Subtle sexism

Flynn Caitlin, (2015), despite the many gains we've made over the past century, sexism

is still a major problem in our society. On average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man

makes, our reproductive rights are consistently under siege, and according to the Rape, Abuse &

Incest National Network, one out of every six women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime.

Of course, I recognize that I am infinitely more fortunate than many women in the world — I benefit

from the work of countless feminist trailblazers who dedicated their lives to ensuring that women

have the right to vote, attend college, and pursue countless amazing opportunities. Plus, I was

raised by a woman who instilled in me the importance of independence, and taught me to prioritize

my education and to never simply follow a guy's lead. (Shout-out to my mom, who is definitely

reading this.) There's no denying that women have made a lot of progress in this country, and

that's something to be grateful for. But it doesn't mean our work is done, by any stretch of the

imagination.

Like every woman, I've dealt with countless instances of blatant sexism, which never

ceases to infuriate me. But gender inequality is so deeply woven into society that most women

regularly experience subtle sexism, too — and we don't always recognize it. And even when we

do, we sometimes simply brush it off because we have bigger battles to fight, or because others

pressure us to "not make a big deal out of it." However, confronting subtle sexism can be really

important — because when we do so, we're asserting that we always deserve to be treated with

respect no matter where we are or what we're doing.

Flynn Caitlin, (2015), “Subtle Sexism Women Encounter”

https://www.bustle.com/articles/127626-7-kinds-of-subtle-sexism-women-encounter
 Sexism comes in many different forms, including blatant, covert, and subtle sexism.

Blatant sexism is defined as obviously unequal and unfair treatment of women relative to men,

whereas covert sexism is defined as unequal and unfair treatment of women that is recognized

but purposefully hidden from view. Both blatant and covert sexism are intended, but only covert

sexism is hidden. In comparison to these two forms, subtle sexism represents unequal and unfair

treatment of women that is not recognized by many people because it is perceived to be

normative, and therefore does not appear unusual. Thus, like covert sexism, subtle sexism is

hidden but unlike covert sexism, subtle sexism is not intentionally harmful. Subtle sexism is

particularly interesting from both theoretical and practical perspectives because it may be quite

prevalent and may have an insidious impact on its victims.

Sexist language is an example of subtle sexism in that it consists of speech that reinforces

and perpetuates gender stereotypes and status differences between women and men. Sexist

language is learned at an early age and can be considered a linguistic habit. People may use

sexist language for a variety of reasons. They may do so because it is traditional, it is ingrained

in current written and spoken language and can be difficult to change, people lack knowledge

about what constitutes sexist language, people do not believe that such language is sexist, or

people are attempting to protect established social hierarchies.

Swim, Jannet K. et. Al. (2014) Understanding Subtle Sexism: Detection and Use
of Sexist Language,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FB%3ASERS.0000037757.73192.06