SEE: Model calls out restaurant for having sexist menus
Is she being overly sensitive or is her anger justified?
Sexism is still a major concern in various industries, in daily conversations, in every single country, town, and city across the world.
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Sexist issues have sparked many debates such as addressing the wage gap between men and women and why men have the power to make decisions surrounding a women's body.
While these are all quite serious and major issues, sexism comes in various shapes and forms, and microaggressions are probably the most common in day-to-day life. These little instances might even go unnoticed because we have either become so used to them or we don't even recognise them as being sexist.
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One such instance was recently pointed out by an Argentinian blogger and model, Agustina Gandolfo.
She had been dining at a restaurant in Milan, Italy with her boyfriend, professional footballer Lautaro Martinez, when she noticed something strange about their menus.
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The restaurant in question was a very upscale and fancy place and apparently, that was the justification for why the couple's menus were different.
To Agustina and her boyfriend's shock and horror, her menu did not include any prices. None, nothing, nada.
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This implies that Agustina would not be contributing to the meal. Instead, her boyfriend would be paying for everything.
Did you know that in numerous restaurants in Italy they don’t put prices on the menus that they give to women? And what if I wanted to pay? The worst thing is that they justify this by saying it only happens in restaurants of a certain level. So does that mean women cannot pay if we are talking about a more expensive meal?
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Her Instagram posts got so much attention that the local press and many prominent restaurateurs decided to jump in on the debate that she had now started.
Two Italian restauranteurs, Rossella Cerea, who is a manager at a three Michelin-starred restaurant, and Alessandro Pipero spoke to the local press and even they disagreed on whether or not the 'blind menu' is sexist or not.
If there is a couple at table we have the habit of giving the blind menu to the woman. It is not discrimination but a form of gallantry, a way to advise the woman to enjoy the dinner, the atmosphere and the good food without worrying about more banal matters.
We are in 2021 and it is not possible to believe that a woman will not pay at a restaurant. And even if she doesn’t pay, why shouldn’t she know the prices of the meals?
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The 'blind menu' also isn't the only sexist restaurant custom that has remained: the bill usually gets handed to the male diner and even if a woman has ordered the wine, a male has to taste it first.
Apparently, it isn't just common in Italy as one Twitter user exposed the Eiffel Tower restaurant for doing the same thing:
Had a bizarre/sexist surprise while dining at Jules Verne restaurant on @LaTourEiffel.
— Nick Yoder (@NickYoder86) October 17, 2021
Our group (two men + two women) were discussing whether to get the 3, 5 or 7 course prix fixe lunch.
Halfway in, we realized they only give women menus without prices.#womenu? pic.twitter.com/J2e5qs165x
Does that mean if a woman is dining alone or with a group of girlfriends their meal is free?
We kid of course, but whether or not it's sexist, maybe we should start putting prices on ALL menus just because it's probably a lot more convenient.
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Main image courtesy of Agustina Gandolfo Instagram