Hi All.
Discrimination is an interesting concept to explore, and it is a topic that I have explored a little bit in other posts I've made, but haven't addressed it at length. I find it to be fascinating mainly because of how the rules of discrimination work nowadays.
Now, what do I mean by this? I think that most people can agree with the basic premise that discrimination against someone's traits that they can't control is a bad thing to do. People shouldn't have to deal with discrimination, period. With that being said, I find it strange that a double standard exists when it comes to what is considered discrimination and what is not.
For example, saying that "I hate women" would be considered a sexist remark, because it is hating an entire group of people based on the preconceived notions in your head, or a small sample of a very large population.
But what about saying "I hate men"? Would that be considered a sexist remark too? In my view, of course, since that is also hating an entire group of people based on preconceived notions or a sample of a large population. But not for some.
I find it so interesting that both the above phrases will illicit different responses from people.
If you said the first phrase, that being "I hate women", this would not be accepted by society and rightfully so.
If you said the second phrase, that being "I hate men", this would have a lot less blow back, and many mainstream media sources have hosted people who have said this phrase or other derogatory comments towards men and they managed to keep their jobs and careers.
Hypocrisy at it's finest.
It's an interesting case of a blatant double standard, and while I'm not fuming about it, it does seem very unfair. Some forms of discrimination are absolutely not okay, while others are classified as 'not as bad' or even somewhat accepted in general society. It ironically sounds like a regressive idea, from the so called 'progressive side' that likes to preach tolerance of all different groups of people. What they really mean is 'tolerance of different groups of people that we deem oppressed'.
Also, for the idiotic argument that sexism against men doesn't exist, please understand that you are incorrect. You are basically claiming that because of the gender that someone is born with, they are unable to feel the experience of discrimination, which is actually an incredibly discriminatory thing to say.
The double standard doesn't just happen in terms of sexism either, it is also the case with racism as well, with people who are white being shamed for the colour of their skin and blamed for the actions of their ancestors. (I wrote a post about this very topic)
And to make things perfectly clear, I am fully aware that discrimination against men and whites is not the majority of discrimination cases. I am using those two things as an example because remarks against these identities is much less stigmatised in every day society and the media. I oppose all forms of discrimination, and I believe that all people should be treated as equals.
With all of that being said, I have a challenge for anyone who is reading this post right now.
The next time you see a post that makes a generalised statement about men, or people who are white, or any other group and you don't see a problem with it, ask yourself something.
If you switched the word 'men', or 'white', with the word 'women' or 'black', would you feel differently about that phrase?
If yes, then the phrase is discriminatory.