essay introduction about sexism

What Is Sexism? Defining a Key Feminist Term

Compassionate Eye Foundation / Monashee Frantz / Getty Images

• History Of Feminism
• Important Figures
• Women's Suffrage
• Women & War
• Laws & Womens Rights
• Feminist Texts
• American History
• African American History
• African History
• Ancient History and Culture
• Asian History
• European History
• Latin American History
• Medieval & Renaissance History
• Military History
• The 20th Century
• J.D., Hofstra University
• B.A., English and Print Journalism, University of Southern California

Sexism means discrimination based on sex or gender, or the belief that because men are superior to women, discrimination is justified. Such a belief can be conscious or unconscious . In sexism, as in racism, the differences between two (or more) groups are viewed as indications that one group is superior or inferior. Sexist discrimination against girls and women is a means of maintaining male domination and power. The oppression or discrimination can be economic, political, social, or cultural.

Elements of Sexism

• Sexism includes attitudes or ideology, including beliefs, theories, and ideas that hold one group (usually male) as deservedly superior to the other (usually female), and that justify oppressing members of the other group on the basis of their sex or gender.
• Sexism involves practices and institutions and the ways in which oppression is carried out. These need not be done with a conscious sexist attitude but may be unconscious cooperation in a system that has been in place already in which one sex (usually female) has less power and fewer goods in the society.

Oppression and Domination

Sexism is a form of oppression and domination. As author Octavia Butler put it:

"Simple peck-order bullying is only the beginning of the kind of hierarchical behavior that can lead to racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, classism, and all the other 'isms' that cause so much suffering in the world."

Some feminists have argued that sexism is the primal, or first, form of oppression in humanity and that other oppressions are built on the foundation of oppression of women. Feminist Andrea Dworkin holds that position, stating:

"Sexism is the foundation on which all tyranny is built. Every social form of hierarchy and abuse is modeled on male-over-female domination."

Feminist Origins of the Word

The word "sexism" became widely known during the women's liberation movement of the 1960s. At that time, feminist theorists explained that the oppression of women was widespread in nearly all human society, and they began to speak of sexism instead of male chauvinism. Whereas male chauvinists were usually individual men who expressed the belief that they were superior to women, sexism referred to collective behavior that reflected society as a whole.

Australian writer Dale Spender noted that she was:

"...old enough to have lived in a world without sexism and sexual harassment. Not because they weren’t everyday occurrences in my life but because THESE WORDS DIDN’T EXIST. It was not until the feminist writers of the 1970s made them up, and used them publicly and defined their meanings—an opportunity that men had enjoyed for centuries—that women could name these experiences of their daily life."

Many women in the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s (the so-called second wave of feminism) came to their consciousness of sexism via their work in social justice movements. Social philosopher  Bell Hooks  argues:

"Individual heterosexual women came to the movement from relationships where men were cruel, unkind, violent, unfaithful. Many of these men were radical thinkers who participated in movements for social justice, speaking out on behalf of the workers, the poor, speaking out on behalf of racial justice. However, when it came to the issue of gender they were as sexist as their conservative cohorts."

How Sexism Works

Systemic sexism, like systemic racism, is the perpetuation of the oppression and discrimination without necessarily any conscious intention. The disparities between men and women are simply taken as givens and are reinforced by practices, rules, policies, and laws that often seem neutral on the surface but in fact disadvantage women.

Sexism interacts with racism, classism, heterosexism, and other oppressions to shape the experience of individuals. This is called  intersectionality .  Compulsory heterosexuality  is the prevailing belief that heterosexuality is the only "normal" relationship between the sexes, which, in a sexist society, benefits men.

Women as Sexists

Women can be conscious or unconscious collaborators in their own oppression if they accept the basic premises of sexism: that men have more power than women because they deserve more power than women. Sexism by women against men would only be possible in a system in which the balance of social, political, cultural, and economic power was measurably in the hands of women, a situation which does not exist today.

Men May Be Oppressed by Sexism

Some feminists have argued that men should be allies in the fight against sexism because men, too, are not whole in a system of enforced male hierarchies. In a patriarchal society , men are themselves in a hierarchical relationship to each other, with more benefits to the males at the top of the power pyramid.

Others have argued that the benefit males derive from sexism—even if that benefit is not consciously experienced or sought—is more weighty than whatever negative effects those with more power may experience. Feminist Robin Morgan put it this way:

"And let's put one lie to rest for all time: the lie that men are oppressed, too, by sexism—the lie that there can be such a thing as 'men's liberation groups.' Oppression is something that one group of people commits against another group specifically because of a 'threatening' characteristic shared by the latter group—skin color or sex or age, etc."

Quotes on Sexism

Bell Hooks : "Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression... I liked this definition because it did not imply that men were the enemy. By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. Practically, it is a definition that implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child, or adult. It is also broad enough to include an understanding of systemic institutionalized sexism. As a definition it is open-ended. To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism."

Caitlin Moran : “I have a rule for working out if the root problem of something is, in fact, sexism. And it is this: asking 'Are the boys doing it? Are the boys having to worry about this stuff? Are the boys the center of a gigantic global debate on this subject?”

Erica Jong : "Sexism kind of predisposes us to see men's work as more important than women's, and it is a problem, I guess, as writers, we have to change."

Kate Millett : "It is interesting that many women do not recognize themselves as discriminated against; no better proof could be found of the totality of their conditioning."

• Feminist Theory in Sociology
• 12 Types of Social Oppression
• Patriarchal Society According to Feminism
• Womanist: Definition and Examples
• Combahee River Collective in the 1970s
• The Core Ideas and Beliefs of Feminism
• What Is Radical Feminism?
• What Is Compulsory Heterosexuality?
• Socialist Feminism vs. Other Types of Feminism
• Cultural Feminism
• The Women's Liberation Movement
• Socialist Feminism Definition and Comparisons
• 10 Important Feminist Beliefs
• Top 20 Influential Modern Feminist Theorists
• Oppression and Women's History
• Definition of Intersectionality

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Sexism — Addressing Anti Sexism

Addressing Anti Sexism

• Categories: Discrimination Sexism

About this sample

Words: 460 |

Published: Mar 14, 2024

Words: 460 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: Social Issues

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 820 words

4 pages / 2004 words

3 pages / 1552 words

7 pages / 3279 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Sexism

Sexist dress codes have been a contentious topic, sparking debates on gender equality, individual expression, and societal norms. These codes often target individuals based on their gender, imposing rigid and discriminatory [...]

Sexism is a pervasive issue that continues to affect individuals and society at large. This essay aims to explore the various manifestations of sexism and their impacts on individuals and society, as well as propose strategies [...]

For this essay, I have been asked to find an image from the university database. I plan to discuss my chosen image and how it relates to one of the key readings from the Introduction to Visual Culture handbook. The image I have [...]

Revolt of the Evil Fairies”, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, and “Trifles” each have an unseen presence that is so prevalent that it might as well be a character. “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” indirectly discusses the topic of [...]

Could you imagine being told that you do not qualify for a job solely because you are a woman? Excelling in college and being qualified yet cannot advance in the workforce? Or someone telling you that you have no right to be [...]

