Similar to the previous entry, please reflect on the past week or so of class and reflect on what we've discussed in reference to sexism. Note that this does not only focus on sexism in the traditional male against female sense, but can also touch on heteronormativity, prejudice against various sexualities, and anything else you think is significant.
Please write what would be between one and two pages, double spaced, in a Word document.
This will be due Monday April 5th by classtime.
As always, feel free to get in touch with me if you have problems or questions.
Daniel
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Obviously the episode of the Office was an extreme case of sexist behavior, although sexism still occurs and probably most often in the workplace. Its funny to watch Michael Scott make a fool of himself by being so ignorant of what is socially acceptable and acceptable in the workplace, however, it seems like none of his coworkers or friends ever try to put him in his place and teach him what’s okay and what’s not. I thought it was interesting that after watching the episode some guys in class pointed out some of Michael’s sexist behaviors that I didn’t really pick up on, like mentioning that all of the “pros” on Michael’s list about Jan were body parts. I know that’s definitely not appropriate for work but it didn’t strike me as sexist because Jan was his girlfriend and even though it’s demeaning to most women, it seems normal that that’s how men think especially about their girlfriends. I think over the past few decades, men and women have learned that even though we don’t always understand each other or work the same way, we often work well together and having women in the workplace can have huge benefits. Even watching Michael talk about his relationship with Jan proves that he doesn’t ‘wear the pants’ in the relationship and there aren’t always specific roles that men and women have and we can often relate more than we think.
ReplyDeleteIt is important that the boss or manager in the workplace sets the example of behavior for the rest of the office; Michael Scott does not do this. The most important pieces of the Personal Conduct Policy for Dunder Mifflin that we created today are that nobody (including Michael) is above the code and everyone must show in their actions and conversation that they respect and are sensitive to how other people feel, even if they just think they are being funny.
We also discussed a very little bit about discrimination based on sexuality which I think is a much bigger controversy today. It seems like our country fights the same battles just against different groups of people at different times, first slavery and rights to minorities, then rights for women and now rights for homosexuals. To me it’s all a matter of civil rights and everyone who lives in the U.S. should have the right to work, vote, get married and overall be happy.
The Schultz reading about sexism in the workplace was very interesting and I would have liked a chance to discuss it with the class. She argues that creating a sexless work environment was a tool of feminists in order to gain the support of corporate business men. Now, that sexless environment has gone too far and actually prevents employees from developing healthy relationships.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some work environments have become too sensitive. At my last summer job, a part of my contract was signing a “non-fraternization clause,” which meant that I couldn’t spend time with any of my co-workers outside of the work environment. How discouraging is that, to prohibit me from seeing my new friends socially at all, just in case a potential romance develops? Yes, it creates a fair working environment, but not a very positive one. And yet, the work environment cannot be a free-for-all, and I think that in general, employers are right in discouraging inter-office romances. Romantic relationships create very strong feelings both while they are occurring and after they are over, and these feelings often spill over into everyday life. There are two problems with this situation: heightened emotion often interferes with productivity and our culture is not yet accepting of the different ways which men and women handle their emotions which can lead to more sexist assumptions no matter the genders of the parties.
The best solution is not to prohibit relationships from forming, but somehow raising a workforce which has better common sense about what is and what is not appropriate for the workplace. Many people make their romances and friendships work within a business setting and are able to use their relationships to enhance the business rather than detract from it. Banning relationships on the whole also discourages friendships from forming, which makes employees feel separated from their co-workers and leads us all to become overly sensitive rather than productive.
Sexism is certainly a prevalent issue in today’s world, especially in the work place. The Office episode we watched showed many stereotypes and played out some exaggerated situations to expound on these. It is extremely important for the productivity and harmony of the employees of Dunder Mifflin, as well as for any workplace, to eliminate the issues and instances that stem from sexist ideology.
ReplyDeleteI feel like many of the issues portrayed in the Office episode are based on ignorance of proper behavior in a work environment. Michael is famous for his ability to act in inappropriate ways throughout most episodes. We have discussed in class several times why this might be and it is usually brought up that his character is not aware that he is being inappropriate for the sake of being humorous. I feel like this might be a very large part of why sexism is such a common issue in workplaces all over the world.
Both men and women have been shown to think that humor is one of the most attractive qualities in another. While Michael isn’t “humoring” the office for this purpose I have a feeling that many times this is what sexism stems from. Individuals with over the top personalities like Michael make “jokes” which can be based on common stereotypes, which sometimes cross the sexism line, in an innocent attempt to become more attractive to fellow employees. Of course, the social rules for this type of situation need to be enforced, as well as an effort to portray the need for common sense, to ensure that no employee feel uncomfortable in their work environment. Comments that go over the line cause tension and discord between employees which can deter productivity.
Along with racism, sexism is also an issue around the world. Like racism, many people had tried to solve this issue, but sexism still exists around the world even today. Also it is a problem in the work place.
ReplyDeleteThe episode of “The Office” was a portrait of sexism issues. However “The Office” is a TV-show for entertainment, so some of contents are intentionally described in a way to make it fun. Still, some issues shown in the episode are common issues in the work places around the world. There were two things that I noticed from the episode.
