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SalvadorXe
Ms.Sroka
Writing
January21,2016
Sexism.
Menaretaughttoapologizefortheirweaknesses,womenfortheirstrengths.
Lois
Wyse.Intodaysworld,weallhavedifferentthoughtsaboutoneanother.Weallseeourselves
differentlyfromthosewesharethisgroundwith.OnthisEarth,thereareonlytwotypesof
peoplemenandwomen.Yet,wedecidetosetboundariesbetweengendersandtreatthemlike
theyarentthesameaseveryotherpersononthisplanet.Weareallhuman.Ourworldsuffersof
genderinequality,alsoreferredtoasSexism,inmanywaysofeverydaylife.Thosewhofaceit,
knowofit.Thosewhoshowit,dont.Bothmenandwomenareattackedbytheegohungryand
powerdrivensocietywehavecreated.Theseattacksaregettingworseandworsebytheminute,
creatingthisimaginarygapbetweenbothgenderswhichsoonenoughwillgofromimaginaryto
reality.Sexismisthebiggestissueourworldfacestodaybecauseitleavesourworldonan
unbalancedseesawbetweenthemaleandfemale,causingheapsofattacksthatleavemanyofus
emotionallybrokenandsometimesphysicallyinjured.Butwithacoupleofchangestoour
mindset,wecanbalanceouttheseesaw.IcallthistheGominoEffect.
WeallpushthewordofSexismasideasifitbringsnomeaningtothepublicwhenitis
spokenabout.Butthiswordthatwechoosetoignorehasrisen,moreterrifyinglythanever,
hauntingoursocietyandturningmenandwomenagainstoneanother.Sexism,alsoknownas
genderdiscrimination,referstoprejudiceordiscriminationbasedonsexand/orgender,aswell

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asconditionsorattitudesthatfosterstereotypesofsocialrolesbasedongender.(Gender
Discrimination).Thepeopleinoursocietyfeeltheneedtosetthemselvesonapedestalandlook
downuponothergenderswhetherthatbemenabovewomenorwomenabovemen.Wecreate
thesestereotypesbasedonwherewethinkeachgendershouldstand.Womenstayinthekitchen
makingsandwicheswhilemenarehardatworkearningallthecashforthehousehold.Society
saidthisonce.Nowsocietylikestobelievethisistheruleweshouldallliveunder.However,as
wecanseefromtheworkingclasswomenwhoownindustriesandfightonthefrontlinesforour
country,thisstatementiscompletelyfalse.Yetwehaveothergendersfightingtokeepthese
sortsofstatementstrueandkeepeachgenderintheirdesignatedspotoftheworld.Butthese
wordsweconsidersimpleandjustwordscantakeaterribletollonpeopleofournationbeing
theU.S.
Womenareconsideredtobethemostaffectedbythecruelactsofsexismasshoutedby
themediawhichtheyhavethecompleterightto.Womeninplacesalloverthecountrybattle
againstsexistcommunitiesandsocieties.Butwhatdoessexismdotothesefemales?Well,the
effectsofsexismarenotverypretty.Inmoreplacesthanonegenderbasedviolencecanalso
contributetodepressionandsuicidalbehavior,.Asstatedearlier,peopletreatothersdifferently
justbecauseoftheirgender.Yet,thosepeopleneverstoptothinkwhattheiractionscanleadto.
IncountrieslikeElSalvador,teenpregnancy(oftentheresultofbeingthevictimofrapeor
incest)isconsideredoneoftheleadingcausesofsuicide,.Incaseyoudidntknow,rapeisa
oneofthemanyformsofsexism.Menareabusingwomenagainsttheirwillandobjectifying
themtoobjectsofsexnotashumanbeings.(Sexism)