Tamil or rightly spelled (according to pronunciation) Tamizh is a language spoken by approximately 76 million people around the world (according to the US Census 2016) and is the oldest language among the four Dravidian language [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• Search Menu

Sign in through your institution

• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Architecture
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in History
• History of Education
• Regional and National History
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Feminist Philosophy
• Philosophy of Language
• Browse content in Religion
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cultural Studies
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Technology and Society
• Browse content in Law
• Comparative Law
• Criminal Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Browse content in International Law
• Public International Law
• Legal System and Practice
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Environmental Geography
• Urban Geography
• Environmental Science
• Browse content in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Ethics
• Business History
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Human Resource Management
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• Knowledge Management
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Browse content in Economics
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Economic History
• Economic Systems
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Public Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Politics
• Asian Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Economy
• Political Theory
• Political Sociology
• Public Policy
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• Asian Studies
• Browse content in Social Work
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Reviews and Awards
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

• < Previous
• Next chapter >

1 The Invisible Woman: Sexism in Sociology

• Published: October 2018
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

This introductory chapter provides an overview of sexism in sociology. In much sociology, women as a social group are invisible or inadequately represented: they take the insubstantial form of ghosts, shadows, or stereotyped characters. This issue of sexism has a direct relevance to the main topic of this book: a survey of housewives and their attitudes to housework which was carried out in London in 1971. The conventional sociological approach to housework could be termed ‘sexist’: it has treated housework merely as an aspect of the feminine role in the family — as a part of women's role in marriage, or as a dimension of child-rearing — not as a work role. This book thus departs from sociological tradition and takes a new approach to women's domestic situation by looking at housework as a job and seeing it as work, analogous to any other kind of work in modern society.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

• Google Scholar Indexing
• GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code
• Add your ORCID iD

Institutional access

Sign in with a library card.

• Sign in with username/password
• Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Sexism: Discrimination against women and girls

Every day in every country, women and girls are discriminated against because of their gender. 

Gender-specific discrimination and breaches of human rights have fatal consequences for the health, education, income and safety of women and children. In spite of numerous treaties and laws intended to help ensure equal rights and protection for women and girls, the part of the world’s population seen by others to be female still frequently experiences discrimination, abasement and violence.  

Sometimes discrimination is not immediately obvious. Examples are a lack of promotions for women, or an education for girls which leads them to believe they are no good at mathematics. In contrast, discrimination is sometimes very obvious and easily measurable: How high is the proportion of women in parliament? How many girls are completing secondary education? Further, women and girls are also frequently affected by several different forms of discrimination at the same time: due to their ethnicity, their sexual orientation, their age and/or their migration background, for example. 

Definition: What is discrimination? 

Discrimination is a breach of human rights. People are unjustly disadvantaged, abased and/or treated as inferior because they belong to a group that has particular characteristics or features. These characteristics could include, for example, gender, ethnicity or religion. Discrimination generally occurs because of particular value judgments, unreflected or even subconscious attitudes, and prejudices.  

Definition: What is sexism? 

Sexism is a synonym for gender-based discrimination. If a person’s biological sex or gender is the reason for someone else discriminating against them, then this is sexism. In general, sexism happens because of underlying attitudes that consider women to have less value than men, so this form of discrimination is usually directed against people who are seen as female or feminine. Of course, sexism can affect males as well. Closely connected to sexist discrimination are the notions of specific social activities and characteristics being more suitable for either males or females (‘gender roles’) and other stereotypes which are attributed to a person on the basis of sex or gender. Sexualised violence is one form of gender-based violence and is one way that sexist discrimination manifests. The term sexism was coined by the American women’s movement in the 1960s, combining the word ‘sex’, to refer to the biological sex, with the ending ‘-ism’ from another common form of discrimination: racism. 

What are the causes of sexism? 

Various studies show: The main causes for gender-specific discrimination are to be found in

• misogynist attitudes, values and role models, 
• norms shaped by patriarchy , and
• cultural and religious practices.

There is a systematic nature to the disadvantages put in the way of women and girls in their access to food, healthcare, education and income. It is anchored within societal structures. 

What is gender?

In English, the two terms gender and sex are sometimes used interchangeably, but sex often refers specifically to biological differences, while gender more often refers to cultural and social differences. Gender therefore refers to socially constructed norms, assignments and roles which can be different from one society to another. Where someone assumes a gender role which is visibly different from their biological sex, this can also trigger discrimination.

FAQ: What forms does this discrimination take?

Structural discrimination is a term used when the discrimination against individual groups is caused by the way that a society is organised. For example, a patriarchal society will have patriarchal gender structures that lead to discrimination against women. Structural discrimination frequently culminates in violence: for women and girls between 15 and 44, the risk of experiencing rape and violence within their family is higher than risk of becoming a victim of a traffic accident, war, cancer or malaria.  

Direct discrimination is generally easy to recognise, especially in the form of laws and regulations. One example was in 2015 in Sierra Leone, where a law was introduced which prohibited pregnant girls from attending school. 

Indirect discrimination is often more difficult to recognise. One example would be at a workplace where the company does not offer any chance of promotion to part-time employees: if part-time employees are overwhelmingly female, then this discriminates indirectly against women. 

Intersectional or multiple discrimination is present when a person is affected by different forms of discrimination at the same time. One form can impact on another and they can even amplify each other. For example, refugee women frequently suffer both sexism and racism. 

Discrimination is extremely closely related to both the abuse of power and the retention of power. This is often combined with humiliation, such as in the cases of bullying and mobbing. Another example is sexualised harassment, which is a consequence of structural discrimination in the context of patriarchal power relationships. Suggestive looks, undesired touches, or sexualised comments are used by one person in front of others to demonstrate their superiority and power over women or people who deviate from prevailing gender norms, to humiliate them, and to devalue them . Violence is also a means to preserve power. 

The term patriarchy is derived from Greek and literally translated it means “rule of the fathers”. 

Patriarchal power extends well beyond the immediate family. It includes a social order which gives men a privileged position of power in all spheres of life. From this position of power, men then determine the values and norms of the society and lay down the laws governing the behaviour of women and other marginalised groups, such as LGBTIQ*, people with disabilities, or people of colour.

From a feminist perspective, patriarchy refers to the totality of the exploitation and oppression of women. This oppression is systemic. At its core is the sexual control exercised by men over women. 

Efforts to adopt gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language include, for example, the avoidance of a generic masculine ‘he’ when referring to humans in general. In some languages, nouns and terms for professions, for example, have an inherent gender indicated by a particular word-ending. So efforts need to be made not to exclude women and non-binary people. One example could be using the term police officer instead of the term policeman. This is important because language influences how we think and feel. For example, references to “manned spaceflight” might lead to the subconscious association of astronauts as being typically male, whereas the conscious use of “crewed spaceflight” would be inclusive because the word “crew” covers all possible genders. 

Definition: Gender equality 

The equal rights of the genders is a fundamental human right. Equal rights means that all humans have the same rights. The term is based on Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which state that all humans are “born free and equal in dignity and rights”, so should not be discriminated against due to their gender or other reasons. Often, equal rights is talked about in connection with equal opportunities. Equal rights does not mean that all humans are the same or should be the same.  

What is the difference between equality and equal rights?

The principle of equal rights emphasises the same rights to be enjoyed by all people, regardless of their gender. In contrast, the principle of equality aims to overcome structural discrimination to such an extent that women and men not only receive the same rights and opportunities, but also achieve the same results from these. Examples here would include equal proportions of the genders among members of parliament or on the boards of leading companies. One way of achieving this could be setting quotas. 

