Among all kinds of discrimination, one of the most prominent throughout history has been sexism: the favoring of one gender group, usually men, over another (women).  In the past century, much legislation has been created to augment women’s freedoms, such as suffrage, yet even today, a “glass ceiling” still exists so women continue to be paid and treated unequally, but why?  I believe the answer can be found in the history books and a text concerning a different, but no less upsetting, issue: AIDS.  In the “AIDS Inc.” chapter of her book The Invisible Cure, molecular biologist Helen Epstein speaks of the prejudice against those with HIV/AIDS, and this topic is summarized in the “About the Author” section, where it’s described as “the social stigmas of infected peoples as well as an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude” (Emerging, pg.109).  The mention of this attitude is referring to the fact that people who aren’t directly impacted by AIDS believe it’s of no concern to them and that the people tormented by these stigmas aren’t like them.  This thought process can also be applied to sexism; for thousands of years, through several different cultures and religions, women were believed unintelligent, overemotional, and only capable of bearing children or doing housework.  By forcing women to take on these roles, pushing them “out of sight” and away from important tasks in society such as participating in government, the men kept them “out of mind,” further lessening their understanding of how women felt, and creating a “cycle of social stigmas” (Emerging, 109).  Essentially, these thoughts have been held in society for so long, with women only recently successfully protesting for equal treatment, the roots of this prejudicial weed may never be completely pulled from some men’s minds.  This is why sexism still abounds.

Citations

Helen Epstein, “Aids Inc.” The Invisible Cure, “Emerging,” edited by Barclay Barrios, 3rd ed., Balford/ St. Martin’s 2016, pg. 109-121