Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is intrinsically superior to another. Extreme sexism may foster misogyny, sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. Discrimination in this context is defined as discrimination toward people based on their gender identity or their gender or sex differences. An example of this is workplace inequality. Sexism may arise from social or cultural customs and norms.
Gender includes the social, psychological, cultural and behavioral aspects of being a man, woman, or other gender identity. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures and gender expression. Most cultures use a gender binary, in which gender is divided into two categories, and people are considered part of one or the other ; those who are outside these groups may fall under the umbrella term non-binary. Some societies have specific genders besides "man" and "woman", such as the hijras of South Asia; these are often referred to as third genders. Most scholars agree that gender is a central characteristic for social organization.
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity, although there are exceptions and variations.
A cisgender person has a gender identity that matches their sex assigned at birth. A person whose sex was assigned male at birth and identifies as a boy or a man, or someone whose sex was assigned female at birth and identifies as a girl or a woman, is considered cisgender. This is the case for the majority of human beings.
In modern usage, hijab generally refers to various headcoverings worn by Muslim women. While a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a headscarf, wrapped around the head and neck, covering the hair, neck, and ears but leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists argue that it is not required. In practice, most Muslim women choose to wear it.
Amina Wadud is an American Muslim theologian. Wadud serves as Visiting Professor at Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies and was also a visiting scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry. Wadud has written extensively on the role of women in Islam.
Phyllis Chesler is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island (CUNY). She is a renowned second-wave feminist psychologist and the author of 18 books, including the best-sellers Women and Madness (1972), With Child: A Diary of Motherhood (1979), and An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir (2013). Chesler has written extensively about topics such as gender, mental illness, divorce and child custody, surrogacy, second-wave feminism, pornography, prostitution, incest, and violence against women.
The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders.
Susan Tufts Fiske is an American psychologist who serves as the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. She is a social psychologist known for her work on social cognition, stereotypes, and prejudice. Fiske leads the Intergroup Relations, Social Cognition, and Social Neuroscience Lab at Princeton University. Her theoretical contributions include the development of the stereotype content model, ambivalent sexism theory, power as control theory, and the continuum model of impression formation.
Many scholars and policymakers have noted that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have remained predominantly male with historically low participation among women since the origins of these fields in the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment.
The angry black woman stereotype is a racial trope in American society and media that portrays Black American women as inherently ill-mannered, ill-tempered, and masculine. Related concepts are the "Sapphire" or "Jezebel".
Janet Allison Taylor Spence was an American psychologist who worked in the field of the psychology of anxiety and in gender studies.
Gender plays a role in mass media and is represented within media platforms. These platforms are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.
Sarah-Jane Leslie is the Class of 1943 Professor of Philosophy and former Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University, where she is also affiliated faculty in the Department of Psychology, the Kahneman-Treisman Center for Behavioral Science and Public Policy, the Program in Cognitive Science, the Program in Linguistics, and the University Center for Human Values.
Nadine Nassib Njeim is a Lebanese Tunisian actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was elected Miss Lebanon 2004. She represented her home country in Miss Universe 2005 in Thailand. As of 2021, she is the most followed Lebanese actress on Instagram with more than 16 million followers.
Hijabophobia is a type of religious and cultural discrimination against Muslim women who wear the hijab. The discrimination has had manifestations in public, working and educational places.
The Tempest is an American multinational digital media and entertainment company for women and non-binary individuals that was founded in 2016 by Laila Alawa. Their purpose is to serve as "the destination for diverse women to share, inspire, and celebrate life through storytelling, experiences, and a global community." It is owned by The Tempest, Inc.
Nadia Alawa is the founder and current CEO of the non-profit NuDay. The NGO provides humanitarian relief to people affected by the crisis in Syria through its use of public donations, which directly fund projects such as building wells and educational facilities. Alawa's work in the humanitarian aid space has earned accolades and recognition from institutions like the United Nations, Harvard University, and the James Wright Foley Legacy Foundation.
Sapna Cheryan is an American social psychologist. She is a Full professor of social psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington.
Rhoda K. Unger (1939-2019) was a feminist psychologist known for her position on the forefront of female activism in psychology. Unger was strongly committed to promoting social justice within society and women in science. She was a professor of psychology at Montclair State College for almost thirty years and was granted the status of Professor Emerita in 1999. After her retirement, Unger was a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.
