons to do so either, and that she'd be very uncomfortable/probably complain if she saw her there. I was shocked, I suppose it's naive, but I expected better from a woman. I mean, a woman is a woman, and I can't imagine doing something like that to a fellow woman, especially one who already suffers so much. I half expected her to say there should be a separate lesbian bathroom. I'm used to women with a bit more compassion, and understanding. I all I said back was. Where would you expect her to go? I'd rather see her in the womens restroom, then risk getting her ass beat in the mens.
Your co-worker is a wuss, worrying about sharing the bathroom with a trans-woman. I wouldn't care a fig about it. Hell, I used to go to gay bars with my brother and his friends and the guys were using both the men's and women's bathrooms because there were hardly any women in there. I didn't care. I just went in the nearest empty stall and peed. Actually I love going to gay bars--the men there always treat me with respect. Straight guys could take a cue from their gay brethren on how to treat women!