”In order to finally achieve gender justice, there can no longer be any tolerance for sexualised violence against women and girls! This violence suggests that the female body is something anyone can do anything with, but this is not true. False attitudes and messages such as this are passed on to girls and boys, creating stereotypical gender images that persist from generation to generation. Society’s power relations will not change unless there is a fundamental shift in these attitudes, messages and images.“ Monika Hauser, founder of the international women’s rights organisation medica mondiale

How equal rights would benefit everyone

Gender justice is more than merely a question of human rights: the equal participation of women in all aspects of life is also a prerequisite for a peaceful, just and sustainable world. Some figures:

• An increase of 30% would be seen in agricultural yields if all women had fair access to the means of production.
• Where women are involved in peace negotiations , the chance of these agreements being upheld increases by 20 per cent.
• Violence against women and girls is widespread around the world in all cultures, religions and societies. It is rooted in the power imbalance between the genders. Actual equal rights and the dismantling of these power imbalances would take away the basis for this violence.
• Studies have shown that the nourishment, health and education of children all improve when their mothers have more income available.
• According to McKinsey management consultancy, companies with higher proportions of female staff are more likely to be successful.
• Data from 90 countries indicates that countries with higher female parliamentary representation are more likely to set aside protected land areas. Another study in 130 countries showed that women are more willing to ratify international environmental treaties . 

Equal rights – on the statute books or in practice?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 1 states that all people are equal. Article Two of this proclamation by the United Nations (UN) goes into more detail: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” However, the rights that the UN General Assembly agreed in 1948 are still being violated decades later, are still not enshrined in national laws, are still not being upheld by political means, and are therefore still not a lived experience for many.  

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 

In 1979, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Known as the Women’s Rights Convention, this Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women obliges the states ratifying it to take active steps to eliminate the discrimination against women in the areas of culture, society, education, politics and legislation. 

Examples: Discrimination against women and girls around the world 

Right to social welfare 

Nutrition : Where food becomes scarce, it is the women and girls who suffer most from hunger. With regard to those suffering moderate or severe food insecurity, the difference between men and women increased further during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, food insecurity affected 150 million more women than men in the world. 

Poverty: During the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of women lost their jobs and livelihood . Sectors with higher proportions of women workers were most severely affected by the consequences of the pandemic.

Right to own property

It is women who frequently lose out on access to land: less than 20 per cent of landowners worldwide are women. However, it is the women who perform the major share of the work in the fields.   

Right to education

First, the good news: Looked at globally, the rates of schooling for both primary and secondary levels are increasing for girls and boys. However, in the countries affected by insecurity, conflicts and violence, girls are 2.5 times more likely than boys to be prevented from going to school. At secondary level, this probability is 90% higher. Almost two thirds of all adult illiterates are women . 

Right to life, liberty and security of person

Forced marriage: Estimates are that 12 million underage girls are forced into marriage each year.

Physical self-determination: Globally, pregnant people do not have easy access to safe and legal pregnancy termination . Abortions are often not even possible for women who were raped during wars and become pregnant as a consequence. This is not only because of the lack of medical possibilities, but mainly because pregnancy termination is forbidden by the provisions of international funders or restrictive laws and interpretations of faith. For example, since 2021 abortions have been either illegal or very difficult to access in Poland, Hungary and the USA. As a consequence 45 per cent of all pregnancy terminations around the world take place in unsafe conditions – sometimes with fatal consequences for the women: unsafe abortions are one of the most frequent causes of maternal mortality. 

Violence: Almost one in three women will be subjected to violence during her lifetime. Globally, each year some 50,000 women are killed by their partner or a relative. Female genital cutting (also known as female genital mutilation, FGM) is a violation of human rights. In spite of international condemnation and national laws, more than 200 million women and girls have been subjected to FGM. In one out of every four cases, the girl dies from the consequences. Most of these were not older than 15 years when the violent cutting occurred. 

Human trafficking: 72 per cent of all victims of human trafficking are women or girls. Most of these (77 per cent) are exploited sexually and/or forced into prostitution.

Wars and conflicts: In almost every conflict, warring parties use sexualised violence as an instrument of power to terrorise their enemies. Violence and sexualised attacks are also faced by women and girls as they flee their homes seeking refuge or after being displaced by advancing forces. 

Humanitarian aid: In emergency situations, the stress and pressure on women and girls grow because they are the ones who usually look after children and sick relatives, find and cook food, and take care of the home. However, humanitarian aid projects are often designed with too little consideration for this. For example, in refugee camps there may be no access to or space for gynaecological and obstetric healthcare, or even gender-separate toilets and washing facilities. Registration for aid generally occurs in the name of the male head of household, which denies wives, mothers and daughters any independent access to assistance. 

Climate change: In many rural areas of Africa and Asia, it is still usual for women to work near their home. This means they often receive life-saving information about disasters or severe weather later than men or not at all. This is one reason for the higher female fatalities in the wake of natural disasters. Additionally, in emergency accommodation there is an increased risk of sexual harassment.  

Political representation

Worldwide, 26 per cent of members of parliament are female. In most of the countries where the proportion of women in parliament is above 30 per cent a quota ruling had been introduced in order to strengthen political participation of women. With success: In Rwanda the figure of 61 per cent (as of April 2022) is the highest proportion of women in parliament in the world. In Cuba it is more than 53 per cent and in Mexico 50 per cent. In 28 of 193 countries , women are head of state or government, including , Bangladesh, New Zealand and Tanzania.  

”Although all humans have a right to self-determination this is regularly denied to women and girls.. Unfortunately, this is a global phenomenon which we see in, for example, Serbia, Liberia, Afghanistan or Germany. In Europe, there is currently a trend to further restrict women’s rights.“ Jessica Mosbahi, Advocacy and Human Rights Officer

Discrimination against women in Germany – some examples 

Women face discrimination in Germany. Four examples: 

Politics: 34.7 per cent of the Members of the Bundestag are women (after the election in 2021). Twelve federal states are governed by men, only four by women. At a local level, the differences are even more severe: In 2021, 80 per cent of German mayors were male. 

Economy: Female staff earn on average 18 per cent less than their male colleagues. The income gap has reduced a little in recent years, but in comparison to the European average (13 per cent), the gender pay gap in Germany is still high. Furthermore, women face professional disadvantages due to pregnancy and maternal leave, and are less likely to be selected for promotion.

Legislation: §218 of the German Penal Code violates the right to self-determination. Women who want to terminate their pregnancy, and all of those involved in carrying out abortions, are being criminalised. This is the case despite access to legal and safe abortions being a human right.

At home: Statistically speaking, once every 2.5 days in Germany, a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner. In 2021, 161,000 survived what is euphemistically called ‘domestic violence’ – two thirds of them were women. 

From the practical experience of our partner organisations: Against sexism 

Ensuring the right to healthcare

Violence against women is a worldwide problem, but in war and post-war countries the rates are particularly high. Compared with the great need, there is very little provision of assistance for those affected. The staff of healthcare clinics have generally not received appropriate training. Frequently, healthcare professionals exhibit prejudices and discriminatory behaviour when treating survivors, leading to stigmatisation and feelings of shame. Our partner organisations train doctors, midwives and nursing staff locally. They learn how to offer beneficial support to women affected by violence. In a second step, these specialist staff then learn how to pass on the training to their colleagues. In this way, the knowledge about trauma-sensitive support can be anchored in their community for the long term.

Appeal against a ban on pregnant girls attending school

In Sierra Leone, a law was passed in 2015 that prohibits pregnant girls from attending school. The law is unconstitutional. This affects a large number of girls since the pregnancy rate for under-18s is one in three. A group of activists took legal action against this – successfully. One of the plaintiffs was the organisation WAVES (Women Against Violence and Exploitation Society), which medica mondiale has been cooperating with since 2019. 