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Duetothefactthatwomenhavesexualaspectsthatamajorityofmendesire,theyfeel
thatitisrighttoclaimwomen,rapethem,andnotworryaboutthepossibleoutcomesoftheir
actions.Buthowdoesraperelatebacktosexism?Well,viewingawomenasjustasextoy
ratherthananythingelseisahugeplayinthebookofbeingsexist.Womendontwanttojustbe
thingsmenplayaroundwith.Womenwanttobestronger,andmoresuccessful.Butbecauseof
thesesexistactssuchasrapes,theymayneverseetheirgoalortheymayneverseeanything
again.Sexismiscausingahugespikeinsuicides.Alltheviolencethesewomenfaceandfight
againstcanreallyhaveanimpactontheirthinking.Whenyougetabused,hurt,mentallyand
physicallydestroyed,howwouldyoueverwanttothinkpositivelyaboutlife?Thatsexactly
howfemalesfeelunderthepalmofsexism.Thesethoughtsleadthemintothepathof
depression.Nowalldepressedandswimminginariverofsorrows,theycantlivelifehappily.
Theydontwanttolivelifehappily.Theydontwanttolive.Theyarefinallymetwiththeir
handmadecoffinalsoknownassuicide.Sexismmakesfemaleswanttoridoftheirexistence.
Sexismactuallydoeshurtwomen.
Butwomenarenottheonlyonesburningundersexismsinferno.Menalsodealwith
thesesocialstereotypesonadaytodaybasis.Althoughthemediadoesntreallygointothemen
whofightagainstsexism,itsthereforthemnonetheless.Manyoftimes,duringadivorce,the
divorceisheavilysidedagainstmenincountriesliketheUSAmenareexpectedtoprovide
financialsupportfortheirwivesandwomentoprovideemotionalsupportfortheirhusbands,and
afterdivorceexhusbandsareexpectedtocontinuetheirfinancialsupportinsomewaywhile
exwivescontinuingtheiremotionalsupportafterdivorceisunheardof,.Whenacouplegets
divorced,wealwaysseethemenbeingthecauseofthedivorce.Thenafterbeingtheproclaimed

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causeofthedivorce,menarestuckcontinuingtopayforthefinancialsupportfortheirexwife.
Intodaysworld,weseethisasthenorm.Butwhathappenswhenthewomenarethereasonfor
thedivorceandtheygetstuckpayingforfinancialaid?Thisscenariojustdoesntseemright.
Well,thisisjustanotherformofsexism.Thereisnoequivalentofanythingthatamancanlie
aboutawomanthatcanruinherlife,reputation,andcareerasdramaticallyasawoman'sfalse
cryofabuseorrape,.Mencontinuouslydealwiththesestrugglesthatjustseemnormaltous.
Oursocietyhascreatedthislistofthingsmenmustdo.Theyareforcedtodoitorelsesociety
willfrownuponthem.Althoughwedontalwayshearaboutmenandtheirstrugglesagainst
genderdiscrimination,ithasalwaysbeenthere.(Quora)
Butpeoplehavebegantorealisethefaultsinourcorruptsociety.Peopleofourworldare
seeingtheveryreasonsastowhythereshouldbeanendtosexism.Thesanemembersofour
societyhavetakentheirstanceonthetopic.Theywantequalityforbothgenders.Organized
AntisexsimgroupknownasW20,ortheWomenOn20s,isanonprofit,grassroots
organizationwhichaimstocompelhistoricchangebyconvincingPresidentObamathatnowis
thetimetodedicatethe$20billexclusivelytowomen.Herewehaveafeministgrouptrying
veryhardtogivethewomentherecognitiontheydeserve.Buthowdotheyplantobringequality
towomen?Byplacingafemaleontothe$20bill,itcausestheremovalofsymbolsofhate,
intoleranceandinequalitytoenableequalitythatwillbringforththefullpotentialofallpeople
regardlessofgender,race,ethnicity,sexualpreferenceoridentity.Whenwomengetthechance
toshine,toshowhowmuchtheyactuallyhelptheircommunity,societybeginstoseetheir
importance.Andwhensocietyseestheirimportanceortheimportanceofothergroups,theytreat
thosepeoplewiththemostrespectandlove.So,ifwomencouldgetrecognitionfortheir

