Everything about Sexism totally explained
Sexism is a belief or attitude that one
gender or
sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other and can also refer to a
hatred or distrust towards either
sex as a whole (see also
misogyny and
misandry), or imposing stereotypes of
masculinity on
men or
femininity on
women.. It is also called male and female
chauvinism.
Sexism refer to any and all
systemic differentiations based on the sex of the individuals not based on their individual merits, and is commonly considered to be
sex discrimination, which in some forms is illegal in some countries.
Generalization and partition
Sexist beliefs, as a part of
essentialism, holds that individuals can be understood or judged based primarily on the characteristics of the group to which they belong—in this case, their sexual group, as men or women. This assumes that all individuals fit into the category of
male or
female and doesn't take into account
intersexed people who are born with a mixture of male and female sexual characteristics. This also assumes a significant degree of in the characteristics of men and women respectively, and generally doesn't take into account the differences that exist within these groups.
XY males and
XX females who are genetically one sex but have developed the characteristics of the opposite sex during the foetal stage are usually considered with respect to their under this system.
Certain forms of sexual
discrimination are illegal in many countries, but nearly all countries have laws that give special rights, privileges, or responsibilities to one sex or two sexes.
Sexism against women
The term 'sexism' is most commonly applied to sexism against women, and when expressed by a man is often called
male chauvinism. Related terms are
misogyny and, which refer to the hatred and fear of women or
femininity.
Historically, in many
patriarchal societies, women have been and are viewed as the "weaker sex". Women's lower status can be seen in cases in which women were not even recognized as
persons under the law of the land. The
feminist movement promotes
women's rights to end sexism against women by addressing issues such as equality under the law, political representation of women, access to education and employment, women victims of domestic violence, self-ownership of a woman's body, and the impact of
pornography on women.
Sexism against men
The view that women are superior to men is also a form of sexism, and when expressed by a woman can be called
female chauvinism.
Sexism against men has been referred to as "reverse sexism." Suedfeld criticizes this label, stating that discrimination against men is sexism, and that the reverse of discrimination is non-discrimination.
Androphobia refers to the fear of men or
masculinity.
In
The War Against Boys Christina Hoff Sommers analyzes the gender gap in education using studies that show that by twelfth grade, "males are four times as likely as females not to do homework." Sommers argues that this gender gap is troubling and that it isn't being addressed due to institutionalized sexist attitudes towards men.
Glenn Sacks, an American men's and fathers' issues columnist and radio broadcaster, initiated a campaign in 2003 against T-shirts carrying the slogan "
Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!". He claimed that these T-shirts were part of a general societal mood that stigmatizes and victimizes boys. The company that produced the shirts claimed that they were meant only to be humorous. The campaign against the line received support from several men's rights groups, such as the
National Coalition of Free Men, but also from groups with broader agendas, such as the
Southern Poverty Law Center. Many critics of the T-shirts pointed out that similar slogans directed against girls or ethnic groups would be widely regarded as unacceptable. The Canadian Children's Rights Council termed the slogan
hate speech. The campaign led to the removal of the shirts from more than 3,000 retail outlets. The slogan has also been criticized by
Bernard Goldberg in his book,
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, where Todd Goldman, the shirts' creator, was listed as number 97.
Sexism against transsexuals
Transsexuality (also known as
transgender) is a complex condition that's defined differently by different people. Transphobia refers to discrimination against transsexuality and transsexual or transgender people, based on their personal gender identification (see
Phobia - terms indicating prejudice or class discrimination). Whether intentional or not, transphobia can have severe consequences for the person the object of the negative attitude. The
LGBT movement has campaigned against sexism against transsexuals. The most typical forms of sexism against transsexuals are how many "women-only" and "men-only" events and organizations have been criticized for rejecting transfemales, and transmales respectively.
Sexism and sexual expression
The expression of sexual intimacy is a part of the
human condition. However, various aspects of human sexuality have been argued as having contributed to sexism.
The Sexual Revolution
During the
sexual revolution, there was a change in the cultural perception of sexual morality and sexual behavior. The sexual revolution has been known as the
sexual liberation by
feminists since some saw this new development in the West as a leveling ground for females to have as many choices concerning their sexuality as males--hoping to eliminate the problematic virgin/whore dichotomy of traditional Western society.
