SEXISM THROUGH MEDIA AND LITERATURE

SEXISM, AS DEFINED BY WIKIPEDIA, IS PREJUDICE OR DISCRIMINATION BASED ON A PERSON'S SEX OR

GENDER. IT CAN AFFECT ANY GENDER, BUT IT IS PARTICULARLY DOCUMENTED AS AFFECTING WOMEN
AND GIRLS. IT HAS BEEN LINKED TO STEREOTYPES AND GENDER ROLES, AND MAY INCLUDE THE BELIEF
THAT ONE SEX OR GENDER IS INTRINSICALLY SUPERIOR TO ANOTHER.

MS. KHORIE CAVILE, TO OUR ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE, AND TO OUR FELLOW DEBATERS, A PLEASANT
AFTERNOON.

AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE INFORMED, WE STAND IN FIRM AFFIRMATION THAT THE MEDIA AND
LITERATURE PLAY A BIG ROLE IN SHAPING WOMEN'S ROLES IN A SEXIST WAY.

IT MAY BE BECAUSE TELEVISION WRITERS AND BOOK AUTHORS ARE INCREASINGLY MALE, BUT THE
DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS WOMEN THAT WE SEE ON TV AND READ ON BOOKS EVERYDAY AND
EVERYNIGHT MAKES US FEEL LIKE WE’RE STUCK IN THE PAST. IT’S NOT LIKE WRITERS NEED TO FOLLOW
ANY RULES WHEN IT COMES TO CREATING THEIR SCRIPTS OR BOOKS, THEY CAN WRITE WHATEVER THEY
WANT, SO WHY NOT WRITE THEIR FEMALE CHARACTERS AS STRONG AND SUCCESSFUL HUMAN BEINGS
THAT ARE MORE THAN JUST SEX SYMBOLS?

INSTEAD AUDIENCES ARE WATCHING AND READING WOMEN WITH NO DEPTH THAT ARE BEING PUT DOWN
BY THE MEN IN THEIR LIVES. FIFTY-NINE PERCENT OF WOMEN MAKE UP THE WORKFORCE, AND YET THERE
ARE STILL WRITERS THAT ARE DEPICTING THEIR FEMALE CHARACTERS AS PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT CAREER-
ORIENTED. THERE ARE SOME SHOWS AND BOOKS OUT THERE THAT PORTRAY WOMEN IN A POSITIVE
LIGHT, MULAN AND BROOKLYN, BUT THERE ARE MANY SHOWS THAT UNFORTUNATELY SHOWCASE
WOMEN IN A NEGATIVE WAY.

SADLY, WRITERS DEPICT WOMEN AS PEOPLE WHO BELONG IN THE KITCHEN, NOT IN OFFICES. IT'S THE
MALE’S JOB TO MAKE THE MONEY AND PROVIDE FOR THE FAMILY. THE ONLY JOBS THAT WOMEN SHOULD
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ARE COOKING, CLEANING, AND PLEASING THEIR MEN.

OTHER

THINK ABOUT AN OLD ADVERTISEMENT. IT’S 1951, AND THERE IS A POLISHED, BLONDE, SMILING WOMAN
COOKING IN A KITCHEN. SHE HAS AN APRON ON OVER HER FANCY DRESS, AND A STRING OF PEARLS
AROUND HER NECK. SHE IS HOLDING OUT A PLATE OF STEAMING HOT COOKIES. WHEN WAS THE LAST
TIME YOU CAME HOME TO YOUR MOTHER LOOKING LIKE THAT? I’M GUESSING NEVER. NOT ALL WOMEN
WEAR EXPENSIVE DRESSES AND PEARLS WHILE COOKING. I WOULD SAY VERY FEW DO, OR EVER DID. IT’S
A STEREOTYPE WE CAN’T SEEM TO OUTLIVE. 

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE, BUT I THINK IT’S TIME THIS SHOULD. 

THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PICTURES AND CARTOONS OUT THERE THAT SUGGEST FALSE THINGS ABOUT
WOMEN AND WHAT WOMEN DO. I SAW A CARTOON JUST RECENTLY OF A HUSBAND DRESSED IN A SUIT
AND A READY-FOR-WORK BRIEFCASE, AND HE WAS TELLING HIS WIFE- WHO WAS DRESSED IN AN APRON
AND HIGH HEELED SHOES- TO “GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN”. THE WIFE ANSWERED OBEDIENTLY, “OKAY,
HUNNY.” THERE ARE MORE THAN A COUPLE STEREOTYPES PRESENTED IN A CARTOON LIKE THIS. THE
DIALOGUE IMMEDIATELY SUGGESTS THAT WOMEN ARE MEANT TO BE IN THE KITCHEN COOKING FOR
THEIR HUSBANDS. BUT WHAT IS THE HUSBAND DOING? MAKING THE LIVING. THE IDEA THAT THE MAN
SHOULD MAKE THE LIVING IS NOT AS RECOGNIZED TODAY AS IT WAS YEARS AGO, BUT IT IS STILL A
JUDGMENT MADE AGAINST WOMEN. AREN’T THESE PREJUDICES A LITTLE OUT-DATED?

THE ENTIRE POINT OF FEMINISM IS TO RAISE AWARENESS ON THE ISSUES WOMEN FACE AROUND THE
WORLD, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE IGNORE OTHER ISSUES. FEMINISM IS THE FIGHT AGAINST
SEXISM SO WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE WANT TO DO THE SAME TO MEN? CALLING FEMINISM SEXISM IS
JUST IGNORANT.
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ANTI-MAN TO BE PRO-WOMAN,” SAYS JANE GALVIN LEWIS. WE’RE NOT ASKING
TO FORGET THE POWER OF MAN, BUT WE ARE ASKING TO WELCOME THE STRENGTH OF A WOMAN.