The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History stated, “Sexism is the cultural assumption that men are superior to women and deserve preference and power over them.” (Bird, 1998) However, as I did research I found that sexism is not always men being superior to women, but also women being superior to men. Of course, this is normally a feeling brought about by actions, words, and perhaps even nothing at all. I believe that sexism is most common with women being the most irate about their inferiority to men. There are cases where men feel inferior to women, but I think that in these cases men might not be as quick to speak out about their problem as women are. Some people may believe that sexism is a completely natural reaction to problems in early childhood, sexual abuse, or other sickening occurrences. But, if we wish, we could probably come up with some excuse for every unnecessary feeling that we have. Although there may be correspondence between these things and sexism, this is not necessarily the cause. We are responsible for how we react to things that happen in our lives. Sexism is something we allow to control our feelings. “The National Organization for Women was formed in 1966 by activists who wanted “an NAACP for women” that would fight against sexism and sexual discrimination in U.S. society.” (National Organization for Women, 2001) Sexism is unbiblical, unnecessary and unethical.
Sexism runs rampant like an infectious disease in our society today. It comes like a roaring lion waiting to eat at its prey until he or she is irate with the seeming unfairness of it. Even I as a young lady have at times been maybe a little taken up with the arguments and irate attitudes of it. One of the biggest areas of society it has...
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.... Sexism is such an easy thing in which you could get caught up. But don’t let any movement or any person take away, or add to, what the Bible has already said about the man/woman relationship. And, on the same hand, never allow yourself to feel “inferior” or “not good enough.” We each have specific roles to play in God’s kingdom. Use each role to His glory. Men, be a leader in your home! Women, submit to your husbands and love him as you love yourself! Sexism has no place in your marriage, church, or anything else.
Works Cited
Bird, Caroline. (1998). In The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/rcuswh/sexism
National Organization for Women (NOW). (2001). In World of Sociology, Gale. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/worldsocs/national_organization_for_women_now
Sexism is a highly talked about issue read about online, seen in the news, and experienced in the day to day lives of many. The importance of this issue can be found in many writings. Authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Linda Hasselstrom, and Judy Brady have all discussed the topic of sexism in writings and how they affected their lives. Although each writer addresses the issue of sexism, each author confronts a different type of sexism; the kind we are born into, the kind we learn growing up, and the kind that is accepted by society at the end of the day.
The basic definition of sexism is when a person of either sex is discriminated against in any way based on their gender. But history has recorded that men, usual in every society in this world, have always been the dominant sex and women have taken a lower role. This has been especially true in the United States throughout its history. Women always seemed to be the one who took care of the children and home as the men went to work and earned a living. Women do not have the choice to give birth to children, but they should have a choice in whether they are the primary care givers to that child. Betty Friedan, a well-known feminist, writes, “We are still very mother-centered. It’s still ‘mother, mother, mother,’ when it really should be ‘mother, father, society.’”1 What she means by this is that society still has not overcome the discriminatory thought that the mother should not work and stay home with the kids.
At a young age people learned sexist ways and how to say things, but they were never told that it was sexist. But as you grow older that’s all you hear is, it’s not mail man is mail deliver or lunch lady it is actually the food server. There are also people that have been taught to not be sexist, those people tend not to be corrected that often. And one of the things that get people the most, is when people think of rolls in society that are given to those men and women. You can also see all forms of sexism being used at school, in sports, or at a job, and also toward both men and women of both past and present and how it is also a big deal in other countries.
Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas.
Even in the first civilizations sexsim was very prevalent, women were not included in democracy, they were not allowed to vote, and in some earlier civilizations women were not even allowed to have a job or go outside the home. Even as a 16 year old girl in America, the supposed land of dreams, I see sexism everyday. I see it when I watch the news, I see it when I’m walking down the halls at my school, I even see it when I read novels and articles or watch a movie online. Over 60% of serious journalism roles are given to males, while the women are left with the less important, or less popular sections. In school I see boys calling girls stupid, or girls getting a pass to go to their locker because they forgot something, even though a boy was just denied. I notice sexism the most in literature and movies, I see female characters being “airheads” or acting dumb and helpless, their main role in the piece is to wait for the male character to save them, or to be a comic relief. Not only are women’s jobs and dignity at stake but our sexuality, education and rights are too.
