Sexism in Our Society, Research Paper Example

Women “should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”  This declaration was made by Toronto constable Michael Sanguinetti.  Mr. Sanguinetti made this statement to a group of students during a safety class.  Unfortunately, Sanguinetti is not alone in his view.  This is a view that says women are somehow the cause of their own attacks.  The attitude behind this point of view is one that stems from a society steeped in misogyny which leads to sexism.  While we have come a long way, sexism still exists in many different areas of our society, and is inevitably not only destructive to those who become victims of it, but to society as a whole.

In the dictionary sexism is defined as “the belief that one sex (usually the male) is naturally superior to the other and should dominate most important areas of political, economic, and social life.” (Dictionary.com)  Sexism ultimately stems from the idea of believing one sex is superior to the other.  Typically, it is the idea that men find themselves smarter, stronger, and more powerful in all aspects, than women.  Throughout history when one group of people have believed themselves to be of better quality than another group of people the results have not been good.  The same is true for sexism.  This type of attitude has lead to violence against women and young girls, the exclusion of women in making important political and social decisions, and even caused some women and girls to turn the tables and direct sexist attitudes other women and girls.

Sexism has been around since the beginning of time.  It was not until the middle of the nineteenth century, that here in the United States,that women begin to demand their rights as full citizens.  In 1848 a group of women and some men gathered in Seneca Falls and declared “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal.” (PBS Online)Finally, in 1920, under the Nineteenth Amendment women in the U.S. received the right to vote (though not black women).  While women received the right to vote in the nineteenth century, women are still fighting against those same misogynist attitudes that existed before women had the right to vote.  Over the past three decades there have been many cases that have brought the issues of sexism to the forefront.  One of the most popular instances was the accusation of Anita Hill in 1991 of Supreme Court Justice Nominee, Clarence Thomas, of sexual harassment.  During the 1990s sexist attitudes in the workplace and media have been highlighted and challenged, though are still a problem.

The assertion that sexism exists in politics has long been around.  Until recently there had not been any serious female candidates for President or Vice President.  This changed in 2008 when Sarah Palin became the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.  She went from little known governor of Alaska to a nationally recognized political figure.  In 2009 Newsweek Magazine placed a photo of Sarah Palin on its cover.  This would not have been such a big deal if Mrs. Palin had not been in running shorts in the photo.  Palin claimed that this photo was sexist, as no male candidate had ever been on the cover of Newsweek being portrayed as “sexy” in the way that she had.

Within the last few weeks the same claim has been laid against Newsweek Magazine, once again, for a photo of a female Republican Presidential candidate, Michele Bachman.  On the cover Bachman is shown in an unflattering photo in which the caption reads “Queen of Rage.” Again, comparing this to the Sarah Palin issue of Newsweek, these are two women who are or were serious candidates for high political offices.  However, this magazine has reduced them to the stereotypical “sexy” or “bitchy” female.  Despite, what you may think of these women’s political beliefs they have been portrayed unfairly and in a sexist manner in some news outlets.

Another arena in which sexism plays itself out is that of television, media, and advertisement.  Men by far dominate the higher ranks of the television industry and this fact shows in the programming that is placed on television.  Recently, Roseanne Barr commented on the success of the show Two and a Half Men “it seems viewers now prefer their comedy dumb and sexist. Charlie Sheen was the world’s most famous john, and a sitcom was written around him. That just says it all.” (Harrell p.1)  Roseanne is referring to Charlie Sheen’s (former main character of Two and a Half Men) history of soliciting women for prostitution, abusing his former wife, and drug use.  The issue being brought up here is that men can often have relationships with multiple women and even solicit prostitutes and this can become a boon to their career in the television industry.  However, if a woman does this she is often seemed as promiscuous and called names

Sexism even has a special tendency to show up in advertisements.  Women are often shown as sexy props to advertise cars, alcohol, and various other products.  The most current controversial advertisement campaign was by the California Milk Processor Board.  In an attempt to get across the fact that, more calcium in a woman’s diet can diminish pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), the Board created an ad campaign that was deemed by the public as sexist.  “The $1.2 million campaign, which includes print ads featuring distressed, guilty-looking men with taglines such as “I’m sorry I listened to what you said, not what you meant.” (Casserly p.1)  This campaign is obviously playing up the perception that women turn into raging hormonal cranks as a result of PMS.  The add plays up the belief about women being completely irrational and unreasonable.

As a result of the sexism in the mainstream media, it has now become a problem in younger generation of our society.  The issue of bullying has been in the news recently, because unfortunately some teenagers have taken their lives as a result.  Phoebe Prince was a fifteen years old girl who did just this, because she was harassed for being a “slut” and dating older boys at her high school.  Strangely enough, Phoebe was not mostly harassed by the male students at her school. She was tormented relentlessly by many of the female students.  It appears that many of the sexist attitudes that play out in the media, news, and on television are affecting they way young girls interact with one another.

While issues of sexism still exist in society the good news is that, just as during the days of the Suffragettes, women and some men are pushing back against the status quo.  The milk ads that were aired by the California Milk Processor Board, were pulled early because they were deemed offensive by many women who made their voices heard.  In response to constable Michael Sanguinetti statement to the group of students, a movement known as SlutWalkcome about.SlutWalk has organized over 50 walks all in both Canada and the United States to galvanize women and the public in general about victims of sexual violence and how the blame is squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrator- not the victim.  In order to keep making headway in the direction of elimination of sexism women need to continue making their voices heard when they deem something as sexists.  Also, both young men and women need to be taught how to question the content of the advertisements they see.  Once people in general and the new generation begin to question and analyze advertisements and begin to demand more from the companies who make these advertisements, televisions shows, and other media outlets, will things start to change.

To conclude, sexism is still a prevalent problem in our society today.  Women have always had to struggle against the idea that they are the weaker lesser sex.  Though, we have come a long way, there are still many things that need to be addressed.  People in positions of power, whether in politics, business, or media need to make sure that the messages they are putting out are not offensive to any specific group of people, let alone women.  Men, women, and the youth need to learn to be critical of the advertisements they see.  If women do not continue to speak out and make their voices heard, instances such as the milk campaign and Anita Hill will continue to happen and young girls will continue to believe it is OK to call other girls sluts with dire consequences, as with the case of Phoebe Prince.

References

Battle for Suffrage, 1848-1920. PBS Online/WGBH. 1999.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande09.html

Casserly, M. PMS, The California Milk Board and Commercial Sexism. 13 July 2011, Forbes.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/07/13/pms-sexism-criticism-got-milk/

Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexism

Gibson, M.  Will SlutWalks Change the Meaning of the Word Slut? 12 August 2011, Time.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2088234,00.html#ixzz1V1NimO3H

Haberman, M. Sarah Palin: Michele Bachmann catfight ‘ridiculous, sexist.’12 August 2011.

Politico.  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61219.html#ixzz1VPpSkvGH

Harrell, E. Roseanne Barr Rails Against ‘Staggering Sexism’ in TV Industry. 18 May 2011.