March 28, 2012 Sexism

As a female, sexism can be a very difficult topic to think about and face on a daily basis. Like every other social justice issue that we have discussed, we like to think that as a society we have come a long way, but even still the issue of sexism still exists. Women face this issue everyday in the workplace, school, grocery stores, etc. There's no escape to it. For example, this past weekend I went with my fiance to buy paint at Home Depot (which btw was my fiance's idea, not mine) and the older man who checked us out said, "Alright buddy, now you can grab some Bud Light, kick back and watch her do her thing." When he said that I was instantly uncomfortable because I felt like he said that because I was wearing shorts? Then I thought about it some more as we were leaving and I thought that maybe he meant it as painting and decorating is a woman's thing. Which btw is so stereotypical and sexist because my fiance enjoys painting and decorating more than I do. It has nothing to do with being a woman or a man. That's just stupid...I'm not sure what he exactly meant but either way it was sexist. I feel as though sexism is similar to racism because even though things have gotten somewhat better and we would like to think that it doesn't exist, the truth is that it still does. How is sexism not around if women are earning only 77 cents to every dollar that a man earns? I found an interesting article from Time magazine that talks about this issue : http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html

Last semester I also took a class called Sociology of Gender with Dr. Christine Williams. I normally don't plug classes because I hardly ever really enjoy them, but this class was definitely worthwhile. As a female it was an awesome and interesting class that taught me things about sexism and gender issues that society trys to ignore and pretend like they aren't there. It's very eye opening once you start looking into sexism. For women it's actually quite scary and frustrating.

Although it's easy to think that sexism is only about women issues and oppression of women, we shouldn't forget that even men can face this issue. Adams talked about the different aspects of sexism that's not only about women, which I found interesting. I know when I hear the word sexism, I automatically think of women, but we're not the only ones who face this issue.

Like every other issue that we discuss in social justice, I feel like the only way to put an end to this is for us to take a stand. Men and women everywhere have a voice that can be heard. Also, one small way to make a difference is to acknowledge comments that you find offensive. For example, if I could go back I would have asked that man at Home Depot, "What exactly do you mean by that statement?" Once he clarified the meaning then I could have let him know that I didn't appreciate his comment and that he shouldn't say things like that. That way he might be more hesitant to say it to the next female. Just a thought.

Here are some images I found interesting this week:

Classism/Racism

Sexism