Modern feminists like
Ariel Levy have warned that the current state of commercial sexuality has created a "
Raunch Culture". This cultural development, (which has largely occurred in the West) the commercialization of the sexual objectification of women, has been criticized as being limiting for men and women. Rather than being liberating, some feminists argue that the "pornification" of Western society has reduced and equated the scope of feminine power to sexual power only. Some feminists argue that women are themselves objectifying other women by becoming producers and promoters of the "Raunch Culture".
Some
masculist theorists posit that prior to the sexual revolution the idealized male was expected to be virile while the idealized female was expected to be modest. They note that after the sexual revolution, women were given more liberty to express virility while the reverse hasn't been true for men, who have yet to be given a choice to be non-virile. They argued that the dual identity of
hypersexuality and
asexuality is a luxury and special status that only exists for women. However, many feminists believe that this dual identity rather allows men to condemn a women for her sexuality for being either modest or virile (see
double standard).
Pornography
Some individuals express the view that
pornography is contributing to sexism, arguing that in usual pornographic performances for male spectators the actresses are sexually objectified. They state that the narrative is usually formed around men's pleasure as the only goal of sexual activity. The
German feminist
Alice Schwarzer is one representative of this point of view. She has brought this topic up repeatedly since the 1970s, in particular in the feminist magazine
Emma. The reverse, where female spectators are objectifying male actors, has also been identified as sexism.
On the other hand, some famous pornographic actresses such as
Teresa Orlowski and
Tímea Vágvölgyi have publicly stated that they don't feel themselves to be victims of sexism against women. In fact, many female pornographic stars and
sex-positive feminists view pornography to be progressive, since they're paid money for performing consensual acts, and also since many directors and managers of the industry are women as well. Porn positive feminists often support their position by pointing out the situation of women in countries with strict pornography laws (for example, Saudi Arabia) versus women in countries with liberal pornography laws (for example, the Netherlands). Many opponents of pornography believe that pornography gives a distorted view of men and women's bodies, as well as the actual sexual act, often showing the performers with synthetic implants or exaggerated expressions of pleasure. Some opponents believe pornographic films tend to show women in particular as being extremely passive, or that the acts women perform are degrading and solely for the pleasure of their sexual partner, and that this is evidence of sexism.
Occupational sexism
Occupational sexism refers to any
discriminatory practices, statements, actions, etc. based on a person's
sex that are present or occur in a place of
employment. One form of occupational sexism is wage discrimination, which is prohibited in the US.
Sexual discrimination and law
Sex discrimination is
discrimination based on sex or
gender. Currently, discrimination based on sex is defined as adverse action against another person, that wouldn't have occurred had the person been of another sex. This is considered a form of
prejudice and is illegal in certain enumerated circumstances in most countries.
Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance an employee may be discriminated against by being asked discriminatory questions during a job interview, or because an employer didn't hire, promote or wrongfully terminated an employee based on his or her gender, or employers pay unequally based on gender. In an educational setting there could be claims that a student was excluded from an educational institution, program, opportunity, loan, student group, or scholarship due to his or her gender. In the housing setting there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on seeking a house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on his or her gender. Another setting where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is refused credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on one’s gender.
Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different roles for men and women, in some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles. While there are non-physical differences between men and women, there's little agreement as to what those differences are.
The
United Nations had concluded that women often experience a "glass ceiling" and that there are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men.
The term "glass ceiling" is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination, especially sex discrimination. In the
United States, the Glass Ceiling Commission, a government-funded group, stated: "Over half of all Master’s degrees are now awarded to women, yet 95 percent of senior-level managers, of the top Fortune 1000 industrial and 500 service companies are men. Of them, 97 percent are white." In its report, it recommended
affirmative action, which is the consideration of an employee's gender and race in hiring and promotion decisions, as a means to end this form of discrimination.
Transgendered individuals, both male to female and female to male, often experience problems which often lead to dismissals, underachievement, difficulty in finding a job, social isolation, and, occasionally, violent attacks against them.
Further Information
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