More on sexism and discrimination 

• Undergraduate
• High School
• Architecture
• American History
• Asian History
• Antique Literature
• American Literature
• Asian Literature
• Classic English Literature
• World Literature
• Creative Writing
• Linguistics
• Criminal Justice
• Legal Issues
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Political Science
• World Affairs
• African-American Studies
• East European Studies
• Latin-American Studies
• Native-American Studies
• West European Studies
• Family and Consumer Science
• Social Issues
• Women and Gender Studies
• Social Work
• Natural Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Earth science
• Agriculture
• Agricultural Studies
• Computer Science
• IT Management
• Mathematics
• Investments
• Engineering and Technology
• Engineering
• Aeronautics
• Medicine and Health
• Alternative Medicine
• Communications and Media
• Advertising
• Communication Strategies
• Public Relations
• Educational Theories
• Teacher's Career
• Chicago/Turabian
• Company Analysis
• Education Theories
• Shakespeare
• Canadian Studies
• Food Safety
• Relation of Global Warming and Extreme Weather Condition
• Movie Review

Admission Essay

• Annotated Bibliography
• Application Essay
• Article Critique
• Article Review
• Article Writing
• Book Review
• Business Plan
• Business Proposal
• Capstone Project
• Cover Letter
• Creative Essay
• Dissertation
• Dissertation - Abstract
• Dissertation - Conclusion
• Dissertation - Discussion
• Dissertation - Hypothesis
• Dissertation - Introduction
• Dissertation - Literature
• Dissertation - Methodology
• Dissertation - Results
• GCSE Coursework
• Grant Proposal
• Marketing Plan
• Multiple Choice Quiz
• Personal Statement
• Power Point Presentation
• Power Point Presentation With Speaker Notes
• Questionnaire
• Reaction Paper
• Research Paper
• Research Proposal
• SWOT analysis
• Thesis Paper
• Online Quiz
• Literature Review
• Movie Analysis
• Statistics problem
• Math Problem
• All papers examples
• How It Works
• Money Back Policy
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• We Are Hiring

Sexism, Essay Example

Pages: 5

Words: 1322

Hire a Writer for Custom Essay

Use 10% Off Discount: "custom10" in 1 Click 👇

You are free to use it as an inspiration or a source for your own work.

Sexism is a term used to indicate discrimination or the prejudiced faced by person based on the persons sex. Thoman, Dustin, Paul White, Niwako Yamawaki, and Hirofumi Koishi indicated that the attitude of the sexist has its origin for the stereotypes that existed traditionally in the gender roles of the people in the society (10). As a result, sexism can include the feeling that people of particular sex are superior or better than the other sex. For instance, a person seeking for a job may encounter discriminatory hiring practises because she is a woman. In such most societies, when a lady is hired for a certain job, they tend to receive unequal treatment or compensation when compared to the men working in the same capacity.  The other extreme form of sexism may include sexual harassment, rape and similar type of sexual violence especially targeted towards the female gender.

The origin of the term as used currently can be traced to the Pauline Leet who coined the word in 1965 in which she compared sexism to the racism. In her contribution that was titled, ”women and the undergraduate” she argued that both the sexist and the racists act as if all that has not happened will never happen and therefore coming to a conclusion about someone’s value based on the irrelevant factors like sex and skin colour. Sexism is judging people by the sex when the sex does not matter really. It is used to keep the sex in power established and entrenched in power Watson, Robinson, Dispenza, & Nazari, (233).

Historically, until the 20 th century, the US and English law in general was based on a system of covertures in which during the marriage, the husband and the wife become one person in legal resulting in the suspension of the legal existence of the woman during the marriage. As a consequence, the women in the US were not legally defined as persons until 1975 while the married women in France received the right to work without their husband permission in 1965, it is important to note that in many countries around the globe; the women still loose significant rights when they get married. For instance, in Iraq, the husbands had the right to punish their wives. This is not a criminal act but is similar to parents or teacher disciplining the children within regulation of the customs and laws.

Sexism in any given society is driven by the gender stereotypes that consist of the beliefs about the characteristics of men and women. Numerous empirical studies have shown that men are socially valued and more competent that the women in undertaking different activities. In one such study done in the US, the diverse sample of the people surveyed consistently rated the category of the men as being hire that the category of the woman.

According to another survey, it has been found that stereotype against the women has actually contributed to the lowering of the women’s performance in mathematics test. This is a self fulfilling stereotype that women have inferior quantitative skills when compared to the men. The women and men’s perceptions of those abilities are then affected as it results in the men rating their own tasks ability higher than that of the women who perform in the same level (Thoman, Dustin, Paul White, Niwako Yamawaki, and Hirofumi Koishi, 9). Such gender based biases affects the women and men’s education and career decisions.

Occupational sexism is  refers to the discriminatory practises and actions based on the sex that occurs in the work place. The most common form of the occupational sexism is the wage discrimination. According to the organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as much has the employment of the female has greatly expanded and the wage gap has also tremendously narrowed, when compared with the male counterpart, the female still have 20 percent less chance of being employed and when they are finally employed, they are paid 17% less that the male with the same qualification. Despite the establishment if the anti discrimination and equality of employment laws,  the implementation of the Law is very difficult in many countries including the western nations.

According to Fortin Nicole Gender stereotypes play very crucial role in encouraging stereotypes in the society. This mainly comes from the gender roles, which are the behaviours that the society associates with each of the genders. For example, in the united state, while the male are expected to be decisive, direct, stoic, strong, athletic, brave and driven, the women on the other hand are culturally expected to be not only emotional, weak and nurturing but affectionate and home oriented (428). OECD therefore argues that the women’s labour market is influences by learned cultural and social values that may be seen as discriminatory towards women by stereotyping certain lifestyle and work as being for men or women. This is because the women educational and career choice may be dictated in part by the expectations that certain job opportunities are not open to the people of their gender. In the US, the women formed about 87 percent of all the people employed in the child care industry and 86 percent of the people working in the health aide sector.

Professional discrimination still exists against women in the work place although there has been a slow improvement. A study done in 2007 indicated that for every $1.00 earned by the men annually, the median pay for the women was $ 0.78. the people that contend the wage gap argues that the difference in the pay between the male and the female is not based on sexism in the work place but is a product of the career choice and the working house differences between the male and females.

Watson, Robinson, Dispenza, & Nazari argue that another form of sexism in the society is portrayed by the sexual objectification of women in advertisement and promotion of items. Objectification can be defined as the treatment of women as an object that is viewed primarily as a source of sexual gratification or to bring about sexual appeal (232). While there are laws that govern advertising in western countries, this only regulate the obscenity of the adverts and prevent indecent poses but does not avert objectification of the women. While in some countries like Norway and Denmark that has not banned Nudity in advertising relevant products, other countries like Israel has continue to ban nudity and makes a reference to the sexual objectification of the women.

Pornography is another practise that contributes to the sexism by not only objectifying women but also portraying them in submissive roles. it has also been noted that some types of pornography contribute to the violence against the women by producing scenes that present women has being dominated, humiliated and coerced. As a form of sexism, pornography depict women as continually available and willing to engage in sexual act with any man and in accordance to their terms and promote rape myth as it desensitises people to violence against the women. This is because it creates a feeling that the lady consented no matter what was said.

Sexism is driven by the consisted desire of one gender to exercise full power over the victim. Studies have shown that the perpetrators of rape for instance have not only hatred towards the women but also get pleasure in inflicting physical and psychological trauma on the victims.

