Sexism is a belief or attitude that one
gender or sex is inferior to or less
valuable than the other and can also refer to a hatred or distrust towards
either sex as a whole (see also
misogyny and misandry), or creating
stereotypes of masculinity for men or femininity for women.[1] It is also called
male and female chauvinism.
Sexism can refer also to any and all systemic differentiations based
on the gender of a person, not based on their individual merits. In
some circumstances this type of sexism may constitute sex
discrimination, which in some forms is illegal in some
countries.
Sexism
against women
The term 'sexism' is most commonly applied to sexism
against women, and expressed by either men or women is
called male
chauvinism. Related terms are
misogyny, which implies a
disrespect of women, and gynophobia, which refer to
the hatred and fear of women or
femininity.
The idea that men benefit from certain rights and
privileges not available to women is referred to as
Male
privilege.
Historically, in many patriarchal
societies, women have been and are viewed as the "weaker
sex". Women's lower status can be seen in cases in which women were
not even recognized as persons
under the law of the land. The feminist
movement
promotes women's rights
to end sexism against women by addressing issues such as
equality under the law, political representation of women, access
to education and employment, women victims of domestic violence,
self-ownership of a woman's body,