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amazingcontributionstosociety,thenthereisachancewomencouldbetreatedjustasequally
asanyothergender.(TheCampaign)
However,moneyisntourlastresorttoapossiblesolution.Therearemanywaysusasa
societycanhelpthecauseandstopsexism.Onemajorsolutiontosexismisstopsupportingthe
musicproducerswhoitemizewomenbecausethehiphop/rapindustryisamajoroffenderin
contributingtosexism.Bychangingourviewsonsexism,themusicindustrywilltakeablow
fromthis.Theywillnotstopproducingscandalousvideosandproducinginappropriatesongs,
buttheymightstarttothinkaboutwhattheyareputtingoutthere,(Solutions).Ifwestopped
thosewhopraisednegativebehaviors,wecouldstopthenegativebehavior.Amajorityof
rappersusewomenastopicsfortheirsongs.Theytalkaboutwomenbeingunloyal,
untrustworthy,andoveralljustobjetsmenobtain.However,weknowthatwomenarepeople.So
ifweknowthetruth,thenwhydonttherappersknow?Well,theywoulddoprettymuch
anythingformoney.Ifwestopgivingtheserappersandmusicindustriesourmoneytorelease
thesesexistsongs,thenwecanmaketherappersearnlessmoneyandoverallchangingtheir
musicstyleinordertoappealtoanaudiencethatwillsupportthem.
Buthowcanwemakemillionsofpeoplechangetheiropinionsandviews?Wellwe
cant.Itisnearlyimpossibletogoouttodayandmillionsofpeopletothinkacertainway.But
whatifwestartedwithanewwaveofpeople?Asmentionedearlier,apossiblesolutionfor
sexismcouldbedonefromthethehypothesizedmaneuverknownastheGominoEffect.The
nameGominocomesfromacombinationoftwowordsgenderanddomino.Sohowdothese
twothingsrelate?Ifyouareunfamiliarwiththewaydominoeswork,hereshowitgoes.You
havealonglineofdominoesallinsomesequentialpattern.Onceyouareatstartingpoint,you

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knockthefirstdominodownandeverythinginfrontofthefirstdominoshouldgocrashingdown
onebyoneuntilitreachestheendwithzerodominoesstanding.Theonlydifferencewiththe
GominoEffectisthatthedominoesisjustametaphorforouractionsandwewillbeusing
gendersinsteadofdominoes.Insociety,thedesiredpathforapersonwouldbegettingan
educationtothenhavingapositionwithpower.Letsknockdownthefirstdomino.Education
seemstobethebestplacetostart.
Howyoumayask?Whenyouareachild,thefirstaspectoflifeyouaremetwithis
school.Intheseschoolswearetaughtaboutmaterialsregardingtheareasofmathematics,
literature,sciences,etc.Butwhatwedontrealizeisthatourcorruptschoolsystemsdont
actuallyteachusanythingabouttherealworldlikepayingtaxesandequality.Heresthefirst
dominotheschoolingsystem.Inmostschools,sexismplaysahugeruleonthetypeof
educationearnedformalesandfemales.Around75%ofgirlsaged1121saysexismaffects
theirconfidenceandfutureaspirations.Evenmoreshocking,perhaps,isthefactthatmuchofthe
harassmentfromsexualjokesortaunts,tounwantedsexualattention,touchingorimagesthat
madethemuncomfortablehappensatschool.(Martinson).Schoolsaremeanttobe
childrenfriendlyandproeducation.Butitseemsthatamajorityofourschoolsareinfectedwith
thissexismdisease.Whenwearechildren,educationisthefirstthingweareshownasstated
previously.Butwhowouldvethoughteducationcouldactuallyjustbeawaytopushcertain
genderstosuccessandkeepothergendersbehindaroadblock.Well,societyshouldntkeepthis
roadblockup.Destroythiswall.Destroyit.Makethelearninggroundsequalforfemaleand
malessotheycangrowupwithpositiveoutlookstotheoppositesexandbeginanewgeneration
ofgenderlovingpeople.