Sexism is the ideology that maintains that one sex is inherently inferior to the other. Sexism or discrimination based on gender has been a social issue for many years; it is the ideology that one sex is superior or inferior to the other. Sexism does not only affect females, but also males. Men are very often victimized by social stereotypes and norms based on gender expectations. Sexism has appears in almost all social institutions including family, the media, religion, sports, the military, politics, and the government. However, although both genders are affected, men have benefited from sexism the most (Thompson 300-301.)
The term sexism seems like a simple word, but it causes controversy and chaos amongst a gender based society. Sexism all over the world puts a lid on what it means to have equality, freedom, and humanity, which tampers with self-esteem. Tony Porter, a motivational speaker perfectly depicts how effective sexism is and how it harbors domestic violence as well as how the “man box” plays a huge role in sexism. Also, Sheryl Wudunn another motivational speaker as well ties in how sexism interferes with the female population.
Sexism; a justice issue that goes unrecognized due to how accustomed society has become to it. The article, Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns Sexist, Objectify Women by Elizabeth Carlson, explores the fact that our culture has morphed into a community that sees the female anatomy as an object of pleasure. Therefore sexism is an issue that must be resolved.
Sexism has been extremely prevalent in the world since the start of agricultural societies. As groups of people moved from their hunting gathering practices and into agricultural women weren’t needed to keep the group alive. Their role in society was demoted to that of bearing children and therefore they were considered only fit for housework and weren’t included in hard labor. This was the beginning of deep seated sexism that carries on into the modern day. We have seen many examples of this throughout history from high levels of abuse in Ancient Rome, European witch hunts viciously attacking women and leading to around 51,000 deaths, extreme amounts of sexism surrounding the modern military, and even carrying into today. We see recurring patterns of unfair accusations directed toward women, physical abuse, and even murder. There are many ways in which we have improved the treatment of women throughout history, but there are also many ways in which we can still improve.
Author and feminist Alix Kates Shulman said once: “Sexism goes so deep that at first it’s hard to see, you think it’s just reality” (McEneany). That quote sums up perfectly the way our society runs. There is no class teaching children how to act according the their gender. Yet little boys and little girls learn at a very young age what is expected of them. They get ideas about their gender roles from their parents, their school teachers and subconsciously from the toys they play with and the television shows they watch.
In conclusion, sexism in the society exists to this day and de facto woman is still an object. People live in patriarchy where women`s oppression at work, sexual assault and rape are evident. Gender bias can be conscious or unconscious, and sexism can be hostile or benevolent but, undoubtedly, sexism and objectification of women engender violence against them.
Women in all parts of the world are oppressed not only in the workforce, but in many aspects of life. I believe sexism is very real, it’s not something new, it has been around for as long as history indicates it. Women have even been labeled as ‘less career-oriented.’ “Inequities may be partly explained by differences in education, qualifications, and work experience, but part of this wage gap is simply attributable to gender” (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 318). The United States has witnessed the Women’s Suffrage Movement years ago which involved mostly women gathering in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss the problem of women’s rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights law in the United States. It ended segregation based on race,
Since the beginning of time, men and women have been separated. Men would always be the supporters of the family while women would care for their family. With this being true, they would have different jobs set for them. Even now this aspect of society still stands. Even though the women’s movement has happened and we claim that women are equal, we really are not. Sexism in our society is negatively affecting women in the workforce. Women are not represented equally in different jobs, they suffer harassment, a wage gap exists, and discrimination against them still has an effect and has done so since the beginning of history.
Throughout history, sexism and gender roles in society has been a greatly debated topic. The Women’s Rights Movements, N.O.M.A.S. (The National Organization of Men Against Sexism), M.A.S.E.S. (Movement Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexism), and many other movements and groups have all worked against the appointment of gender roles and sexist beliefs. Many authors choose to make a controversial topic a central theme in their work of literature, and the theme of gender roles is no exception. “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou, “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman all address the gender roles that have been placed by society.
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.