Essay On Sexism In America

Society expects certain behaviors from its citizens based on tradition and the predominantly represented demographics in places of power. In the U.S., white, cisgendered, wealthy men control the majority of the nation’s authorities and impose their beliefs on society. Those who differ from those beliefs are denied basic rights and are treated worse depending on the level of differentiation. As a white, upper-middle class American citizen, I am exempt from much of the oppression forced on those who do not fall into such categories. However, as a woman, I am subject to sexism in my everyday life. This exemplifies the absurdly strict rules of American society. These unspoken rules suggest that that those whose characteristics differ even slightly …show more content…
Those who are not as financially privileged as others are looked down upon for their different lifestyles. Heiliger discusses these unfair, economic disadvantages of “queer” members of society in her essay, Queer Economics “Trashpicking is just one example of an economic innovation by poor, queer, and working-class people in response to laws and policies that ignore the needs or marginalized folks”. One of the biggest differences is education. Schooling is wildly expensive and time consuming and many cannot afford it. As a upper-middleclass person, I have the privilege of attending an exorbitantly expensive college and was lucky enough to attend private school for twelve years. As a result expected to act as though I am educated. I am discouraged from acting or speaking in a way that is viewed as imitating the cultures of non-white people, similar to the comparison above. Imitating their cultures is looked down upon because it is associated with lack of education and unorthodox upbringing. As a upper-middleclass woman, I am expected to be educated to represent the wealth I have been privileged with. What goes unnoticed, however, is the unequal distribution of wealth that denies many people access to