Effects of Sexism on Women (Research Paper Sample)

Effects of Sexism on Women
Name
Institution
Effects of Sexism on Women
Sexism is the discrimination of people based on their gender or sex. It is especially so because of the traditional stereotypes and beliefs that one sex is superior to the other. It is mostly the discrimination against women, as women are regarded as intellectually, psychologically, and physically inferior to men. There are two broad categories of sexism. Hostile sexism is the antagonistic treatment of women, while benevolent sexism is the positive form of sexism that suggests that women are generally weak and require the protection and support of men.
Sexism takes many different forms such as occupational sexism whereby women are denied equal opportunities as men at the work place or are paid lower wages and salaries than men despite holding similar positions. The vice has been practised since time immemorial, right from the times of the Biblical Moses, who was asked by the Lord to value a female servant at three-fifths the value of the male-servants (Leunig, 2012). Kanter’s tokenism theory suggests that women working in contexts dominated by men experience difficulties in gaining access to high status positions (King & Botsford et al., 2012). Other forms of sexism include arranged marriages whereby women are forced into early marriages, thereby denying them opportunities such as education and employment, objectification whereby men view women as objects of ownership, and tools to satisfy their own needs, especially sexual gratification. This form of sexism is mainly practised in advertisements and pornography. Domestic violence may take the form of verbal, psychological, and physical abuse, and it is allowed in some parts of the world, especially in the UAE where a man is allowed to physically discipline his family, that is the wife and children, provided he does not leave any physical marks. In education, women have traditionally been denied access to a good education as compared to men.
Women, just like men, are important members of the society. Their input is required in order to make a good society. Giving them equal workplace opportunities and pay as men would enhance their contribution towards the economic development of the society. Equal rights in the political front would ensure passing of laws and legislation that is not discriminative against them. Equal education rights as men would help in enlightening women on their rights and their capability to fight against the vice. As such, sexism is a societal problem, as it affects the whole society.
Sociology is a branch of science that focusses on the social actions, structure, and functions of humans. Sociologists use critical analysis and empirical investigations to come up with knowledge on the social behaviour of humans. Sociological imagination is the ability to relate sociology to the real life experiences of the society. In studying sexism, sociology and sociological imagination are very important (Stolley, 2005). While sociology will undertake to explore the discrimination based on gender, sociological imagination will undertake to relate this discrimination to the day-to-day life of human beings.
This paper seeks to examine sexism in the society. It seeks to answer the research question "what are the effects of sexism on women in the society?”
Literature review
Burgess (2013) noted that both hostile and benevolent sexism had negative effects on women. Women experienced equivalent or more anger and disgust in response to benevolent sexism as compared to hostile sexism. However, Burgess noted that the hostile sexism had more visible and bigger impacts on women than the benevolent form. Burgess suggested various ways of measuring the effect of sexism on women. The cardiovascular responses would measure the response of individuals to stress, in this case sexism. The cardiovascular and emotional reactivity of women under harassment were measured in a series of experiments. In one of the experiments, the men made sexist comments and assumed the control of shared tasks from the women. In other experiment, the men and the women worked with equality to complete tasks. In a third experiment, the women assumed control of the tasks. In the first experiment, women showed greater cardiovascular reactivity, which is greater increases in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and cardiac contractibility during the task, meaning that they experienced more stress during the experiment.
Glick (2013) examined how benevolent sexism undermines women. He found out that benevolent sexism rewarded women who conformed to stereotypes and roles that served men’s needs, while hostile sexism sought to punish women who challenged men’s dominance. Glick suggested that since benevolent sexism was founded on traditional stereotypes, it served to justify hostile sexism as men sought to affirm their traditional powers and privileges by way of punishment to women opposed to these powers and privileges. Glick also suggested that benevolent sexism undermined women’s performance at the work place. From outside the work place, women were denied equal employment opportunities than men, and from inside the work environment, doubt was cast on the performance of women, thereby limiting their chances to perform as their male counterparts. However, Glick noted that hostile sexism would motivate women to perform better at work doe to the desire to prove oneself.
Certain arguments are key in both Burgess’ and Glick’s work. For one, both agree that sexism, whether hostile or benevolent, has negative effects on women. In Burgess’s work, hostile sexism is seen to have the most adverse effects on women, while Glick suggests that benevolent sexism has more effects than benevolent sexism, and that benevolence is the major form of sexism.
Data and methods
Burgess used data collected from 124 female undergraduate students from the University of South Florida; all aged between 18 and twenty-six. The sample consisted of 50% Caucasian women 50% of women from the other races, all of whom had no cardiovascular disease and were mostly non-smokers. Real test were conducted on these women and included their attitudes and perceptions of sexism, which was conducted using an online survey, and their background health status, which was conducted by use of questionnaires. The participants were then taken through a series of lab tests. Data collected was analysed by means of technologically aided techniques. As for Glick, he analysed research work by other researchers to come up with his suggestions. As such, Burgess’ work is stronger than that of Glick as she interacts with the real sample whereas Glick relies on other people work, as there is a possibility that the other people overlooked some important issues to do with the subject. However, one weakness with Burgess’ work is that the study depended on self-reporting, and the women might have given information to make them more discriminated against.
Theory
There are many effects of sexism on women. These effects are best viewed through the conflict theory of sociology. The contemporary conflict branch of this theory stipulates that social structure is based on the dominance of some groups over others and that the groups in a society share common interests (Chafetz, 1999). Women as well as men share common interests, but due to sexism, men dominate over women in bid to acquire more of the common interests than the women do. Women are denied the rights to education, as men view enlightened women as being a threat to their dominance. They are also denied the right to political participation, and the equal employment opportunities and equal pay for similar positions as men. denying women a chance to education makes them unable to compete for employment opportunities with men. Lack of employment leads women to vices such as prostitution and pornography, as they need to survive.
Functionalism paradigm of sociology suggests that the society is made up of interdependent parts, each of which participates to the functioning of the whole society (Chafetz, 1999). This paradigm would not fit when it comes to the case of sexism as it proposes equality among the different parts of the society. The paradigm suggests the presence of a social control and stability, which would get the society back to a state of equilibrium in case of disruptions. Equilibrium would only be achieved if there were equality among the parts of the society, which is evidently absent in sexism, as one gender seeks to dominate the other.
Symbolic interaction seeks to explain social interaction as a dynamic process whereby people m...