In honor of Women's History Month I've got a question for you. During the 2008 Presidential election Audio Girl stood firm in her belief that sexism is more prevalent than racism in our society because we don't notice it. We assume that treating women in one way or another is just the way things are not an example of a deep seated agreement that women are less than men. Is it better than it used to be? Well, sure, I've watched as much Mad Men as the rest of you. That doesn't make it good, though.
I'm inclined to move over to Audio Girl's camp on this one. We have an African American president, not a female one.
What say you?
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
It's A Girl Thing
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I was just thinking about this this morning: a woman who goes to a bar alone is desperate...or a slut...or any manner of things other than a woman who wants a beer.
ReplyDeleteMs. Jenkins is going to the bar.
As an immigrant man, it is obvious that sexism is much more prevalent here than racism, although racist violence is sometimes more easily condoned than sexist violence. Sexism is almost atavistically natural to men, whereas racism, I think, is learned. No woman should ever forget that men ascribe to them a lower status, especially the men that are not secure about their own status among other men.
ReplyDeletedang. i dont even know what the hell atavistically means. i'ma go look that one up!
ReplyDeleteBoth are horrible. Sexism is definitely learned, just as racism is. I'd say that sexist violence is much more condoned and prevalent, however.
ReplyDeleteNPR has been doing a lot of stories lately on campus rape. There was a story about a woman who walked home from a night of drinking, but was so drunk that she was having trouble getting her door open. A male neighbor in her dorm building came to help her get her door open - then raped her. The police refused to prosecute, despite the fact that almost, if not all, states have laws that state that if a person is that drunk, they are unable to consent to sex, therefore, any sex they have is rape. A neighbor of this woman also said that the same man had entered her apartment uninvited on two occasions and tried to rape her, but she was able to fight him off both times. The college the woman was attending also didn't do anything.
Serious issues aren't taken seriously, and less horrific issues are blown off...
Something to think about...and I tend to agree with you and Audio Girl. Now if we had an African American woman as president, THAT'D be something. Or a Latino woman, or, or...
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we even have to discuss it shows it's an issue.
I may not have spelled atavistically correctly, but it means that which has been acquired over time since we were neanderthals. As to the violence, I should have explained that I thought that racist violence is sometimes tolerated even by the victims themselves, whereas sexist violence is usually condemned, although I agree that it is often woefully unprossecuted, (because the administrators of the law are often sexist and also men).
ReplyDeleteI long wondered who would be President first- a woman or a black man. Now we have our answer.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see so many other countries that have female leaders, and we still seem so far away from that milestone.