Sexism And Sexism

Although the issue of women’s rights has attracted international recognition and support, women still face many inequalities and barriers. Gender-based violence and economic discrimination are problems in many parts of the world.

Sexism is defined as prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex, and is a topic that has been on and off the media throughout the years, becoming more prevalent in the 21st century. Many iconic figures throughout the ages have spoken out for women, people like Mahatma Gandhi, who said “Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking, or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity; to me, the female sex is not the weaker sex.” Sexism has been around for about as long as the human race, dating back to biblical times and beyond. A woman’s traditional role in the family has been that of the cook, the cleaner, the child raiser, and the gardener.

Women. This word creates an image- an image of a mother, a sister, a daughter. Women are of the basics part of life, they are essential not only to society, but to the human species. Therefore, women should be treated with equal importance and given the same rights regardless of gender. Society has come a long way since 1920 and giving women the right to vote. However, there a parts of the world where women are treated unequally in respect of men and are fighting for that equality- a basic human right. Women especially in the developing world struggle with unjust inequalities. Common abuses that claim women are sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality. Reportage and storytelling of these horrible abuses are combined in the nonfiction book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, where Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue that the oppression of women is the worst current global issue that calls for change.

Women first gained the right to vote on August 26, 1920 with the 19th amendment was approved, giving women full voting rights. Fortified by the constitutional victory in 1920, the handful of new women in Congress embarked on what would become a century-long journey to broaden women’s role in government. In the intervening years, the drive for more women’s rights encompassed the lives of the next generations of women. Even today, women are still fighting for their rights and stand up against prejudice. On the forefront of this movement are our women congresswomen who speak on behalf of all women. When Hillary Clinton announced her presidential candidacy, controversial questions immediately surfaced about the role of gender in politics. Through Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and 2016, media is the principal propagator in showing bias and sexism.

Sexism is generally associated with women but, when researching the effects it also has on men, my opinion has shifted. One of the first times we identify sexism dates back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. At this time, due to a woman’s deceitful moral compass, settlers had the belief that women had to rely on men. Due to the religious beliefs at this time, and the story of Adam and Eve, women were deemed corrupt and untrustworthy. Feminine sexism has been around for decades but, we are just recently recognizing that men are victims of this disturbing phenomenon. (Tracy)

Gender discrimination and violence against women were not part of the Human Rights Agenda until the 1990s when feminists began to push for this change (p84/book). One of the slogans of their campaign was that “Women’s Rights

Sexism is defined as the discrimination and bias towards one gender, that one gender is powerful and righteous compared to the other. Sexism has been the largest barrier between sexes to the point in which cultures as well as religions rely on misogyny to set limitation on women to make men feel more empowered. Sexism rooted about twenty five hundred years ago in which women were considered property to a man. Parents would trade their young women for more wealth. Till this day there has been a very misogynistic view towards how to properly maintain a household. A man is to hold the job in the house and provide for the family while a women stayed home to clean, cook, take care of her

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” However, I will not be silent. Sexism is a thing of the past, present, and future. Women have never been seen as equal to men. This idea and concept affect how women carry out their lives. Women may act different or speak different just based on society's thoughts about their gender. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and in today’s society it is clear that because of women’s perceived “weakness”, men now dominate women legally, physically and financially.

Every 98 seconds an American is sexual assaulted across America. 1 in 6 American women have been raped or an attempted rape. According to RAINN 4 in 10 women have had an abortion, while 1 in 8 maternal deaths are caused by unsafe abortion. Women’s rights are human rights, around the world women are being denied rights, here in America women don’t have equal pay, rights over their own bodies are in converse, in Africa and the middle east, girls and women are being stolen from their homes and from their schools. Women’s rights are an important topic because women’s rights are human rights, this should matter to all people because this issue is a social injustice all round the world, that has negatively affected women for years. Women should have the same rights as men because many women face systematic oppression, many women are despotism relation to their male counterparts, and the general population is unaware of the seriousness of the issues.

