For most people sexism is a form of discrimination against someone with a different sexual orientation. Please note the word “discrimination”, as is key in identifying the real issue in regards to sexism.
When someone is discriminated it means that their “equal rights” are not treated, well, “equally”. Of Course one would also conclude that ‘your freedom ends where mine begins’ and many would argue ‘treat others as you would like to be treated’. These armchair sophisms echo quite eloquently in our ears but rarely leave the room where they are expressed.
We might like to believe that we embrace the “golden rule” as the pinnacle of healthy human relationships but we don’t. Whether we like it or not we are guided from rudimentary sexual drives (social and biological) that control our behaviour.
Defining the default
Sex is the sum of biological and social mechanisms upon which entertainment and biological functions can take place in order to ensure survival. Sex drive affects dramatically one’s perception, attitude and behavior since it resides alongside other basic functions such as that of breathing and eating.Attitudes towards sex are often conditioned from family, fashion and religion, thus they might surface in very strange and unexpected patterns across cultures. As a result we find ourselves trapped in situations of sexual competitions whether those deal with partnerships, entertainment or procreation.
Humans have been forming communal groups of two or more for more than 400.000 years. The fundamental biological competition that mainly incorporates the exchange of bodily fluids ensured not only procreation but also bonding. This is true for all other mammals as well. As social primates we are obligated by nature to bond and thereafter express our sexual drive. People with no sexual drive are either sick, dying or dead.
Controlling of one's sexual drive is subjective in nature. The reason is quite simple; sexual contact varies by culture, ethnicity and race. People perceive the world based on their own experiences. For example haptic (touch) perception is a fundamental variant to sexual drive but is largely subjective across individuals. It facilitates sexual mechanisms in our bodies that are often instinctual and beyond one’s control. Sometimes we don't even know we like some things. Verbal communication is also subjective under the same factors (culture, ethnicity and race) and follows a similar pattern.
One can easily get lost in the amount of factors that interact in our own bodies when it comes to sexual interactions. Trying to predict a sexual act of a random inhabitant of this planet is similar to gambling. One cannot simply know since the variants are incomprehensibly complex.
Enter Feminism
In western society one can conclude that someone is sexist, creepy or sexually harassing based on their conditioning for one particular instance. Same thing applies for all other societies that have been catered through the ages to perceive different behaviours one way or another. Snapshot instances for given situations do not assume histories or past events of individuals—and this is where sexism fails in almost all cases that is expressed. Based on what authority will one base their accusation about sexual discrimination?Feminism attempted to address sexism with objective means of discrimination but failed miserably. It tried to sell the idea of “gender equality” based on "human equality". Thing is, nothing is equal on this planet—not even the same person at different times of the day. “Gender equality” is a ridiculous assumption. Democratic opinions about anything, including sexism, do not apply unless someone agrees to the parameters specified.
The will of the many, no matter if something is true or not, cannot possibly dictate the actions of the individual.
An example would be our friend John who has a beauty business and chooses to hire sexy females that express his brand. He is clearly discriminating against males. Society itself will buy his products because society believes that women can present a product much better to both females and males. How can one possibly accuse John about sexist practises when his marketing gallop demonstrated that average looking people, prefer products that are being feautured by sexy women?
Can we accuse Bill against sexist practises when he hires only females for his day care center? Tens of thousands of years have sculpted females to be more caring to newborns rather than men. How about Tiffanny that hires only males for her furniture moving company? Males are naturally stronger. How about the bar down the street that has a ladies night event? Womanhood sells better to both males and females. Some things just are. Stereotypes will always exist. We cannot arbitrarily evaluate all things all the time and try to balance them. That is absurd.
Raaaaape!!!
People don’t rape people out of the blue. Contrary to Hollywood’s portrayal, a serial rapist will most likely look like a famous star with the flawless character and symmetrical face rather than the ugly-duckling creeper.The vast majority of rapes happen among people who know each other with the frequency increasing when it comes to close family and friends circles. In other words sexism in these cases involves acts of violence and competitive blame games. What is more astonishing is that in countries where supposedly are not sexist, sexism is reported more than ever. According to Amnesty International (2010):
The Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – are often singled out for praise when it comes to gender equality. The demands of women’s movements have paved the way for women’s participation in all sectors of society. The governments in these countries have long focused attention on equal opportunities for women and men in public life, work, education, political participation, representation and leadership. Even so, continuing violence against women is evidence of the unequal power relations between men and women that still prevail in all the Nordic countries.
Notice how countries with the highest standard of living, with less violence occurring in their societies that any other European country, still have occurrences of rape. The phenomenon exists for the same reason that all violent acts exist. Sexism or harassment have nothing to do with rape and the two should not be linked. The violence that often accompanies accusations of sexism stems from a rather modern invention; marriage.
Sex is just one form of natural discrimination that happens in both sexes either way. In the same way tall people get more executive positions and beautiful people earn more. Whether we like it or not everything around us works on supply and demand. This is how the world is. If everything was equally treated the world cease to exist. Why bother exchanging or doing anything when everyone and everything is the same?
Either We Like It Or Not
One could even argue that sexism is non-existent because all healthy individuals have to be sexist in order for them to procreate. Elements of attraction, passion and infatuation do not occur a-priori but as a result of the competitive enterprise of sex. Potential mates fight mentally, physically or both. They also assume antagonistic attitudes in work, home or social circles, evaluating their potential mates constantly.Males and females are tremendously different in both mind and body. Nature made us this way in order to ensure survival. If it wanted us equal it wouldn’t have created the function of sex. If by some magical means male and females were the same, then there wouldn’t be any sexual attraction and our species would die out. We have to be sexists if we want to procreate. We have to discriminate between our societal functions because we are more efficient when dividing labour and attitudes. Just because Tim is good at math and Mary is good in communications it doesn’t mean that they are discriminated in their opposite fields. This is simply how things are. Matt Ridley demonstrated this from an evolutionary perspective quite eloquently. You can watch the video here. Stereotypes will always exist one way or another.
We act the way we do because we have been conditioned to do so. Same thing applies to being left or right wing. Nurture overwhelms nature and this is evident from the vastness of sexual habits and practises across human cultures and histories. We do have a default auto-pilot (a basic driver format with some boot script) but from there on everything is about what we learn. Acting discriminative does not translate as “sexism”. We like some books instead of others. We chose our partner because of their value in respect to others. We are all sexists because we are all unique individuals.
