Sexism In America Essay

Despite oppression women have always resisted. Women have resisted oppression in many ways. Women have responded to their multiple sources of oppression of sexism, racism, heterosexism and colonialism. Women resisted oppression by standing up for their rights. Women have been left out of the discussion of oppression for centuries. In a patriarchy society where males are the narrators and voices being heard, one is rarely educated on women struggles. In the Western world gender is a construct made to keep one group superior and the other inferior. Gender concerns what it means to be women or men in society. The traditional notion of gender is acknowledged to not be defined the same all over the world. The general concept of gender is challenged

Although we can technically act the way we want, women are still expected to be ladylike and feminine. In most cases, women are still considered to be weaker than men. Society still frowns at us at a few things. We are judged on how we present ourselves, what we wear, and our marital status. Women are still expected to get married and have kids. Another thing that has not changed is that the wage gap has not closed. Today, females are paid only eighty percent, on average, of what males are paid. This gap is worse for colored women. Even though this gap has decreased since the 1930’s, it is still not right. Today, sometimes women still get victim-blamed, slut-shamed, and even being accused that rape was their own

From our previous lecture discussions, we talk about how women are placed lower in the pyramid of power. But women of color struggle the most because they not only have to deal with sexism, but also racism. We also see the issues of women of color against with white feminist movement. Women of color have to put more effort when dealing with their problems compared to white women in general. In this week’s readings, we are examining some of the problems that women of color have to deal with.

The 1920s were an era of exciting social reforms and deep cultural struggles. During this decade, time became progressive for women in America. Women were allowed to experience freedom on a more personal level. This didn’t hold back all the sexism that caused quite the controversy. Women from rural parts of the country started moving to the urban areas in search of jobs. In the work force, men received much more money than women did. The women who moved to the city found themselves with little money to go out and seek entertainment.

Historically, women have been seen as less valuable to society. Their roles were to have children and serve their husband. Many women are often victims suffering from physical abuse and political injustices. Society portrays them as submissive and silenced. Even though now women are able to join the workforce, they are still getting paid less than men. Despite America’s status as a civilized country, the degradation persists in too

Sexism is the prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex (Dictionary.com). Examples of this would be the pay gap between women and men, and how men get paid more for doing the same jobs as women. Some say that sexism in our country is not relevant any more, but that is not the case. Today, sexism still affects how various peopletreat each other, and how children are educated and raised. Within modern America, children are consistently put into roles and expected to stay within them; instances of this often happen within preschools, elementary schools, and even within the home. Sexism in America affects how children and young adults act within our society.

Recent headlines have highlighted the fact that rape culture is prevalent in our society, most noticeably on college campuses. To understand why this is a social issue we first have to understand what rape culture entails. Rape culture is a set of assumptions that reinforces male sexual aggression and disregards violence against females (Hildebrand & Najdowski, 2015, p. 1062). Simplified, it is an environment where sexual violence is normalized and most of the time excused.

Despite what some may think, women today are still not fully equal to men. In a post on nobullying.com discussing the history of discrimination against women in developing nations, it says that young girls account for “6o percent of the out-of-school population of children”(Discrimination Against Women). Women are expected to be a supporter of the breadwinner role of men, to stay at home and raise the children. But whoever came up with that stereotype? The answer is simple: men. Men have given the media this unrealistic image that women cannot fend for themselves, cannot do hard jobs, or cannot get as far in life as a man. Even in jobs, though a woman and a man may be in the same position, women “earn just 74 cents for every $1 a man earns” (CNNMoney). This is truly unfair, yet men today still say that women are “equal,” though it is obviously false. Women today, though they have more rights than in the 1800’s, are still not in the place we need to be in ranking with men. Women are still abused, sexually harassed and mistreated more than men because of their sex. They are seen as lesser, despite making up 51 percent of America’s population. And the misogyny and discrimination is not just in the United States; it happens in many other countries as well. Girls, underage and innocent, can be married off to an older man without their consent in Iraq since child marriage has been legalized in October of 2013

Women’s place and role in the society is something that has been discussed and changed over time. Should their rights be the same as men’s? Should they be superior? Inferior? The world faces a dilemma on weather they should be or not equal as men. It seems like we arrived at a deadlock, where no progress can be made about it. We still have feminists fighting for their rights, but I doesn’t seem to work that much, although they have much more rights than they had fifty years ago. But the question that remains is: what is women’s and men’s role?

