The Use of Force

Louis Scott

Fresh. Comp

10-25-06

Sexism In America:

A Common Prejudice

Whether you agree or disagree it’s a harsh reality that our society falls

victim to the most wide spread prejudices; that has existed just as long if not longer

than racial prejudice; each and everyday. This prejudice is sexism. Sexism is one of

the most difficult bias’ to avoid, because of the early role men played in society and

it’s natural to favor or sex rather than your counterpart before actually getting to

know them. Many people are encounter sexism without really knowing it, because it

is rarely taken into consideration and nothing has to be said or done to an individual

to be the object of sexism

Sexism is a form of essentialism, that implies that people can be

understood and judged based on their sex. It is commonly considered to be

discrimination and/or hatred against people based on their sex rather than their

individual merits, but can also refer to any and all systemic differentiations based

on the sex of the individual (Wikipedia encyclopedia). Subtle, blatant, covert are the

forms of sexism commonly encountered (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999).

Blatant sexism is unequal and unfair treatment of women other than men,

covert sexism is defined as unequal and unfair treatment of women that is hidden

from view. Both blatant and covert sexism are intended, but only covert sexism is

hidden. When comparing these two forms, subtle sexism represents unequal and

unfair treatment of women that is not recognized by many people because it is

perceived to be normative, and therefore does not appear unusual. Like covert

sexism, subtle sexism is hidden but unlike covert sexism, subtle sexism is not

intentionally harmful. Subtle sexism is particularly interesting from both theoretical

and practical perspectives because it may be quite popular (Benokraitis