CHARLESTOWN, Ind. — Charlestown Mayor Treva Hodges has recently gone viral on TikTok for a video where she talks about experiencing sexism.
The video asks women in positions of power to tell stories of when they have experienced sexism.
Hodges recalls a time when a man asked how to address her, “What do I call you? Mrs. Mayor? Calling you Mayor doesn’t seem right with you being a woman.” Mayor Hodges replies by saying, "Well sir, if titles are that important to you, you can call me Dr. Mayor.”
The TikTok video has more than 86,000 views and more than 20,000 likes. Hodges says she never expected the video to resonate with so many women.
“I never expected it to go viral,” said Hodges.
Hodges says in the past year, she has experienced sexism regularly. But it has taught her patience. She says most people are not being intentionally malicious.
"I think people have this image of what a mayor is, and that natural image is not female,” said Hodges.
She is the first female mayor of Charlestown, and the first in Clark County. She says representation anywhere is important, but especially in a city where over half of the population is female.
"I think it is important for women and young girls, even sons and men to see people who represent half the population in positions of leadership,” said Hodges.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, of the 1,621 Mayors of US cities with populations over 30,000, 378 or 23.3 percent were women.
"I came to this position with high qualifications to do the job. I want them to look at those qualifications first and not see my feminine appearance as being something that triggers them into thinking that I don’t know how to do the job,” said Hodges.
She says she plans to use TikTok, as it gives her a creative way to connect with her community.
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