sexism

The Rise and Fall of "Girls Gone Wild"

Joe Francis's media empire of exploitation was inescapable in the culture of the early 2000s. Here's how he ran afoul of the law and cultural disapproval of sexism—though that's not necessarily how he remembers it. 

"Misogynoir" Exemplified in the Degradation of Black Women Athletes

by Donald Earl Collins

The treatment of basketball star Brittney Griner by Russian authorities (and the indifference to her case by many Americans) shows that Black women athletes still have to navigate a world of racism and sexism that diminishes their achievements and their security. 

How Long Until We Hear "Madam President"?

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

In the early republic, the perception of ambition was a negative for a political candidate, especially for president. That norm mostly survives today in its application to women candidates. 

American Militarism is the Key to Understanding Today's Violence Against Asian Women

Since the Philippine-American war in the 1890s, the sexual exploitation of Asian women has gone hand in hand with American militarism in the Pacific. It's foolish to pretend that this history has nothing to do with attacks on Asian American women today. 

Ukraine Beyond the Post-Soviet Frame

by Ileana Nachescu

Framing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an extension of grievances that festered during the Soviet era ignores the drastic changes wrought in Eastern Europe by neoliberal capitalism, racism, sexism, migration and patriarchal religion, and sustains an impoverished view of what peace and freedom in Ukraine can be.

Inside the 1980s Phenomenon of "Truly Tasteless Jokes" and What it Says about a Cultural Shift around Offensiveness

The wildly successful series of paperbacks heralded a moment when the embrace of offensiveness as a political weapon was shifting from the left to the right (audio contains the contents of some Truly Tasteless Jokes). 

What Does it Mean to Call Someone a "Male Chauvinist Pig"?

by Julie Willett

Merging the term "chauvinism" from the old left and the radical 1960s desire to render authority grotesque, the term emerged with the second wave of feminism. But today some of the sexists labeled with it appear to have turned it into a badge of honor. 

California Ski Resort to Change Racist, Sexist Name

"In modern usage, the word "squaw" is considered to be "offensive, derogatory, racist, and misogynistic," the resort, formerly known as Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, said as it explained its reasoning."

Simone Biles has Courageously Exposed the Blurred Line between Medicine and Abuse

by Wendy Kline

Simone Biles has worked to ensure that Dr. Larry Nasser's abuse of gymnasts under his care is not forgotten. This abuse was enabled by the authoritarian culture of both medicine and sports which keep women from exercising bodily autonomy. 

The Unmaking of Biblical Womanhood: Prof. Beth Allison Barr's Historical Challenge to Evangelical Gender Roles

“Women think all of this is the Bible because they learn it in their churches,” Barr told me. “But it’s really a post-Second World War construction of domesticity, which was designed to send working women back to the kitchen.”

The Solution to the Craft Beer Industry’s Sexism and Diversity Problems

by Allyson P. Brantley

Absent robust enforcement of sex discrimination prohibitions by the EEOC (which frequently dismissed women brewery workers' complaints), consumer boycotts alongside union actions forced major brewers to change their practices. Will similar strategies help fight sexism in today's craft brewing world?

“Not Your Fetish”: Protesting Racism and Misogyny Against Asian American Women

by Hao Zou

The Atlanta massage parlor killings reflect a century and a half of history in which racist and misogynistic stereotypes of Asian women have been normalized in American culture. Protests are demanding change.

Her Crazy Driving is a Key Element of Cruella DeVil’s Evil. Here’s Why

by Genevieve Carpio

The depiction of Cruella DeVil as a dangerous and deranged driver in the new prequel to "101 Dalmatians" draws on deep-seated sexist tropes that recognize driving and mobility as aspects of women's social freedom. 

The Dehumanizing Logic of All the ‘Happy Ending’ Jokes

by Anne Anlin Cheng

"The figure of the eroticized-yet-degraded Asian woman can be readily found in movies and onstage. One of the most visibly racist, sexist, and inhuman tropes to emerge out of Western imperial history, this woman nonetheless hardly registers in the public consciousness as someone who has suffered discrimination.

Racism, Sexism Must be Considered in Atlanta Case, Experts Say

Historian Ellen Wu explains that the particular racial and sexual stereotyping of Asian American women derives from the history of immigration, moral panics over prostitution, and the involvement of the United States military in a series of wars against Asian people. 

How Racism and Sexism Intertwine to Torment Asian-American Women

Ellen Wu of Indiana University is among the scholars offering insight on the historical roots of the sexual fetishization of American women and its connection to violence.

Texas School’s Lesson on Chivalry Asked Girls to ‘Walk Daintily’ and Obey Men

Students interviewed were divided between recognizing the pedagogical goal of showing how chivalry could excuse the subordination of women, others (and some parents) disagreed with the method. 

Female Faculty Wrote a Brave Letter to Northwestern about Sexual Harassment, Racism Allegations from Cheerleaders.

“The idea that some of the people taking this class from me might be subjected to the very things we’re discussing, during campus-sanctioned activities,” [History Professor Kate] Masur said, “it’s jarring and disgusting.”

The Skinny on Teaching Evals and Bias

A metastudy of bias in student evaluations of college teachers shows that conformity to dominant gender roles is a condition for receiving good evaluations; students both favor profs with masculine traits and punish women for not performing femininity.

Southern Baptist Leaders Called Kamala Harris a ‘Jezebel.’ That’s not just Insulting, it’s Dangerous, Experts Say

Religious Studies scholar Jessica Johnson says that the "Jezebel" trope used against Harris connects suspicion of women's power, old southern stereotypes of Black women as morally deficient, and present-day White Christian Nationalism.