Why do we hate women's voices?

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     September 19, 2022 Back when I was in high school, my parents really wanted me to apply to Wellesley College. Two main reasons for this: It was close to my hometown, and it was Hillary Clinton's alma mater. Still, when I toured the campus, I struggled to understand the appeal of a women's college. I remember that the student who led my tour said that she enjoyed Wellesley's STEM classes because she could participate freely without men interrupting or speaking down to her. I didn't understand. In class, at work, and in my personal life, I talk loudly and often—I'm more likely to be told to "shut up" than to "speak up." Maybe it's because I'm the youngest of four kids: I always had to yell if I wanted to be heard. Why would I ever let a male classmate's rudeness dictate how I participate? Lots of reasons, it turns out. As Elissa Bassist writes in a feature adapted from her new memoir and [published on our site today](, men in movies and on TV routinely take up more airtime than women. Political debates and election season media coverage minimize women's voices. Men speak over women so much that when women talk, they often train their voices "to sound firmer and more powerful"—that is, to sound more like men's. All of these cultural factors contribute to uneasiness about speaking up in class or at work. Patriarchy makes women uncomfortable with the sound of their own voice. Maybe this is the reason that, when I transcribe interviews, I skip over the parts where I pose a question. Maybe it's why I dread recording voice-overs for Mother Jones’ (excellent) [TikTok channel](. Maybe I'm not as immune to internalized misogyny as my high school self seemed to think. As Bassist writes, it's difficult to overcome this discomfort with speaking up, but once you do, it feels really good. "Risk being unlikeable and being perceived as unreasonable, and risk being called a fucking bitch," she writes. "Risk a voice that doesn’t demure, a voice that is difficult, unaesthetic, charged, forthright, sappy. Risk it, or risk living a half-a-person life." —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [Bloomsbury Advertisement]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Why Do We Hate Women’s Voices?]( How I reclaimed mine. BY ELISSA BASSIST [Trending] [DeSantis flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is part of a 60-year-old segregationist playbook]( BY ISABELA DIAS   [All of Puerto Rico is without electricity as Hurricane Fiona hits the island]( BY SAMANTHA MICHAELS   [Northern California’s killer algae bloom was like a "wildfire in the water"]( BY EMILY HARWITZ   [Trans kids finally scored a victory in Texas]( BY SAMANTHA MICHAELS Advertisement [Bloomsbury Advertisement]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Meet Yvon Chouinard, the “Existential Dirtbag” Who Gave Patagonia Back to the Planet]( “Earth is now our only shareholder,” he says. BY RUPERT NEATE [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755