My Experience with Genderism and Sexism
Being a member of the dominant group for most of the “-isms,” it was not until I read Sensoy and DiAngelo’s chapter on sexism that I feel I finally understood personally their discussion of oppression and privilege. By reading the chapter on sexism, which placed me in the minority group, I think I was able to separate myself finally from the denial and defensive posture I experienced when reading Sensoy and DiAngelo’s (2017) chapters in racism. Although, I have always tried to be consistent in my interactions with others despite their likeness or differences from myself, I remain part of the dominant racial, socioeconomic, ability, etc. grouping. Aside from being a woman, I have not had to experience …show more content…
I think talking about domestic violence, unwanted advances, and fearing for our safety makes us paranoid, and it becomes something we do not want to discuss. Moreover, Sensoy and DiAngelo (2107) state that less than 10% of sexual harassment and rape cases are reported, which seems like such a low number because of movements that raise awareness for the plight of women. The problem is that for a lot of women sexual assault has become so normalized that we become oblivious to it and sometimes do not even realize that what happened to us previously with a man is considered as sexual assault or rape until late in our lives, until it is too late to report. In a lot of cases, I think things go unreported because women are not sure, particularly because the perpetrators are a significant other or someone close to them. At least for me it was.
I could go on to talk about sexism in my life and what it means to be a blonde woman in a society that has stereotypes us as being dumb and promiscuous, but I do not think that the major acts of sexism I have experienced has much to do with it, although I am sure it is a factor. The problem is that men expect certain things from women and do not understand where the line is between assault/abuse/rape and their actions. Even worse, I do not think women know either. As a society it is not something we talk about or educate our youth about, even if we talk about it more than we used