Present-day Sexism: Bold, Subtle, And Covert Discrimination

In the Philippines, where catcalling is a day-to-day occurrence, and where politicians still believe it’s

justifiable to make misogynistic jokes, sexism seems to be a norm that Filipinas still have to face. Regardless of

being labeled as one of the most gender-equal countries in the world, there is still a lot to be done in eliminating

socialized gender roles in the Philippines. Individuals have shown that every day this is a very genuine and severe

problem, affecting the lives of women, often daily, from people of all ages and nationalities. We all have a tipping

point. It was just another week of my life: The guy who approached me at night asking for directions, and even if

I replied already, didn't stop following me and urging me to accompany him there. I began for the first time to

think about how many of these little occurrences I was tolerating from day-to-day. Ladies, wouldn't you want to

be able to walk around comfortably without the fear of being harassed, and wouldn't you want to be treated fairly

and with respect like they do with men? Today, I’m going to discuss sexism and how it can be observed in terms

of language, in the workplace, and the media. I will also talk about the problems that arise from it, persuade you

on how much better and safer the world would be without sexism, and what you can do to help eliminate it.

First, what is sexism? For those of you who don’t know, sexism is stereotyping, prejudice, or

discrimination, generally against women, based on sex. Language is one of the most dominant means in which

sexism is continued and reproduced. The content of gender stereotypes, in which women should be nice, caring,

and generous while men should be efficient, agentic, and assertive, is shown in the lexical choices of daily

communication. Sexist practices show a constant reality of gender bias with men as the norm proved by the

generic use of male terms to name all human beings, and women as a deviation from this male norm. Sexism can

be displayed in language with negative gender-oriented implications, such as condescension. For instance, one

may refer to a female as a girl rather than a woman, suggesting that they are subordinate or not mature. But, these

have the negative consequences of making women disappear in mental representations.

With language having these negative consequences, it affects how women are portrayed in the media.

Sexual objectification happens when a woman’s body or sexual functions are separated from her whole being and
used as objects just to be desired, or touched. Women’s confidence often drops in the pre-teen years as they start

to base their perceptions of self-worth more heavily on appearance and weight. They are constantly surrounded by

models of female beauty that are unrealistic and unattainable. Provocative images of women’s partly clothed or

bare bodies are prevalent in advertising. Another problem is that sex workers are often seen as existing only to

attend clients, thus calling their sense of agency into question. There is a popular notion that because they sell sex

professionally, they automatically agree to all sexual contact. As a result, sex workers face higher incidences of

violence and sexual assault which is often disregarded and not taken seriously by authorities.

Sexism in media portrayals is linked with sexism in the workplace. When women are depicted to stay in

the home and be housewives, it plants this idea in people's heads that women are incapable of working. Women

find it harder to look for a job compared to men. Women are expected to be assisting out in their homes or their

families’ businesses while men are working. A tenacious set of socio-economic obstacles blocks women who

want to be in paid employment out of the workforce. Women still shoulder the brunt of this often unseen and

undervalued workload, and with the gender wage gap, it harms women by suppressing their wages and making it

tougher to balance work and family. What people call women’s jobs, such as home wellness aides and child care

workers, tend to give lower pay and fewer perks than so-called men’s jobs, such as works in trades like building

and construction. The lack of safe and convenient transportation in both advancing and arising countries is the

most challenging part for the small portion of women who report being affected by this. Frequently, women face

the risk of enduring harassment or sexual assault in their lives.

The truth is that if we do nothing, it will take years for women to be treated the same. It will take years

before women can expect to be paid the same as men. The media will continue to objectify women, which will

result in the younger generation thinking that this is normal, that this is how women should be seen and treated,

that degrading words and misogynistic jokes are acceptable.

 Never be comfortable to sit back and watch as others' liberty is disrespected and abused. You could be

next. Step forward, be seen, and be heard, our voices are most powerful when we raise them together. If you don't

stand up against sexism, who will? If you don't take a step now, when?