There is continual need to promote gender equality in the different aspects of life so as to eliminate discrimination and violence against women.

Works cited

Thoman, Dustin, Paul White, Niwako Yamawaki, and Hirofumi Koishi. “Variations of Gender–math Stereotype Content Affect Women’s Vulnerability to Stereotype  Threat.” Sex Roles 58.9-10 (2008): 702-12. Print.

Fortin, Nicole, “Gender Role Attitudes and the Labour Market Outcomes of Women Across OECD Countries”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2005, 21, 416–438.

Watson, L., Robinson, D., Dispenza, F., & Nazari, N., African American women’s sexual objectification experiences: A qualitative study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, (2012)36, 227-239

Stuck with your Essay?

Get in touch with one of our experts for instant help!

Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program, Admission Essay Example

Before the War, Essay Example

Time is precious

don’t waste it!

Plagiarism-free guarantee

Privacy guarantee

Secure checkout

Money back guarantee

Related Essay Samples & Examples

Voting as a civic responsibility, essay example.

Pages: 1

Words: 287

Utilitarianism and Its Applications, Essay Example

Words: 356

The Age-Related Changes of the Older Person, Essay Example

Pages: 2

Words: 448

The Problems ESOL Teachers Face, Essay Example

Pages: 8

Words: 2293

Should English Be the Primary Language? Essay Example

Pages: 4

Words: 999

The Term “Social Construction of Reality”, Essay Example

Words: 371

• First Online: 01 December 2020

Cite this chapter

• Fiona Kate Barlow 3 ,
• Raine Vickers-Jones 3 ,
• Beatrice Alba 4 ,
• Emma Williamson 5 &
• Vicki Hutton 6  

3192 Accesses

1 Citations

Sexism is described as stereotyping or discrimination that occurs when a person is treated unfairly based on their sex. Both men and women can experience sexism but typically, sexism is prejudice against women. People experiencing sexism may face significant barriers in everyday activities at home, at work, in sports and in broader social systems. Sexism can present in varying forms and includes negative attitudes, beliefs and treatment of individuals based on their sex, and as a result, sexism negatively impacts an individual’s well-being. Mental health professionals need to recognise the multilayered impact of sexism on those who seek their help, while also challenging their own perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. The chapter starts with definitions and statistics to contextualise the concept of sexism within the contemporary Australian environment. The link between sexism and mental health is examined, and further professional discourse and personal stories bring to light issues and experiences of sexism. Experiential activities that encourage the learner to challenge prejudice, stereotypes and their own perceptions as well as gain a greater understanding of the barriers faced by people experiencing sexism conclude this chapter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

For more, read DeRose, L. (2019, August 8). Gender equality at home takes a hit when children arrive. The Conversation. Retrieved from 7 https://theconversation.com/gender-equality-at-home-takes-a-hit-when-children-arrive-118420

For more, read Ruppanner, L. (2019, August 15). Women aren’t better multitaskers, they’re just doing more work. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/women-arent-better-multitaskers-than-men-theyre-just-doing-more-work-121620

Almqvist, A. L., & Duvander, A. Z. (2014). Changes in gender equality? Swedish fathers’ parental leave, division of childcare and housework. Journal of Family Studies, 20 (1), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.5172/jfs.2014.20.1.19

Article   Google Scholar  

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2017a). 4125.0 – Gender indicators, Australia, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/4125.0~Sep%202017~Main%20Features~Economic%20Security~4

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2017b). 4906.0 – Personal safety: Experience of sexual harassment, Australia, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/4906.0~2016~Main%20Features~Experience%20of%20Sexual%20Harassment~29

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2017c). 3303.0 – Causes of death, Australia, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0~2017~Main%20Features~Intentional%20self-harm,%20key%20characteristics~3

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2019). 6291.0.55.003 – Labour force, Australia, detailed quarterly, November, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6291.0.55.003

Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC]. (2012). Complaints under the sex discrimination Act. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints/complaint-guides/information-people-making-complaints/complaints-under-sex-discrimination-act#what_sda

Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC]. (2018a). Face the facts: Gender equality 2018. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/face-facts-gender-equality-2018

Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC]. (2018b). Everyone’s business: Fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. . Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/AHRC_WORKPLACE_SH_2018.pdf

Australian Institute of Family Studies [AIFS]. (2016). The modern Australian family. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/families-week2016-final-20160517.pdf

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW]. (2019). Deaths in Australia. Canberra: AIHW. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-death/deaths-in-australia/contents/age-at-death

Barthelemy, R. S., McCormick, M., & Henderson, C. (2016). Gender discrimination in physics and astronomy: Graduate student experiences of sexism and gender microaggressions. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 12 (2), 020119-1–020119-14. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020119

Becker, J. C., & Swim, J. K. (2011). Seeing the unseen: Attention to daily encounters with sexism as way to reduce sexist beliefs. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35 (2), 227–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684310397509

Becker, J. C., & Swim, J. K. (2012). Reducing endorsement of benevolent and modern sexist beliefs: Differential effects of addressing harm versus pervasiveness of benevolent sexism. Social Psychology, 43 (3), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000091

Becker, J. C., Zawadzki, M. J., & Shields, S. A. (2014). Confronting and reducing sexism: A call for research on intervention. Journal of Social Issues, 70 (4), 603–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12081

Benatar, D. (2012). The second sexism: Discrimination against men and boys . Chichester, UK: Wiley.

Book   Google Scholar  

Berg, S. H. (2006). Everyday sexism and posttraumatic stress disorder in women: A correlational study. Violence Against Women, 12 (10), 970–988. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801206293082

Bond, M. A., Punnett, L., Pyle, J. L., Cazeca, D., & Cooperman, M. (2004). Gendered work conditions, health, and work outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 9 (1), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.9.1.28

Borrell, C., Artazcoz, L., Gil-González, D., Pérez, G., Rohlfs, I., & Pérez, K. (2010). Perceived sexism as a health determinant in Spain. Journal of Women’s Health, 19 (4), 741–750. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2009.1594

Bourguignon, D., Seron, E., Yzerbyt, V., & Herman, G. (2006). Perceived group and personal discrimination: Differential effects on personal self-esteem. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36 (5), 773–789. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.326

Brandt, M. J. (2011). Sexism and gender inequality across 57 societies. Psychological Science, 22 (11), 1413–1418. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611420445

Brody, L. (1999). Gender, emotion, and the family . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Calogero, R. M. (2013). Objects don’t object: Evidence that self-objectification disrupts women’s social activism. Psychological Science, 24 (3), 312–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612452574

Calogero, R. M., & Jost, J. T. (2011). Self-subjugation among women: Exposure to sexist ideology, self-objectification, and the protective function of the need to avoid closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100 (2), 211–228. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021864

Campbell, R. E. R. (2000). The effect of sexist discrimination on women’s health (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order No. 9968477).

