Sexism
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What is labelled today as "sexist" has been "just the way things are" for the majority of history and across the world. Women's roles have been almost universally limited to hearth and home in historical society, even in societies like the Hopi, Jewish, and Okinawian, where women held the family name and property, and were considered an important source for leadership.<ref>Contrary to the "Man The Hunter/Woman The Gatherer" [[false dichotomy|dichotomy]] in which Ugg the Caveman went out hunting for mastodon while his wife ran the daycare cave, sexual division of labor and gender roles were sometimes more complex and fluid in prehistoric and hunter-gatherer societies. See, e.g., Frances Dahlberg's [http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300029895 ''Woman the Gatherer''].</ref> In most societies, limits on women's freedoms were common, though those limits could range from not being able to leave the home, to not being able to own property to simply not being accepted as equal in business relationships to men. In many societies including all of the so-called western societies, men institutionalized sexism against women. Until the so-called modern era, women in the west received limited education, were not considered acceptable into academic circles, were not considered valuable within business, thought they were of course, important commodities; women in most western countries did not have the right to vote until the 20th century. In the worst scenarios the US, women themselves were legal property like children, once they married. It is these very patterns and institutionalized sexism that is the hardest to break out of. | What is labelled today as "sexist" has been "just the way things are" for the majority of history and across the world. Women's roles have been almost universally limited to hearth and home in historical society, even in societies like the Hopi, Jewish, and Okinawian, where women held the family name and property, and were considered an important source for leadership.<ref>Contrary to the "Man The Hunter/Woman The Gatherer" [[false dichotomy|dichotomy]] in which Ugg the Caveman went out hunting for mastodon while his wife ran the daycare cave, sexual division of labor and gender roles were sometimes more complex and fluid in prehistoric and hunter-gatherer societies. See, e.g., Frances Dahlberg's [http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300029895 ''Woman the Gatherer''].</ref> In most societies, limits on women's freedoms were common, though those limits could range from not being able to leave the home, to not being able to own property to simply not being accepted as equal in business relationships to men. In many societies including all of the so-called western societies, men institutionalized sexism against women. Until the so-called modern era, women in the west received limited education, were not considered acceptable into academic circles, were not considered valuable within business, thought they were of course, important commodities; women in most western countries did not have the right to vote until the 20th century. In the worst scenarios the US, women themselves were legal property like children, once they married. It is these very patterns and institutionalized sexism that is the hardest to break out of. | ||
| − | The concept of actual ''equality'' between the sexes, begins in the early 20th century, when writers such as Simone DeBeauvoir begin to challenge the notion of women's inferiority and non-personhood. Scientists like Marie Curie and Margaret Mead; figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart made inroads on what it means to be a woman and what limits a woman must face. And Margret Sanger argued for the right to plan when to have children, and a woman's right to control her own body. Of course, such equality has not been achieved everywhere and even in more progressive nations it is still opposed by some [[conservative]]s, even those who have benefited from increased equality such as [[Phyllis Schlafly]], [[Ann Coulter]], and the "Roe" in [[ | + | The concept of actual ''equality'' between the sexes, begins in the early 20th century, when writers such as Simone DeBeauvoir begin to challenge the notion of women's inferiority and non-personhood. Scientists like Marie Curie and Margaret Mead; figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart made inroads on what it means to be a woman and what limits a woman must face. And Margret Sanger argued for the right to plan when to have children, and a woman's right to control her own body. Of course, such equality has not been achieved everywhere and even in more progressive nations it is still opposed by some [[conservative]]s, even those who have benefited from increased equality such as [[Phyllis Schlafly]], [[Ann Coulter]], and the "Roe" in [[Roe v. Wade]]. |
==Conservative views== | ==Conservative views== | ||
Revision as of 03:45, 20 August 2012
Sexism is discrimination against people due to their perceived gender. Sexism can take the form of blatant discrimination such as only assuming men are qualified to do particular work, or thinking women are best at home with the children, or far more subtle views about the value of particular genders as friends, co-workers, or simple humans.
Far and away, women experience blatant forms of sexism, the most outright of which is pure misogyny. [1] While not legally barred from any particular position in the "western world", women face extreme discrimination in positions of power such as political office, upper management in corporations, the medical field and academic fields. Even such areas as publication, directing television or movies, or being recognized for personal achievements show marked discrimination against women in those areas. In the United States, 31% of women have claimed harassment by co-workers including superiors [2], compared to less than 1% of men in the workplace, though this number is growing as women move into more positions of power[3].
Discrimination against men is not unheard of for all it is uncommon. Men, traditionally, experience this kind of discrimination when they attempt to step into traditionally female roles, such as nurses, elementary teachers or stay-at-home moms. Men also fair somewhat poorly in child custody battles, since it is still a common practice to give children to the mother unless the father can show clear reasons why this is a bad choice.