The last hundred years have brought the world many valuable things; computers, better sanitation conditions, understandings of diseases, vaccines, surgery, education, and so much more. But there are so many social constructs that have made little progress such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. In reality vaccines and sexism are manmade, a vaccine is a manmade invention and sexism is a manmade idea. Neither would exist without human beings backing the idea that they are necessary. Racism is “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior (Oxford Dictionary).” Racism over the last hundred years has been directed towards Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian’s. Looking at the past in relation to racism in the United States, reveals that racism is still alive and well in 2015 just as it was in 1915.

Sexism, is a prejudice plain and simple. One of the earliest forms of violence directed toward women was the Witch Hunt Trials of the Middle Ages. Bishops debated whether a woman was really human at all. If her nose were too long, she had red hair, a humped back, or if she was exceptionally beautiful, she was thought to be a witch and was burned at the stake. There was an estimated nine million women burned during the Witch Trials. During the “Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960’s, feminist theorists explained that oppression of women was widespread in nearly all human society, and spoke of sexism instead of male chauvinism. Male chauvinists were usually individual men who expressed the belief that they were superior to women” (Napikoski). By the mid 20th century sexism was established and began to appear in advertising. Between the 1970’s and 1990’s women began to feel more equal to men until the 1980’s where they were portrayed as sex symbols on national television (The Origin and History of SEXISM). There are two main types of sexism, benevolent and hostile, and their definitions are opposite from one another. Hostile sexism is what most people perceive as sexism today as it seems sexism is occurring more and more often and is, notably, more vulgar. It is the notion that women are inferior or not as worthy; a belief that males are intrinsically superior. For many years women have been degraded and looked down upon with the idea that their place is in the kitchen with

Women who are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American fight a two front battle they have to face sexism and racism. We as feminist need to realize even through the larger picture helps all women these women in what are considered to be minority groups have different issues that need to be addressed. When we achieve equality these women will still have to face racism. We need to focus our attention on not only equality but the ratification of racism which will not only help women but their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers. A large issue with racism is that is some ways it is fueled by the media and pop culture who only depict one type of story when it comes to different races. These stories typically fuel prejudice stereotypes

First of all, looking up the definition of sexism will get you many different definitions. The world’s most used search engine defines it as “prejudice, stereotyping, or discriminating, typically against women, on the basis of sex [gender]” (Google). A different source defines the term gender equality as “...the view that men and women should receive the equal treatment and should not be discriminated against based on gender,” (Billing). Equality, to most, means we want to be treated with equal respect, but not the same as the next person (Billing). Women, men, and everyone

Although they have been given more rights and equality, women still lack fairness in areas such as education, domestic abuse, crime, and lower class value. Cassandra Clifford states in her article “Are Girls still marginalized? Discrimination and Gender Inequality in Today’s Society”, “Woman and girls are abused by their husbands and fathers, young girls are exploited by sex tourism and trafficking, girls in many countries are forced into arranged marriages at early ages. Twice as many women are illiterate as men, due to the large gap in education, and girls are still less likely to get jobs and excel in the work place than boys.” She describes some of the issues that women face today around the world. These issues are what keep society from coming together to form a better world.

Sexism is wrong because it discriminates against people because of their gender. Women are the main group who suffers against sexism. It is safe to say that all women have confronted sexism. According to the article “Individual and Situational Factors Related to Young Women’s Likelihood of Confronting Sexism in Their Everyday Lives”, sexism is harmful to women because they experience a higher rate in stress, anxiety, and depression. In addition, exposure to gender discrimination leads to a lower rate of achievement among various areas. Overall sexism prevents women from achieving to their fullest potential. Despite how damaging sexism is to society, it remains to exist. According to the article, “Why It’s So Hard for Men to See Misogyny”, the reason why most men are unable to clearly see sexism is because they are not paying attention, are purposely ignoring it, or are simply careful in hiding their sexist thoughts and actions. I believe sexism has not been abolished because many people, particularly men, are not able to recognize the signs. People tolerate or ignore sexist language