Sexism by Cudd and Jones: Distribution of Opportunities to Men and Women

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In the reading "Sexism" by Cudd and Jones, they argue that women worldwide live lesser lives than men. The central reasons they provide for this disparity are that women are not inherently inferior to men, but rather, society has systematically created a disadvantage for them. They go into great detail in defining sexism as a systematic inequality and give a general example that states: "if the distribution of opportunities systematically deprives women of what is offered to men, and there is no apparent overriding reason which justifies such a distribution, then we have a clear prima facie case of sexism.

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" They then go on to provide background information on language, experiences, and the recognition of sexism.

There are many different levels of sexism: institutional, interpersonal, and unconscious. An example they provide of institutional sexism is that of the Catholic Church, where women cannot be priests due to explicit rules. Interpersonal sexism refers to personal interactions, and an example they provide is when a salesperson speaks only to the man when a couple is buying a car.

Unconscious sexism is a psychological attitude, and it is interesting to note that at this level, there is a belief that neither women nor men see women as the oppressed and men as the oppressor.

As a man, I found this reading very informative, and it opened my eyes to situations where sexism and sexist language are used. For example, as a young man playing sports, the coach saying, "you play like a girl" seemed harmless to me.

However, after reading this article and thinking more deeply, I realized that this language is sexist and that it is consistently used in day-to-day life starting at a young age.