It started as a quick comment on her Instagram page, but Abbie Chatfield has become a viral sensation in Italy after pointing out a sexist tradition in restaurants.
“I’m Lizzie McGuire at this point honestly,” she joked as she shared a snippet of the articles written about her in Italy this week.
WATCH: Abbie Chatfield goes viral in Italy over sexist menus
Currently travelling with her boyfriend, Konrad Bien Stephen, Abbie has been flooded with angry messages from Italian men.
What caused their outrage? An Instagram story in which Abbie commented on the “sexist” tradition of women being given menus without prices at some Italian restaurants.
During a luxury dinner earlier in the week, Abbie took to social media to share her confusion and frustration when her menu didn’t have a single price listed. At the time she blamed “the patriarchy” and noted that it seemed like a sexist tradition, before turning her focus to the food and moving on.
But days later her comments made it to the Italian press and all hell broke loose.
“I have made the Italian news because I spoke about getting a menu without prices and now I have lots of angry Italian men in my DMs saying I need to ‘get some class’ because I dared say I should know how much I’m paying,” she explained in an Instagram Story.
The star joked that she’s “upsetting men all over the world” before sharing several screenshots of messages she’d received.
Some Italian locals who messaged the influencer said that it was common for “lady menus” not to show prices at expensive restaurants, branding her “ignorant and selfish” for calling out the practice as sexist.
Others stood by the star, with many women sending in messages saying that they too found it sexist and were frustrated by how common it is in Italy.
Noting that she hadn’t intended it to go viral, Abbie spoke up about why it was indeed a sexist practice – defending herself against the trolls who have been coming for her in the DMs.
Abbie reiterated that women being given menus without prices is sexist, saying that “the patriarchy harms [men] too” as they’re automatically expected to pay.
Discussing the backlash on her Instagram stories, Abbie joked that she and Konrad were going to get “kicked out of Italy” before breaking down why she feels the tradition is outdated.
“A lot of sexist men in my DMs are saying it isn’t about gender … but it is. It’s sexist, the whole notion is sexist,” she said.
“The idea comes from the fact that women can’t support themselves, but I can support myself.”
Abbie explained that even if some women don’t find the “lady menu” offensive, the practice reinforces outdated ideas that women can’t support themselves financially or must be reliant on men.
“If you like being paid for, that’s great,” she added, but said that she found the experience uncomfortable and wanted to speak candidly about it.
The star later said that she also never meant to call the restaurant out and that finding the tradition sexist didn’t mean she thought the waitstaff or Italian culture itself is sexist.
This article previously appeared on our sister site Now To Love.
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