Contents |
History of sexism
What is labelled today as "sexist" has been "just the way things are" for the majority of history and across the world. Women's roles have been almost universally limited to hearth and home in historical society, even in societies like the Hopi, Jewish, and Okinawian, where women held the family name and property, and were considered an important source for leadership.[4] In most societies, limits on women's freedoms were common, though those limits could range from not being able to leave the home, to not being able to own property to simply not being accepted as equal in business relationships to men. In many societies including all of the so-called western societies, men institutionalized sexism against women. Until the so-called modern era, women in the west received limited education, were not considered acceptable into academic circles, were not considered valuable within business, thought they were of course, important commodities; women in most western countries did not have the right to vote until the 20th century. In the worst scenarios the US, women themselves were legal property like children, once they married. It is these very patterns and institutionalized sexism that is the hardest to break out of.
The concept of actual equality between the sexes, begins in the early 20th century, when writers such as Simone DeBeauvoir begin to challenge the notion of women's inferiority and non-personhood. Scientists like Marie Curie and Margaret Mead; figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart made inroads on what it means to be a woman and what limits a woman must face. And Margret Sanger argued for the right to plan when to have children, and a woman's right to control her own body. Of course, such equality has not been achieved everywhere and even in more progressive nations it is still opposed by some conservatives, even those who have benefited from increased equality such as Phyllis Schlafly, Ann Coulter, and the "Roe" in Roe v. Wade.
Conservative views
Conservatives constantly make two points: That sexism isn't real, and that men are sexually discriminated against too.
Conservatives will generally argue that pay discrimination and glass ceiling are not a factor of sexual discrimination, but are in fact a reflection of women's own choices to work for less, their choices to put family first, as well as their choices to take time off to have those silly babies of theirs. This argument has been fully dispelled, however, by looking at women in legal and medical positions who have chosen not to have children, or have chosen to only take time off for the 2 months of birth and recovery - equivalent to men taking off for a long holiday sabbatical. Even when choices exactly the same to their male counter parts are made, women are still making 20% lower salaries, and do not achieve partner as fast if at all. [5] Still, conservatives persist in arguing that such discrimination isn't happening.
On the other hand, they do argue that men are constant victims of discrimination. Conservapedia, for example, has an article about sexism and sexual discrimination, which lists only examples of perceived discrimination against men. This includes a rant that "women-only" spaces are accepted and encourage while "men-only" spaces are almost universally abhorred as sexist. The article as a whole, however, entirely ignores the much larger and widespread subject of historical and contemporary sexism against women. Equally, men's rights groups argue that men do not have a fair shake against women; they are considered rapists and abusers without trial; they are mistreated by the courts; and dammit, women expect them to pay for the children they father!
Other examples
Some people consider the following to be examples of sexism:
- Health insurance plans even go so far as to cover Viagra so older men can still get their penises hard [6], but often do not cover birth control or necessary medical procedures such as emergency abortions. [7]
- Women are not legally allowed to serve in combat infantry in the US, a position that has never been considered by the Supreme Court[8]
- Sexism was the likely reason why the patriarchal media subjected Sarah Palin to vile sexist attacks such as "lipstick on a pitbull"... oh wait, she's the one that made that joke.
- Some women even push a sexist agenda by insisting that women shouldn't be able to vote.
- Insurance premiums differ for men and women because of known rates of accidents and claims (particularly in driving) differ between the two. This is set to end in Europe due to an EU ruling on gender equality (as are pension payouts).[9]
- The radical feminist professor Mary Daly canceled her college classes rather than allow men to attend them, which federal anti-discrimination law compelled her to do.[10]
- Even in progressive and liburl nations, women still do not earn equal pay for the same job as men. Of course, there are an abundance of apparently biological explanations why the women aren't worth as much as the men in these positions, and thus the man should earn more than the woman, but to be fair, these apologist arguments are typically only presented by the most dedicated of anti-feminists.
- Due to pervasive and internalized sexist stereotypes, women and men in mathematics/science and verbal abilities has been shown to affect test scores. If students are told that women generally do worse at math/science and men generally do worse at verbal skills just prior to a test, their test scores will reflect this, while if they are told that the sexes are equally capable the score variations disappear.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ In peace time women suffer disproportionately from sexism, in war time men are pressured or conscripted to fight and die.
- ↑ http://www.sexualharassmentclass.com/articles/Sexual-Harrassment-Statistics.aspx
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Contrary to the "Man The Hunter/Woman The Gatherer" dichotomy in which Ugg the Caveman went out hunting for mastodon while his wife ran the daycare cave, sexual division of labor and gender roles were sometimes more complex and fluid in prehistoric and hunter-gatherer societies. See, e.g., Frances Dahlberg's Woman the Gatherer.
- ↑ http://www.law360.com/employment/articles/163381/women-attys-face-2m-lifetime-pay-disparity-study
- ↑ But surely this is of some benefit to women too, right?
- ↑ Though it should be noted that in the new "Obamacare" policy, birth control and annual visits to prescribe that birth control must be covered starting in 2012.
- ↑ See Schlesinger v. Ballard and Rostker v. Goldberg.
- ↑ BBC News - Insurance and pension costs hit by ECJ gender ruling
- ↑ http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v7/mr4/daly.html