Google Scholar  

Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64 (3), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014564

Council of Europe. (2019). Combating and preventing sexism. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/en/web/genderequality/combating-and-preventing-sexism

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43 (6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

Cundiff, J. L., Zawadzki, M. J., Danube, C. L., & Shields, S. A. (2014). Using experiential learning to increase the recognition of everyday sexism as harmful: The WAGES intervention. Journal of Social Issues, 70 (4), 703–721. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12087

Daley, A., Solomon, S., Newman, P. A., & Mishna, F. (2007). Traversing the margins: Intersectionalities in the bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 19 (3–4), 9–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720802161474

Dambrun, M. (2007). Gender differences in mental health: The mediating role of perceived personal discrimination. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37 (5), 1118–1129. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00202.x

Devries, K. M., Mak, J. Y. T., García-Moreno, C., Petzold, M., Child, J. C., Falder, G., et al. (2013). The global prevalence of intimate partner violence against women. Science, 340 (6140), 1527–1528. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240937

Diener, M. L., & Lucas, R. E. (2004). Adults desires for childrens emotions across 48 countries: Associations with individual and national characteristics. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35 (5), 525–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022104268387

Eliezer, D., Major, B., & Mendes, W. B. (2010). The costs of caring: Gender identification increases threat following exposure to sexism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46 (1), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.09.015

Ellerman, D. A., Dowling, C. M., Hinschen, M. L., Kemp, J. E., & White, L. K. (1981). Teachers’ evaluations of creative work by children: Sexism in Australia. Psychological Reports, 48 (2), 439–446. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1981.48.2.439

Fischer, A. R., & Holz, K. B. (2010). Testing a model of women’s personal sense of justice, control, well-being, and distress in the context of sexist discrimination. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34 (3), 297–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01576.x

Fitzgerald, L. F., Drasgow, F., Hulin, C. L., Gelfand, M. J., & Magley, V. J. (1997). Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 82 (4), 578–589.

Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Campbell, L., & Overall, N. C. (2013). The science of intimate relationships . Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70 (3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1999). The ambivalence toward men inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent beliefs about men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23 (3), 519–536. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1999.tb00379.x

Glick, P., Fiske, S. T., Mladinic, A., Saiz, J. L., Abrams, D., Masser, B., et al. (2000). Beyond prejudice as antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (5), 763–775. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.763

Glick, P., Lameiras, M., Fiske, S. T., Eckes, T., Masser, B., Volpato, C., et al. (2004). Bad but bold: Ambivalent attitudes toward men predict gender inequality in 16 nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86 (5), 713–728. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.5.713

Goldenhar, L., Swanson, N., Hurrell, J. J., Ruder, A., & Deddens, J. (1998). Stressors and adverse outcomes for female construction workers. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3 (1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1037//1076-8998.3.1.19

Greenberg, K. (2012). Still hidden in the closet: Trans women and domestic violence. Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, 27 (2), 198–251. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38J678W3D

Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children . London: Routledge.

Haines, E. L., Deaux, K., & Lofaro, N. (2016). The times they are a-changing … or are they not? A comparison of gender stereotypes, 1983–2014. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40 (3), 353–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684316634081

Hammond, M. D., & Overall, N. C. (2013). Men’s hostile sexism and biased perceptions of intimate partners: Fostering dissatisfaction and negative behavior in close relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39 (12), 1585–1599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213499026

Hammond, M. D., & Overall, N. C. (2014). Endorsing benevolent sexism magnifies willingness to dissolve relationships when facing partner-ideal discrepancies. Personal Relationships, 21 (2), 272–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12031

Hammond, M. D., & Overall, N. C. (2016). Sexism in intimate contexts: How romantic relationships help explain the origins, functions, and consequences of sexist attitudes. In C. G. Sibley & F. K. Barlow (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of the psychology of prejudice (pp. 321–343). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Handley, I. M., Brown, E. R., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Smith, J. L. (2015). Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112 (43), 13201–13206. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510649112

Harnois, C. E., & Bastos, J. L. (2017, May 4). Sexism isn’t just unfair: It makes women sick, study suggests. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/sexism-isnt-just-unfair-it-makes-women-sick-study-suggests-95689

Harnois, C. E., & Bastos, J. L. (2018). Discrimination, harassment, and gendered health inequalities: Do perceptions of workplace mistreatment contribute to the gender gap in self-reported health? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 59 (2), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146518767407

Holland, E., Koval, P., Stratemeyer, M., Thomson, F., & Haslam, N. (2017). Sexual objectification in women’s daily lives: A smartphone ecological momentary assessment study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56 (2), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12152

Hurst, R. J., & Beesley, D. (2013). Perceived sexism, self-silencing, and psychological distress in college women. Sex Roles, 68 (5), 311–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0253-0

International Labour Organization. (2018). Global wage report 2018/19: What lies behind gender pay gaps. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%2D%2D-dgreports/%2D%2D-dcomm/%2D%2D-publ/documents/publication/wcms_650553.pdf

Jamieson, J., Tran, V., & Mackenzie, S. (2016). Gender equality in emergency medicine: Ignorance isn’t bliss. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 28 (3), 341–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.12595

Jones, K. P., Peddie, C. I., Gilrane, V. L., King, E. B., & Gray, A. L. (2016). Not so subtle: A meta-analytic investigation of the correlates of subtle and overt discrimination. Journal of Management, 42 (6), 1588–1613. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313506466

Kessler, R. C., Mickelson, K. D., & Williams, D. R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40 (3), 208–230. https://doi.org/10.2307/2676349

King, K. R. (2003). Racism or sexism? Attributional ambiguity and simultaneous membership in multiple oppressed groups. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33 (2), 223–247. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01894.x

Klonoff, E. A., & Landrine, H. (1995). The schedule of sexist events: A measure of lifetime and recent sexist discrimination in women’s lives. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19 (4), 439–470. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00086.x

KPMG (2016). The cost of violence against women and their children in Australia . Retrieved from https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/08_2016/the_cost_of_violence_against_women_and_their_children_in_australia_-_summary_report_may_2016.pdf

Landrine, H., Klonoff, E. A., Gibbs, J., Manning, V., & Lund, M. (1995). Physical and psychiatric correlates of gender discrimination: An application of the schedule of sexist events. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19 (4), 473–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00087.x

Landry, L. J., & Mercurio, A. E. (2009). Discrimination and women’s mental health: The mediating role of control. Sex Roles, 61 (3), 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9624-6

Leone, R. M., Parrott, D. J., Swartout, K. M., & Tharp, A. T. (2016). Masculinity and bystander attitudes: Moderating effects of masculine gender role stress. Psychology of Violence, 6 (1), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038926

Matthewson, G. (2018). Parlour census report 2001–2016: Women in architecture in Australia . Melbourne, VIC: Parlour. https://archiparlour.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Parlour_Census_Report_Final2.pdf

McCoy, S. K., & Major, B. (2003). Group identification moderates emotional responses to perceived prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29 (8), 1005–1017. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203253466

McSwan, K. L. (2000). The impact of sexism on older women’s mental and physical health (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order No. 9977083).

Moradi, B., Dirks, D., & Matteson, A. V. (2005). Roles of sexual objectification experiences and internalization of standards of beauty in eating disorder symptomatology: A test and extension of objectification theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52 (3), 420. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.3.420

Moradi, B., & Subich, L. M. (2002). Perceived sexist events and feminist identity development attitudes: Links to women’s psychological distress. The Counseling Psychologist, 30 (1), 44–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000002301003

Moradi, B., & Subich, L. M. (2003). A concomitant examination of the relations of perceived racist and sexist events to psychological distress for African American women. The Counseling Psychologist, 31 (4), 451–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000003031004007

Moradi, B., & Subich, L. M. (2004). Examining the moderating role of self-esteem in the link between experiences of perceived sexist events and psychological distress. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51 (1), 50–56. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.50

Murnen, S. K., Wright, C., & Kaluzny, G. J. S. R. (2002). If “boys will be boys,” then girls will be victims? A meta-analytic review of the research that relates masculine ideology to sexual aggression. Sex Roles, 46 (11), 359–375. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020488928736

Norton, M. I., & Sommers, S. R. (2011). Whites see racism as a zero-sum game that they are now losing. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6 (3), 215–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691611406922