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Itsveryeasytowantsomethingtohappen,butthedifficultycomesinwhenyoutryto
makeithappen.Theschoolingsystemhasprettybasicsubjectsallstudentsmustgoto,like
math,science,history,etc.Insteadofthesebasicclasses,whydontweaddabitofvarietyinto
themixlikeasocialequalityclassforgrades511.Thissocialequalityclasswouldbea
specializedclassforstudentstolearnaboutequalityinsocietywithadecentportionoftheclass
dedicatedtogenderequalityandtherestforotherformsofequality.Butthiswouldnotbea
classfortextbooksandpencils.Thisclasswouldconsistofstudentsgatheringinaroom,sitting
wherevertheywanttomakethemcomfortable,andtheneveryonejusttalkinginanorderly
fashiononthetopicgivenfromtheirinstructor.Theinstructorposesdifficultquestionsabout
societyanditsequalitytomakethestudentsthinkaboutthetruthsandfalsesofourworld.Ifthis
classisgiventostudentstwiceaweekfromtheir5thgradeyeartotheir11thgradeyear,weare
boundtocreateagroupofpeoplewhoarewelleducatedonequalitytopicssuchasracismand
sexismthatcanonedayrulethisworld.
Sonowthatthefirstdominoisdown,everythingcancomecrashingdowninaspiralof
success.Letssayoureducationsystemwasfixedandbothgendersgotthesameeducationwith
thesamepurpose.Afterthesemalesandfemaleshavecompletedtheireducationandaremoving
outtoforwardsintotheworld,wehavepeoplewholovebothgenders.Nohateagainstfemale.
Nohateagainstmale.Doyouknowwhatthiscreates?Theseconddomino.Thesegenderloving
civiliansaregoingtogointotheworldandwanttorun.Thewaytheyplantorunitisbymaking
money.Andthewaytheyplantomakemoneyisbycreatingjobs.Soherewehavegender
lovingpeoplelookingtoearnalotofmoneyandgainpowerbybecomingbusinessownersand
industrystarters.Ifthesepeopledostarttheirownbusinessesandcorporations,thentheyhave

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nothinginfluencingthemintermsofwhotohireforthejobnogenderwillbeputaboveanother
gender.
Adaythatisnotaffectedbyyourgenderisagoodday.Thirddomino.Childrenarebeing
showntheimportanceofeachgender.Theygrowupandhirepeoplenotbasedoffoftheir
genderbutoffoftheirabilitiesandtheyarenowtherulersofthiscountry.Butasthedaysgrow
oldandthesunrises,theserulerswillknowwhenitstimetobringanewgenerationtorunthe
country.Andsotheybringinthoseangelsintotheworldandteachthemtheirknowledgeto
ensurethesamesuccessthattherulerswereabletoachieve.Theseesawbalancesandthe
dominoescontinuetofalluntiltheendoftime.

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WorksCited
"TheCampaign."
Womenon20s
.Web.21Feb.2016.
"GenderDiscriminationBoundlessOpenTextbook."
Boundless
.Web.21Feb.2016.
Martinson,Jane."ChildrenLearnSexismatSchoolsoThat'sWhereWeShouldBegintoFight
It."
TheGuardian
.GuardianNewsandMedia,29Nov.2013.Web.21Feb.2016.
Quora."WhatAreSomeCommonFormsofSexismThatMenFace?"
TheHuffingtonPost
.
TheHuffingtonPost.com.Web.21Feb.2016.
"SexismIncreasesSuicideRiskinYoungWomenWorldwide."
Portside
.Web.21Feb.2016.
"Solutions."
SexismintheUnitedStatesToday
.Web.21Feb.2016.