Definition of

Sexism

Woman cleaning

Considering that cleaning tasks should be carried out by women is a sign of sexism.

Sexism is the discrimination that is exercised against an individual because of their sex . This means that the person is discriminated against in a certain area since it is considered that their sex, due to their characteristics, is inferior to the other.

Sexism, therefore, is discrimination based on sex or gender . The term also refers to the prejudices and stereotypes that weigh on women or men due to the conditions attributed to each sex.

Sexism, hate and prejudice

It is important to establish that, in addition to everything stated above, there is another series of issues, prejudices or beliefs that, to a greater or lesser extent, may also be related to the aforementioned sexism. We are referring to the following:

-What is misogyny and misoandry, the hatred of women and men respectively.

-The clear belief that one sex, the male, is superior to the other, the female.

-Disqualification, ridicule or clear contempt towards the behavior of one sex or another.

Typically, sexism is applied to the detriment of women . In many contexts, women are diminished compared to men simply because they are women, causing acts of injustice.

Employment discrimination against women

Suppose that, in a company , a vacancy arises in a management position . The owner of the company, faced with a man and a woman who have the same skills, chooses the man since he considers that women do not have leadership capacity because they are weak and too sensitive. The businessman, in this way, will have demonstrated his sexism.

In the same way, there are professions in which women still do not have much room, fundamentally because it is considered that due to their biological and physical conditions they cannot perform them in the same way as men. We are referring to the field of construction or bullfighting, for example.

Sexism

Sexism can be a first step towards machismo and lead to violence.

Other examples of sexism

Considering that household chores (such as cooking or washing clothes) should be done by women or that women drive worse than men are other examples of sexism. The same thing happens when women are objectified and considered a sexual object due to their female condition.

Men, for their part, are often victims of sexism when judging a person's ability to care for and raise children . Generally, it is preferred that a woman take care of the boys, relegating the man to that role .

The notion in the cinema

Since the 20th century, numerous tools have been used to show a clear position against sexism and to make society aware of its existence. For this reason, among many other things, it should be noted that there are numerous films that address this, in one way or another, as would be the case, for example, of "Billy Elliot", "I Want to Be Like Beckham", "The Smile". of Mona Lisa»…

On many occasions, the terms sexism and machismo are often used synonymously. However, experts establish that this is a mistake. Specifically, they make it clear that machismo is basically an attitude of arrogance on the part of men towards women while sexism fundamentally establishes contempt for a sex for what are biological conditions and "traditions."