O’Brien, K. (2019, March 28). Why we still struggle with work-home conflict in women and men. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-we-still-struggle-with-work-home-conflict-in-women-and-men-112698

O’Brien, K. R., McAbee, S. T., Hebl, M. R., & Rodgers, J. R. (2016). The impact of interpersonal discrimination and stress on health and performance for early career STEM academicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 7 (615). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00615

Osherson, S., & Krugman, S. (1990). Men, shame, and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 27 (3), 327–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.27.3.327

Overall, N. C., Sibley, C. G., & Tan, R. (2011). The costs and benefits of sexism: Resistance to influence during relationship conflict. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101 (2), 271–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022727

Paradies, Y., Ben, J., Denson, N., Elias, A., Priest, N., Pieterse, A., et al. (2015). Racism as a determinant of health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 10 (9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138511

Pascoe, E. A., & Smart Richman, L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135 (4), 531–554. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016059

Pavalko, E. K., Mossakowski, K. N., & Hamilton, V. J. (2003). Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women’s physical and emotional health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44 (1), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519813

Perales, F. (2018, June 4). How stigma impacts LGB health and wellbeing in Australia. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-stigma-impacts-lgb-health-and-wellbeing-in-australia-96904

Platt, J., Prins, S., Bates, L., & Keyes, K. (2016). Unequal depression for equal work? How the wage gap explains gendered disparities in mood disorders. Social Science & Medicine, 149 , 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.056

Richman, J. A., Rospenda, K. M., Nawyn, S. J., Flaherty, J. A., Fendrich, M., Drum, M. L., et al. (1999). Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: Prevalence and mental health correlates. American Journal of Public Health, 89 (3), 358–363.

Rubin, M., Paolini, S., Subašić, E., & Giacomini, A. (2019). A confirmatory study of the relations between workplace sexism, sense of belonging, mental health, and job satisfaction among women in male-dominated industries. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49 (5), 267–282. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12577

Rubin, M., Subasic, E., Giacomini, A., & Paolini, S. (2017). An exploratory study of the relations between women miners’ gender-based workplace issues and their mental health and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47 (7), 400–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12448

Sabik, N. J., & Tylka, T. L. (2006). Do feminist identity styles moderate the relation between perceived sexist events and disordered eating? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30 (1), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00264.x

Safe Work Australia. (2018). Work-related injury fatalities by gender, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/book/work-related-injury-fatalities-key-whs-statistics-australia-2018#work-related-injury-fatalities

Salomon, K., Burgess, K. D., & Bosson, J. K. (2015). Flash fire and slow burn: Women’s cardiovascular reactivity and recovery following hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144 (2), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000061

Schmitt, M. T., Branscombe, N. R., Kobrynowicz, D., & Owen, S. (2002). Perceiving discrimination against one’s gender group has different implications for well-being in women and men. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28 (2), 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202282006

Schmitt, M. T., Branscombe, N. R., & Postmes, T. (2003). Women’s emotional responses to the pervasiveness of gender discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33 (3), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.147

Shiffman, S., Stone, A. A., & Hufford, M. R. (2008). Ecological momentary assessment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4 , 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091415

Sojo, V. E., Wood, R. E., & Genat, A. E. (2016). Harmful workplace experiences and women’s occupational well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40 (1), 10–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315599346

Swim, J. K., Aikin, K. J., Hall, W. S., & Hunter, B. A. (1995). Sexism and racism: Old-fashioned and modern prejudices. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68 (2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.199

Swim, J. K., & Hyers, L. L. (1999). Excuse me—What did you just say?!: Women’s public and private responses to sexist remarks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35 (1), 68–88. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1998.1370

Swim, J. K., Hyers, L. L., Cohen, L. L., & Ferguson, M. J. (2001). Everyday sexism: Evidence for its incidence, nature, and psychological impact from three daily diary studies. Journal of Social Issues, 57 (1), 31–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00200

Szymanski, D. M. (2005). Heterosexism and sexism as correlates of psychological distress in lesbians. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83 (3), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2005.tb00355.x

Tanton, R., VIdyattama, Y., McNamara, J., Ngu, Q., & Harding, A. (2009). Old single and poor: Using microsimulation and microdata to analyse poverty and the impact of policy change among older Australians. Economic Papers, 28 (2), 102–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2009.00022.x

Testa, R. J., Habarth, J., Peta, J., Balsam, K., & Bockting, W. (2015). Development of the gender minority stress and resilience measure. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2 (1), 65–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000081

Tolman, D. L., Impett, E. A., Tracy, A. J., & Michael, A. (2006). Looking good, sounding good: Femininity ideology and adolescent girls’ mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30 (1), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00265.x

Wilkins, R., & Lass, I. (2018). The household, income and labour dynamics in Australia survey: Selected findings from waves 1 to 16. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne Institute. Retrieved from https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/2874177/HILDA-report_Low-Res_10.10.18.pdf

Williamson, E. (2016, March 2). Join the national committee for gender equity [Blog post]. Parlour: Women, Equity, Architecture. Retrieved from https://archiparlour.org/national-committee-for-gender-equity-ncge-update/

Wong, Y. J., Ho, M. H. R., Wang, S. Y., & Miller, I. S. K. (2017). Meta-analyses of the relationship between conformity to masculine norms and mental health-related outcomes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64 (1), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000176

Wong, Y. J., Klann, E. M., Bijelić, N., & Aguayo, F. (2017). The link between men’s zero-sum gender beliefs and mental health: Findings from Chile and Croatia. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 18 (1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000035

Workplace Gender Equality Agency [WGEA]. (2017). Women’s economic security in retirement. Retrieved from https://wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Women%27s%20economic%20security%20in%20retirement.pdf

Workplace Gender Equality Agency [WGEA]. (2019a). Australia’s gender pay gap statistics. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Gender%20Pay%20Gap%20Statistics%20Fact%20Sheet%202019%20FINAL%20February.pdf

Workplace Gender Equality Agency [WGEA]. (2019b). Gender segregation in Australia’s workforce. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/18_04_Industrial_segregation.pdf

Workplace Gender Equality Agency [WGEA]. (2019c). Gender pay gap. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/wgea-research/shes-pricedless-the-economics-of-the-gender-pay-gap

World Economic Forum. (2018). The Global Gender Gap Report. Retrieved from http://wef.ch/gggr18

World Health Organization [WHO]. (1946). Constitution of the World Health Organization. Paper presented at the international health conference, New York 1946. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 80 (12), 983–984. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/268688

World Health Organization [WHO], Department of Reproductive Health., & Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine., & South African Medical Research Council. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241564625/en/

Zucker, A. N., & Landry, L. J. (2007). Embodied discrimination: The relation of sexism and distress to women’s drinking and smoking behaviors. Sex Roles, 56 (3), 193–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9163-3

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Fiona Kate Barlow & Raine Vickers-Jones

LaTrobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Beatrice Alba

Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Emma Williamson

Australian College of Applied Psychology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Vicki Hutton

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

Susan Sisko

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Barlow, F.K., Vickers-Jones, R., Alba, B., Williamson, E., Hutton, V. (2021). Sexism. In: Hutton, V., Sisko, S. (eds) Multicultural Responsiveness in Counselling and Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55427-9_5

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55427-9_5

Published : 01 December 2020

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-55426-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-55427-9

eBook Packages : Behavioral Science and Psychology Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

“Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language” Analytical Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Summary of sexism in english: embodiment and language.

