Homophobia VS Sexism
The topics of homophobia and sexism have been discussed multiple times through out the Social Issues course in both class discussions, movies we have watched, and in the readings. In one article by Suzanne Pharr, “Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism,” she describes the issue of sexism and homophobia as coming down to the ideals of patriarchy. Merriam-Webster defines patriarchy as “a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men.” It has been around since the beginning of humanity. During the times of neanderthals, the men, who were seen as stronger, would go out hunting, while the women, who were seen as weak, stayed home gathering fruits and vegetables. In ancient times, the man was seen as the head …show more content…
Suzanna Pharr declares that sexism is reinforced through economics, violence, and homophobia. This can be applied here if that statement is tweaked a little bit to homosexuals and women both face issues with economics, violence, and discrimination. Women are often paid less than there male counterparts, and are seen as inferior. Also, women have had to fight for their civil rights, for instance the right to vote, which they did not gain until 1920. While men had the right to vote since the founding of this country. However, this fight for civil rights is less of an issue today because in the eyes of the law, women are seen as equals to men. Women in the U.S. have never been refused service because of the fact that they are …show more content…
The first thing that came to my mind was Kristallnact, or the Night of Broken Glass. However, this is not too far off. I could not imagine a business having its windows broken because the business was owned by a female, but I would not be surprised if I heard about this happening to a business owned by a gay couple. In March, a man in Atlanta threw boiling hot water on a gay couple. The two victims suffered from severe burns, and the perpetrator was charged with committing a hate crime. However, there have not been any headlining acts of violence against women recently. This can be seen as one of the major differences between homophobia and sexism. There is dramatically more violence towards homosexuals than women. Gays tend to be assaulted and harassed more by individuals, and is seen in the media more often. This can be seen in one of the movies we watched in class, The Wedding Banquet. In the beginning of the movie the neighbors looked at the gay couple in disgust as they kissed each other goodbye. This kind of disgust would not happen to women kissing their boyfriends goodbye. People tend to be less tolerant of homosexuals than women, and therefore homophobia is talked about more, and seen as a bigger
The topics of homophobia and sexism have been discussed multiple times through out the Social Issues course in both class discussions, movies we have watched, and in the readings. In one article by Suzanne Pharr, “Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism,” she describes the issue of sexism and homophobia as coming down to the ideals of patriarchy. Merriam-Webster defines patriarchy as “a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men.” It has been around since the beginning of humanity. During the times of neanderthals, the men, who were seen as stronger, would go out hunting, while the women, who were seen as weak, stayed home gathering fruits and vegetables. In ancient times, the man was seen as the head …show more content…
Suzanna Pharr declares that sexism is reinforced through economics, violence, and homophobia. This can be applied here if that statement is tweaked a little bit to homosexuals and women both face issues with economics, violence, and discrimination. Women are often paid less than there male counterparts, and are seen as inferior. Also, women have had to fight for their civil rights, for instance the right to vote, which they did not gain until 1920. While men had the right to vote since the founding of this country. However, this fight for civil rights is less of an issue today because in the eyes of the law, women are seen as equals to men. Women in the U.S. have never been refused service because of the fact that they are …show more content…
The first thing that came to my mind was Kristallnact, or the Night of Broken Glass. However, this is not too far off. I could not imagine a business having its windows broken because the business was owned by a female, but I would not be surprised if I heard about this happening to a business owned by a gay couple. In March, a man in Atlanta threw boiling hot water on a gay couple. The two victims suffered from severe burns, and the perpetrator was charged with committing a hate crime. However, there have not been any headlining acts of violence against women recently. This can be seen as one of the major differences between homophobia and sexism. There is dramatically more violence towards homosexuals than women. Gays tend to be assaulted and harassed more by individuals, and is seen in the media more often. This can be seen in one of the movies we watched in class, The Wedding Banquet. In the beginning of the movie the neighbors looked at the gay couple in disgust as they kissed each other goodbye. This kind of disgust would not happen to women kissing their boyfriends goodbye. People tend to be less tolerant of homosexuals than women, and therefore homophobia is talked about more, and seen as a bigger