It exists everywhere, in our language, in our standards, in our media and in the way it is deeply ingrained in our minds. Misogyny goes unseen, so it is everyone’s job to unlearn the sexist mindset they have adapted. Many people may not notice how we always use words such as “bro,” “dude” or “man” regardless of our gender, yet we refuse to use the female versions of these words. We tend to male-default whenever we are faced with an unknown gender, referring to a random driver on the street or animal we see as “he.” Women are always seen as the secondary gender.
This becomes a bigger problem when we center around and solely accept male perspectives. Most of the music we enjoy is just men degrading women and many of our favorite artists never fail to joyously objectify women. If you have ever heard the song “P Power” by Gunna featuring Drake, you were probably taken aback by the intense intro and casual reduction of women to their bodies. This is what is taught to young boys and girls. Do we just casually normalize hating women?
Even in relationships, we associate dominant words with men, such as, “stronger,” ”initiative,” ”taller” and ”the provider”. These ideas are unfortunately the societal reinforcers that strip women of their rights and force them into feeling smaller and weaker. Female genitalia is used to describe someone as a coward, yet a person with bravery is told they “have balls.” Married women are distinguished with “mrs.” while men remain “mr.” because of the idea that women must belong to someone. They are also expected to give up their last name or their “virginity” because the man claims her. Men can even proudly expose their bodies without being shamed, but we expect women to cover up, otherwise they are “attention-seeking.” Society has completely disregarded women as real people.
Female irrelevance strikes me as obvious in the media, where the women in shows and movies are sexualized and used as decoration or a love interest, while the men are seen in action and play the heroes. Beauty is the only thing we ever notice in a woman, some common examples being during speeches or at award shows. So the next time you see a respectable woman, instead of commenting about her makeup, hair or body, learn to admire what a woman can do, whether it be her strength, intelligence or attitude.
It is a man’s responsibility to learn about the way that sexism is engrained in society. Men need friends who are women to be exposed to their perspective and value them as real humans. If you are a man, it is your job to call out your friends when they make sexist “jokes” and remarks. Parents, instead of teaching your daughter to be safe, teach your son to respect women. Girls and women should never be afraid to vocalize this issue to fight against oppression.
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