Alleen Pace Nilsen, in her book “Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language,” explains how the English language contributes to gender disparity. She is concerned with gender roles in society and believes that both men and women should be liberated from the divisions of social class and racism.

She claims that linguistic aspects contributed to the Afghanistan women being forbidden to attend school and also to seek for employment far from their homes. Moslem women were also required to wear the chanderi dress at all times. She sees this as slavery.

She is surprised that even alien women who visit these Moslem dominated countries are expected to abide by the laws governing the Moslem women. She further attributes the gender disparities that exist in many parts of the world to language aspects such as proverbs and other cultural beliefs held by a given community.

Allen Pace Nilsen sees the study of language as one of the factors which contribute to social problems. In an attempt to find out how language affects the social set up of a community, she concludes that language and the society conflict with each other. She attributes this conflict to the fact that societal values are intertwined with language. As a result, different societies have divergent views on some aspects of gender.

For example, some societies view women as sex objects whose role is majorly reproduction, whereas men are seen as the ones to seek for wealth in the family. The American culture, on the other hand, attaches a lot of value to the feminine beauty of the woman. A woman’s security and acceptance are usually determined by her body attractiveness. In this essay, as well as in all of her essays from the collection titled “Sexism and Language,” Alleen Pace Nilsen holds the view that the feminine eponyms identify a woman with her body, while the masculine eponyms are associated with a man’s achievements.

In the book, expresses dissatisfaction concerning the usage of certain English words. She is uncomfortable with the usage of the word ‘Amazon,’ which she finds derogatory to women. This is because of the meaning “without breast,” attached to it in the Greek language. The word is borrowed from the Greeks, and according to their mythology, women should sell their body parts such as breasts to perform men’s roles.

She views this as gender inequality. The author is also shocked by the language patterns used in literature, in particular, in a western trapper’s diary that was written in the early 18th century. In the trapper, the word ‘teats’ was used to refer to a female’s breasts. The meaning of the word is hills. The author notes with concern about how women’s body parts draw unnecessary attention.

She also suggests that language influences how the two sexes view weddings. The majority of women regard weddings as necessary and cherish the occasion more than men and carry the tag ‘bride’ long before and after the event. Men, on the other hand, do not put a lot of emphasis on weddings, and they are thus referred to as ‘groom.’ Moreover, Nilsen states that words that are referred to males bear positive connotations more often than those that are referred to females.

As is clear from the analysis essay on sexism in language, linguistic evidence suggests that men are more active than women. Concerning marriage, men are expected to be more actively involved in building up the family than women. A man is usually thought to have possessed a woman by marrying her. As a result, a woman identifies herself with the husband because she belongs to him. A man also plays an active role in marriage by breaking a woman’s virginity. The author also holds the view that only a few women achieve greater things in their lives alone without their husband’s support.

In her literary work, “Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language,” Nilsen notes that the English language affects the way men and women perceive things. An example is how women put more emphasis on weddings compared to men, who do not regard the occasion so much.

• America and Darfur Conflict Analysis
• The Al-Qaeda Training Manual
• Weddings Cost in the United Arab Emirates
• Language as a Symbol of Group Membership: Asserting the Right to Be Unique
• The Role of Media’s Influence
• Defamiliarization
• The Significance of Language: “Mother Tongue”
• Perceiving Culture Through the Language
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, June 1). “Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language”. https://ivypanda.com/essays/allen-pace-nilsen-sexism-in-english-embodiment-and-language/

"Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language." IvyPanda , 1 June 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/allen-pace-nilsen-sexism-in-english-embodiment-and-language/.

IvyPanda . (2018) '“Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language”'. 1 June.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language." June 1, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/allen-pace-nilsen-sexism-in-english-embodiment-and-language/.

1. IvyPanda . "Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language." June 1, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/allen-pace-nilsen-sexism-in-english-embodiment-and-language/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language." June 1, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/allen-pace-nilsen-sexism-in-english-embodiment-and-language/.

Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection

Introduction.

The present statement is an example of gender-based discrimination and prejudice among women. Sexism and gender discrimination in America have a long and complicated history. Scott (2017) states that “Historically, women were underrepresented in the workplace, athletics and academics” (para. 3). Today, women have earned the right to work alongside men in all types of positions, although they are still expected to value family and aspire to have children. Stay-at-home mothers, on the other hand, may face prejudice, as people overlook their contribution to society: raising children is considered to be a part-time duty and not hard work.

The causes of prejudice have been widely studied. Paluk (2016) explains that scientists consider prejudice to be a result of peer influence and perceived social or personal threats. In the present case, prejudice can be attributed to both influences. Peer influence shapes the view of single mothers as weak and dependent on social support services, disregarding the reasons for their situation and their efforts in raising children or searching for a job.

The perceived social threat, on the other hand, is that the taxpayer money will be spent on those who, from the accuser’s perspective, do not contribute to society and its development. The consequences of such prejudice can be very severe. Hearing such negative comments regularly can lead to depressive symptoms and anxiety. Moreover, if such views are widespread in society, they can lead to harassment and violence against stay-at-home mothers.

To resolve the proposed conflict, it is crucial to employ both theory and conversation (Paluk, 2016). For instance, it could be useful to explain the share of taxes that is attributed to the welfare of stay-at-home mothers or share the reasons why women want to stay on welfare instead of searching for a job. Secondly, the mediator could introduce the accuser to a stay-at-home mother and promote positive interaction between the two. Overall, by using an appropriate conflict resolution strategy, it is possible to decrease prejudice and avoid its negative consequences.

Paluk, E. L. (2016). How to overcome prejudice: A brief conversation can have a lasting effect on prejudice. Science Magazine, 352 (6282), 147.

Scott, S. (2017). The causes, effects & remedies for gender discrimination .

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2020, November 8). Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection. https://studycorgi.com/sexism-and-gender-culture-and-conflict-reflection/

"Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection." StudyCorgi , 8 Nov. 2020, studycorgi.com/sexism-and-gender-culture-and-conflict-reflection/.

StudyCorgi . (2020) 'Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection'. 8 November.

1. StudyCorgi . "Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection." November 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/sexism-and-gender-culture-and-conflict-reflection/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection." November 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/sexism-and-gender-culture-and-conflict-reflection/.

StudyCorgi . 2020. "Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection." November 8, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/sexism-and-gender-culture-and-conflict-reflection/.

This paper, “Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: January 20, 2021 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

rsrevision.com/gcse

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Religious Prejudice
• Forgiveness and Reconciliation
• Introduction

There are many examples of differences in perceived roles between men and women that have led to women being discriminated against:

• Men have normally held power. Most people live in societies controlled by male attitudes and values.When women were allowed to enter paid employment, many jobs were barred to them. Today, women do most of the world’s work, but get 10% of world income and own 2% of world property.
• Male terms are used - chairman, masterpiece, statesman, forefathers, God the Father.
• In 1918, women got the vote, but only women over 30 who had property, or been to university. In 1928 - women were allowed to vote as equals with men.
• Women have been stereotyped as suitable only as mothers, child-rearers and servants of men. In the past, women spent almost all their adult lives producing and looking after children. Education was limited. Very few jobs were available to them. They were expected to marry, give up jobs and look after husband / family. This changed after World War II; it was more acceptable for women to work.
• In the UK fewer than 1 in every 6 top people in universities is a woman. To be fair, 3 out of every 6 should be women.
• Only 1 out of every 10 top people in big companies is a woman.
• Church teaching
• Is Christianity sexist?
• Practical responses

Find out more

• TV and Film

Test yourself

• Games and Quizzes
• Exam questions