Sexism in Early Civilizations Essays

Throughout history men have been leading the battles, conquering worlds, discovering new lands, but behind every good man is a good woman! So, as I read this week, I learned an enormous amount of information about the diversity of the different roles women play according to where they might live or what era they grew up in. I will address the rights that women had, how they are viewed in society, the comparison between these women and the ones from the New Testament, the evidence to support my claim.

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 are constantly portrayed as tempting men by using their sexual charms. And so women who remained chaste were held in a higher esteem than those who highlighted their sexuality. Walcot writes, “The Greeks believed women to be incapable of not exercising their sexual charms and that the results were catastrophic, irrespective of whether or not women set out to cause trouble deliberately or acted in a blissful ignorance of what they were doing” (39). In Homeric tales we see the character Odysseus being held by Calypso and Circe due to their sexual appeal despite him journeying home to be reunited with his wife Penelope after twenty years. However, Penelope is portrayed as being chaste while she waits for her husband to return. This

“The world is still sexist.” — Barbara Broccoli. From the creation story to modern day, women and men still struggle with a power dynamic of inferiority and superiority. The problem of sexism has been ever-present throughout history, and although it has been acknowledged by many, it has not been eradicated or resolved. Although the acknowledgment of sexism has grown over the course of the modern era, it is heavily rooted in society’s developmental process, which makes it continuously difficult to annihilate. Furthermore, throughout many historical texts, women are often represented as objects instead of real people. Within texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah, women are constantly regarded as inferiors instead of equals with men. Throughout these texts, there is a clear separation between the treatment of men and women, with women always being referred to as property.

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 inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. It arises from differences in gender roles. Gender inequality isn’t a exercise which has just recently developed instead it is a practice which has been part of our community since civilizations have begun. When one thinks of gender issues they directly connect it with females however this issue consists of both men and women which can be heavily seen in the early eras.

In today’s society, people believe women have the same rights as men, especially after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, which outlawed “discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin” and was amended in 1975 to include the word “sex”.(“Teaching With Documents: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”). The word “sex” was added at the last moment. America does not promise an equal outcome for everybody, but America was founded on the idea that everybody should have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams. America is the home of freedom, the home of many opportunities, and the home of equality, but we are not where we should be? Many citizens of America are unaware of the unequal

Throughout history gender has played a defining role in the structure and function of civilizations all over the world. Women were usually deemed as inferior to men in most nations thus leading to a plethora of unfair treatment and social unrest. There were, however, various times in history when women actually stood up for their rights as human beings and spoke out against these atrocities. An example of this is the story of Abina, a young African woman who was unlawfully enslaved in 1876. She made the courageous decision to run away and speak out against her master in court despite insurmountable odds. A political and business world dominated by men led to her case being unjustly dismissed despite having proof to back up her grievances. Just like many other cases at this time, the fact that Abina was a woman worked against her. Quamina Eddoo, his lawyer William Melton, and the all-male jury condemned Abina from the beginning thus leading to her accusations against the accused as being dismissed. The case was doomed from the beginning because of the established societal norm that women were inferior to men. In almost every example of early colonization, the role of women has been greatly devalued and ignored as the male populace strived to be the most powerful and important figures in society.

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.

Diversity in the workplace is forever growing: Yes, we have made significant progress hiring people of different races, orientations and religious believes, however gender inequality is still a major issue. Why is it that woman with the same experience doing the same work, the same hours, with the same qualifications are (in some professions) paid less than men? We all have the right to work and have the same employment opportunities as each other. How can we justify denying women of this right? This is blatant discrimination? Despite the equal pay act of 1963 saying that it is illegal for employers to pay men more than women, a study from 2016 by The Independent shows that on

In his epic poem “The Aeneid,” Virgil details an account of how the great empire of Rome descended from a Trojan leader named Aeneas. It is an action-packed story, filled with tales from the hardships at sea to the brutality of warfare as Aeneas journeys to Italy following the downfall of Troy. Aeneas, the hero of the story, is depicted in mostly a positive light throughout the poem and shown portraying a wide variety of emotions and traits, some seemingly contrasting one another—from scorching, merciless anger to tender, affectionate love. While he is a three-dimensional, rather well-rounded character, Virgil depicts women throughout The Aeneid in a more one-dimensional, usually negative light, establishing a hint of sexism and misogyny throughout

Throughout our world’s history we have seen many grievous instances where discrimination caused severely negative repercussions on how our society functions. The inequity demonstrated by our nation in the past has estranged its residents based on their religion, the color of their skin, their beliefs, and even their gender. With time, our community has become more accepting which has led to the abolishment of most, if not all, bigotry and racist beliefs. However, there is still an issue today that we have been facing for almost a century. This conflict has led to the prohibition of certain people obtaining a particular job in some cases, and the penalty of being paid less than her male colleagues if she were to obtain that job. The problem is sexism and its consequences.

Henrik Ibsen once said, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.”(Notable Quotes) Ibsen’s statement exemplifies what life was like for women during ancient times. In many of the organized ancient civilizations, it was very common to find a primarily patriarchal civilization in government as well as in society. The causing factors can be attributed to different reasons, the main being the Neolithic Revolution and the new found dependence on manpower it caused. As a result of this, a woman found herself to be placed into an entirely different view in the eye of

Have you ever heard a man say “I am a victim of gender inequality” or have you heard about a campaign to help men get through inequality? Without you even telling me, I already know what your answer will be….no, you haven’t. Why? Well, it is because men face a different type of inequality I like to call silent sexism, a lot of you are probably sitting there and wondering to yourself “What is he talking about”. I am talking about those things that have been synced into our lives that we don’t even register it as being sexist.

From prehistory to 1450 CE, in many different and complex civilizations, religion has influenced the gender roles of many societies. From prehistory to 600 BCE, in Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain their dowry, and even trade. However, from 600 BCE to 600 CE, in Rome, women were completely under the control of their paterfamilias. Than, from 600 to 1450 CE, in the Byzantine Empire, women were constrained to their homes, and when they went out, they had to wear veils over their faces. Religion influenced the gender roles of many societies and civilizations from prehistory to 1450 CE.