Sexism
Sexism: attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of gender role. Sexism is a word people often mentally or physically cringe at. It even has the effect to makes some of us uncomfortable and when you called someone sexist they usually defend themselves or get offended. So how can such a small word have such a big effect on us? Most of the time, it is because people don’t like to think that they offend anyone when really we do and say things that offend people all the time. In fact, a writer for Fembot says, “People — particularly those who have not had to deal with the day-to-day impact of such prejudice — often overlook more ‘passive’ forms of sexism, in which an accidental sexist remark might stem, for instance, from internalized gender stereotypes that the speaker has been brought up to see as normal” This goes to show that the ones who typically do not get offended by sexism are the ones who usually deliver it.
Gender equality has come a long way over the past century. So much so, that many people living in the West are inclined to believe sexism is no longer a problem. However, it is said that the Millennials are more sexist than the previous generation, Isn’t that crazy? You would think that the newer generation would be the most comfortable with women achievers because we have seen the most of them, but you would be wrong, A writer from The Huffington Post explains “Two thirds of Millennial men responding to this survey were not willing to say they were comfortable with the idea of women engineers??”. This demonstrates that sexism is still around and it’s big deal for the upcoming women achievers who strive to succeed in a career. Anyone who gets told they can’t achieve something because it’s uncomfortable for others is damaging to the way they view themselves. Furthermore, in an article from American Association of University Women covering the topic of the wage gap, says that in 2015 women working full time were paid 80% of what men were paid, a wage gap of 20%, and if you think the gap of 20% is bad it’s even worse for women of color. Also their research shows that the wage gap won’t end until 2152.
A major sexist outlet is sports; in sports comes people over looking some of the best athletes because they’re women. Language experts from Cambridge University have analyzed over 160 million words from the Olympics on how male and female are covered. The study found that the word “male” is used about three more times than the word “woman” even though woman make up 45% of the athletes competing. Studies even showed that the words used to describe the men include words like fastest and strongest, but for women it usually talks about their marital status or age. Not only does sports separate male and females because of their attributes, but they also detach the two by salary. An article from Women’s Sports Foundation states that “…each men’s team that was eliminated in the first round of the 2014 World Cup got 8$ dollars each, which is four times as much as the 2015 women’s championship team”.
TO BE CONTINUED.