Sexism is an issue that’s plagued humanity for thousands of years. In 2016 in the majority of the world, women achieve the same opportunities for education and higher learning as men do whether school, college, internet education, learning on the job etc. therefore, the very concept of the female inferiority is illogical and impractical. However, due to how deeply rooted sexism has become in society, it’s difficult to say whether progress has eliminated sexism or not. Progress has a positive connotation; it involves advancement, development, and growth into a better form of whatever focus is at hand, therefore we must evaluate the growth of our society and culture and examine whether sexism has decreased at all and if it has, whether it was the growth of our society and culture that stimulated the decrease of sexism. However, it can be difficult to assess the decrease of sexism, therefore multiple factors must be analyzed. Definitely, mindset must be analyzed and therefore modern entertainment must be analyzed to represent the speech of the people. Since women now get equal opportunities in education, we must analyze women in the workforce. However, with increasing participation in the work force, equal opportunities, globalization and forcing needs, sexism is seen as both still existent in today’s society, but also to a great extent less than it was in the past.

In our recent history, feminism has become more prevalent in almost every aspect of our lives. One important thing to remember is that each sex has uniquely valuable traits to contribute to society (Maguire, 2014). However, overgeneralizations of these traits have driven a wedge between the different sexes and as a result, discrimination, injustice, and unfair stereotypes plague our society.

Gender equality entails protecting human rights, an economic necessity that allows women’s financial autonomy and national progress, and a country’s outlook on international relations. It affects childbirth rates, the quality of life and longevity of those children, and the type of life of the mother. The struggle is so vital to global stability and success that the United Nations (UN) addresses it in their sustainable development goals. Gender equity faces obstacles like the lack of education for both boys and girls, and the challenges of deviating from societal stereotypes and norms. Nevertheless, if actors from the private and public sector come together, public policy can be created to strengthen women’s lives and rights.

Sexism towards women in the workplace also known as occupational sexism is one of the oldest form of discrimination against women. Despite increasing campaigns on gender equality and feminist movements worldwide, working women continue to fight for equality especially in white-collar setings. Though there has been profound progress through the years, working women continue to face more challenges as compared to men both in the western as well as developing countries. Studies now show that the Equal Pay Act passed in the United States in 1963 to abolish gender based salary differences is not being enforced as women continue to earn less than their male counterparts in the same field (Campos,2015). Moreover,black women have to struggle with diversity on top of inequality. The situation is worse in developing countries where progress is impeded by cultural beliefs and practices regarding women where they are asscociated more with domestic chores for example. Even with more women taking up roles in leadership, business and politics today, many more continue to face dicrimination during hiring and promotions as well as salary disparities.

Gender inequality is a deeply rooted issue that has been prevalent in all corners of the world since the beginning. It is in no way bound to a single country or area, as gender discrimination is everywhere, but in middle eastern countries it is so connected to the culture that this discrimination is seen as normal and even supported. People are being treated as second-class citizens based on nothing but the sex they were born with, and no one is even batting an eye. This is part of why the Middle East houses some of the lowest ranking countries on the Global Gender Gap Index. While some people continue to hold onto discriminatory values and remain uneducated in important topics, it is necessary for governments to make ending gender inequality a priority, especially in these middle eastern countries where radical religious groups like the Taliban force their restricting values on others and male guardianship strips women of the freedom of being in charge of their own lives.

Protecting our basic civil rights in the United States is a recognizable value that all citizens want to obey or carry out. Civil rights are rooted on the idea of any citizen not receiving equal or fair treatment compared to the people around them. Although this is true, a major issue in today’s society that I have discovered revolves around the difference in gender equality and the gender wage gap in the workforce. Some people believe that females are not as capable as males causing a flux in the wages paid for the same job, however this is a stereotype that needs to be exterminated.