Sexism In Secondary Schools

When most people think of sexism, they picture men blatantly disrespecting women and women doing nothing about it. They picture a female making less money than her equally qualified male counter. They picture a man getting hired over a woman. When most people think of sexism, most people think of the obvious and easy to spot examples. Contrary to popular belief, sexism is quiet and often goes unnoticed. In a world where virtually every woman has experienced sexism in one form or another, one would think change is inevitable, yet sexism persists and is arguably growing worse in intensity. In order to put a stop to sexism, it must be handled where it starts- secondary schools. In a place where women are supposed to be learning, girls are instead

Kathy Modenbach, a teacher in a school where dress codes are strictly enforced, believes that dress codes are a minor issue. She questions, “Kids will always find new ways to express themselves, to stretch the rules. Let’s just focus our energy on teaching them. Isn’t that what it’s all about?” (28). Bigger issues, such as the education of students, present themselves in secondary schools every day. Things such as drugs, violence, sexual harassment, etc are more important issues that persist in schools around the country. Attention should be placed on these problems, particularly the topic of sexual

Many school officials do not realize the long term effects of sexual harassment on female students. As the University of Calgary reports, many female students report physical symptoms after experiencing sexual harassment. These symptoms range from nausea, irritability, depression, and lower levels of success in school. They also report the psychological effects on these students. They comment, “These interactions have the overall effect of teaching girls to view themselves as ‘objects’ in a world defined by male experience”. (Cairns and Luft). Not only are female students physically suffering from the harassment they have endured, they are also developing mind sets in which they believe they are only around for male pleasure. This type of mindset is prohibiting young girls from trying to learn. They feel they cannot succeed as they are automatically inferior to their male