Sexism speech

A speech written for an English assignment.

While the women’s rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are viewed as the end of gender inequality in the United States, sexism remains a powerful force in American society. While women now constitute the majority of the workforce, we still earn, on average, roughly eighty percent of what men earn. Gender inequality is not, however, restricted to the workplace; our society is filled with negative stereotypes of women and negative attitudes towards women. 

Negative portrayals of women have become ingrained in our minds and culture and affect the way many girls and women view themselves. Advertisements and the media in general constantly portray women as materialistic and argumentative, leading many girls and women to believe that they must embrace these traits to become “real” women. Advertising implies or even openly demonstrates that women are only good for their physical appearance; this idea is always seen in obvious advertising sectors, such as cosmetics and clothing, but can also be found in nearly every area of advertising that targets women. Rarely does an advertisement depict a woman in a traditional male role; this gender segregation enforces the underlying sexism of American society and discourages women from entering male-dominated fields such as math and science. The association of negative qualities with women affects men negatively as well; men are discouraged, through advertising and social pressure, to ignore the “feminine” ideals of “proper dress”, “hygiene”, and “intelligence”. For males, eschewing traditionally “feminine” qualities is celebrated; if a female, however, fails to conform to these qualities, her womanhood is instantly questioned or denied.

Women are pressured by the media and by society to conform to a set of “feminine” behaviors and ideals, which are more often than not the result of social construction rather than actual qualities of women. Women, according to the media, should have one of two body types; an impossibly thin waist in an exaggerated hourglass figure, or an impossibly thin body overall that borders on malnutrition. In addition to a perfectly successful full-time job, the ideal American woman should have perfect mental and physical health, a perfect family with perfect children, and a perfectly clean house. Women are also expected to serve as “goals” for men, whether sexually or romantically. Society’s emphasis on unrealistic ideals for women often leads to body image issues and eating disorders when women try to conform to those impossible ideals.

Despite its widespread negative effects, the media’s portrayal of women, whether negative or impossibly perfect, is widely accepted in American society. Often, this is because this portrayal reinforces traditional sexism and allows men to maintain social dominance when women are increasingly powerful within society. It is the duty of our generation to overcome these prejudices towards women and create a society that respects and accepts women; by toppling the established order of male social dominance and female inferiority, we will come one step closer to truly ending gender discrimination.