Me and my sister get treated differently

[u/New-Cup-3547]

I'm 17f and my sister 15f have a pretty rough relationship, just standard sibling rivalry but we fight a lot, or just don't talk at all. Today we were getting along and talking, and everybody (me, her, and our parents) were in the living room at the same time, and that is relatively rare.

And though I've always known this, it's hitting me harder today. There's a huge gap in how my parents treat both of us. While there are issues in their relationships with me, I never get such derision, dismissal and overall plain rude behaviour from them. At least not as often as my sister does. I have a temper and tend to yell at them or just give as good as I got. Not that my sister is a doormat, she has attitude issues too but she doesn't overtly retaliate in the same way and I never really understood how much of a difference it creates.

My father told her to shut up and listen (to our mother) when she was trying to express something, but I was literally backing her up and saying the exact same thing. And we both got extra portions of food that we didn't want and I just put my foot down and refused them, while my mother didn't take no for an answer from my sister.

[u/BicyclingBabe]

You can't control what your parents do, but you can support your sister. You can tell her you see the difference in treatment and that you back her and think it's unfair. Eventually, your parents will reap what they've sown and your sister won't want to be around them when she has a choice. But she will always remember your support.

[u/Left-Historian-8050 → u/BicyclingBabe]

This. I was your sister. You probably can’t “save” her from it, but you absolutely should tell her that you see it, you think it’s wrong, and that you’re there for her. She very much needs it.
Signed, someone who didn’t hear that until she was 50.