Most societies have been patriarchal historically, and the feminist movement has only occurred relatively recently. There cannot be ideological equality while there is still a stigma to being born differently, or of the “inferior sex.” People make assumptions on others based entirely on their sex, such as females are supposed to be nurturing and weak while males are supposed to be dominant and strong. The vernacular language use implies a sexist attitude that is prevalent in society. There are several solutions to reduce the apparent sexist lexicon.
Sex is defined as the biological and physiological characteristics, which can be simplified to as being male or female (World Health Organization website). However, gender is defined as the “socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women” (World Health Organization website). This means that sex is based on the physical biology of a person, while gender is based on the social roles that the person is expected to adhere to. Linguistic determinism is a theory that says “that language may determine thought,” and it was supported by “cognitive differences that resulted in people who speak in languages with different grammatical structure” (Wasserman and Weseley). Linguistic relativity has greater support, and it refers to “the idea that language can reflect and preserve existing social structures and influence perceptions of reality” (Wasserman and Weseley). The social justification effect is defined as the disadvantaged groups that “rationalize the society that puts them at a disadvantage and to therefore embrace the idea that their own group is inferior” (Wasserman and Weseley).
Gender typing is used to dis...
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The English Language Systematically Degrades and Devalues Women It is often argued that the English language needs to be modernised to keep pace with the rapidly changing societies in the world. One reason for this is many words and their usages are viewed as sexist, in that they are discriminating against individuals based on their gender. In this essay, I shall discuss many factors relevant to the argument that the English language systematically degrades and devalues women. One possible argument in agreement with this statement is that male words and their female equivalents are often asymmetrical in their connotations and implications. For example, pairs of words such as ‘bachelor’ and ‘spinster’, have distinctively different associations: ‘spinster’ has relatively negative undertones, and conjures the image of an aging woman with a dull lifestyle, whereas the word ‘bachelor’ suggests a more carefree, younger man with an exciting and enjoyable way of life.
Sexism is the ideology that maintains that one sex is inherently inferior to the other. Sexism or discrimination based on gender has been a social issue for many years; it is the ideology that one sex is superior or inferior to the other. Sexism does not only affect females, but also males. Men are very often victimized by social stereotypes and norms based on gender expectations. Sexism has appears in almost all social institutions including family, the media, religion, sports, the military, politics, and the government. However, although both genders are affected, men have benefited from sexism the most (Thompson 300-301.)
conceptualizations of gender in literature are situated in a culture and historical context ; the
At a young age people learned sexist ways and how to say things, but they were never told that it was sexist. But as you grow older that’s all you hear is, it’s not mail man is mail deliver or lunch lady it is actually the food server. There are also people that have been taught to not be sexist, those people tend not to be corrected that often. And one of the things that get people the most, is when people think of rolls in society that are given to those men and women. You can also see all forms of sexism being used at school, in sports, or at a job, and also toward both men and women of both past and present and how it is also a big deal in other countries.
Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas.
In today’s technological society it is hard to imagine that trivial things from the past like discrimination or prejudice are still present, but they are. Yes we still have racism, but for the most part this is only a problem of the less educated and vocal minority. There is a different prejudice that is deep rooted in this land of freedom and prosperity. This prejudice is sexism.
Even in the first civilizations sexsim was very prevalent, women were not included in democracy, they were not allowed to vote, and in some earlier civilizations women were not even allowed to have a job or go outside the home. Even as a 16 year old girl in America, the supposed land of dreams, I see sexism everyday. I see it when I watch the news, I see it when I’m walking down the halls at my school, I even see it when I read novels and articles or watch a movie online. Over 60% of serious journalism roles are given to males, while the women are left with the less important, or less popular sections. In school I see boys calling girls stupid, or girls getting a pass to go to their locker because they forgot something, even though a boy was just denied. I notice sexism the most in literature and movies, I see female characters being “airheads” or acting dumb and helpless, their main role in the piece is to wait for the male character to save them, or to be a comic relief. Not only are women’s jobs and dignity at stake but our sexuality, education and rights are too.
The term sexism seems like a simple word, but it causes controversy and chaos amongst a gender based society. Sexism all over the world puts a lid on what it means to have equality, freedom, and humanity, which tampers with self-esteem. Tony Porter, a motivational speaker perfectly depicts how effective sexism is and how it harbors domestic violence as well as how the “man box” plays a huge role in sexism. Also, Sheryl Wudunn another motivational speaker as well ties in how sexism interferes with the female population.
Emily Martin argues that medical and scientific publications naturalize gender roles by presenting “facts” that reflect socially constructed ideas about gender. This misrepresentation is reflected in much of the information intended to educate children about the “facts” of life. Each of the pieces included in our course reader manifest this distortion to some degree. Because individuals begin to formulate ideas about gender at a very early age, such indoctrination is particularly precarious when presented during a child’s formative years. Feminists argue that Santa Claus, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are also dangerous fictionalizations but depictions of stereotypical male/female roles presented to young people as serious, straightforward answers to important questions is far more sinister and the implications more dangerous to a society that values and espouses equality.
Society and beliefs shape the development of gender identity in children (Turner-Bowker, 1996). Research has shown that gendered literature teaches standards of femininity and masculinity. According to Weitzman, Eifler, Hokada, and Ross, these standards can lead girls to believe they are less worthy than boys (as cited in Hamilton et al., 2006). Because books are a main source of interaction for young children, Fried states that in order to make advancement in the equality of women in children’s literature, sexism must be reduced (as cited in Gooden & Gooden, 2011). Perception of gender roles in society is reflected in the pictures and writings of children’s books.... ...
As the realization of women as an exploited group increases, the similarity of their position to that of racial and ethnic groups becomes more apparent. Women are born into their sexual identity and are easily distinguished by physical and cultural characteristics. In addition, women now identify that they are all sufferers of an ideology (sexism) that tries to justify their inferior treatment.
Society has females and males alike typecasted into roles which have basic characteristics that are the reverse of each other. Although this has begun to change over the past thirty years, typically the man was seen as superior to the female. This superior image is one that today, is slowly on its way to being reduced to one of complete equality between the two genders.
Typical children’s literature interacts with the stereotype that women are vulnerable and dependent on hegemonic males. Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) explain that hegemonic masculinity and societal structures assert male dominance and normativity and female subordination and deviation. For example, action in literature is typically associated with male characters, due to the stereotype of men being brave, physically big and strong. In contrast, women are seen in association with the everyday imperatives of providing food, shelter, nurture and friendship (Green and Griffiths 2003). This consequently leads to women being portrayed as having to prove their worthiness in their academic and professional spheres due to the assumption that they should reside at home. The portrayal of gender stereotypes in the series is particularly important as part of children’s socialisation process and learning to behave in a gender appropriate way. This was particularly true before the first novels were published, as Billone (2004) argues that in 1992, childhood was an unsettlingly masculine place. However, if they were published today, one might argue that the issue of gender plays a less important role, due to the notion of gender neutrality in all aspects of
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
We all know that men and women are different. They look different, act different, walk, talk, and even smell different. In part, the simple fact that we are different explains why we sometimes have trouble communicating with and understanding the opposite sex. However, a close look at our language may show that there is more to the communication barrier between the sexes than meets the eye.