The first thing is ignorance. In the episode, Michal Scott makes jokes which can make other people to think him as a sexist. The others realize his jokes are not appropriate but he does not realize whether his jokes are okay or not. This result affects the environment of the work place and other coworkers. Because of his position as the manager, his behavior has possibility of becoming the standard of the work place. Also even if other coworkers realize he is not appropriate, they cannot control Michael because of fact that he is the boss. So in order to make the Dunder Mifflin better work place, Michael Scott needs to change himself. However throughout the show, he does not change.
The other thing is misconception. Whether misconceptions are caused by the environment or the society, some people has a misconception that women need to be treated different than men. Just by doing this, the society gets issues of sexism. In the episode, Michael Scott runs Women’s Appreciation Day. This is an example of treating women different from than men. If there is some appreciations are needed than appreciate everyone including men and women.
I believe sexism is still present in society but I do not agree with some of the examples that were used in class. Someone mentioned in class that an example that demonstrates how prevalent sexism is would be engineering. Aside from cultural norms engineering is extremely welcoming to females. By percentage there is much more aide to females in engineering and many jobs go out of their way to hire females over males. I had an internship with an oilfield company last summer and 75% of the 84 interns were female. In addition, one might say that the engineering demonstrates sexism because of the high percentage of male professors. By graphing the amount of experience compared to the amount of money the males and females made it shows that males and females make an equal amount of money by percentage. This shows that as a department there is no discrimination against hiring females based on pay scale.
ReplyDeleteOverall I believe sexism is still present, I just don't think engineering is an accurate example of this. I think sexism in advertising, jokes made in movies and other forms of media is a more accurate representation of sexism.
I think that sexism in today’s society or workplace is not the same as it once used to be. Granted, there is still blatant sexism with the male verse female viewpoints however I think that sexism is underlying or can often arise in prejudice. Sexism is in the workplace not matter if it is apparent or not. American society is more male dominated but that is because of the history and tradition of this society. In these times, sexism based on male and female is not as prevalent. There is legislation to ensure equal opportunity. It is recognized that while men and women are to be treated equally, they are still different. Men are typically stronger, and women carry children, so rules are places in the office for things like maternity leave or tasks that maybe women realistically cannot do. Saying that might even be a little prejudice but I think to assume that men and women are exactly the same is not right. It would not be wrong to say that there is a divide between men and women, however recognizing that there is difference and realizing that everyone should be treated the same, is different than seeing those things and acting on them. People in the work place use gender prejudice, such as the idea that maybe women aren’t as competent or men are lazy and do not get work done on time. These prejudices will arise in the workplace, however these prejudices should not be acted on. There should also be policy in the workplace to ensure that even gender role stereotypes or prejudices cannot really be acted upon in the workplace. In regard to heteronormativity, which is the idea that heterosexuality is the normal in society, can alienate people of all types, even those who might very well be heterosexual. This can mean that in a work place, if someone appears or is in suspicion of being homosexual that are judged or alienated. People are though of differently in a situation in which they shouldn’t. A workplace should be upfront about the idea of heteronormativity and that in the workplace, acceptance is fostered to make for an equal, safe, exciting work environment.
ReplyDeleteThe discussions during class about sexism, in relation to The Office, centered around common sense. Michael and the characters in The Office tend to say things that one might feel offensive but seem to think it appropriate as long as it is said in a humorous way. This is not true to reality or suitable for office behavior. The Office plays off culture created stereotypes. Much of these stereotypes are untrue or derived from a single example of a behavior or trait. Though humorous when presented in the manner of the television show, if said in real life could be hurtful or cause for being fired from a job.
ReplyDeleteI found the discussion on legitimate oppression versus oversensitivity interesting. Many accusers misinterpret or exaggerate actions as oppressive. There are instances though where sexist prejudices do play a role in modern society. When viewing the female rebuttal to the Dodge Charger commercial, a woman speaks to men making more money per hour than a woman for the same work. In response to the female rebuttal to the original Dodge Charger commercial, I as a woman think the intent of Dodge was not to be sexist. Thus, the females were being oversensitive as opposed to being legitimately oppressed. Commercials that use potentially offensive depictions or language are designed as such for a reason. They seem to appeal to men’s traditional roles and behaviors. The Mr. T Snickers commercials viewed earlier in the semester did just that.
When discussing the difference between the presence of systemic sexism and systemic racism, my group raised the point of Title 9. It is important that woman are given the same opportunities as men, but the law has taken away so much men’s teams that it is almost unfair to males. For example, many men’s collegiate wrestling and baseball teams have be cut in order to have equal opportunity for men and women. Schools cut these teams to maintain football teams which require more money and people but make more than other sports so are more desirable.
Whether its racism or sexism, both are types of discrimination and can easily cause issues. In a sense I would say it is as much of a problem as racism and can definitely affect the workplace. As we saw in The Office episode, Michael is extremely unprofessional and does not seem to care about his employees. Since he is the head man at the office, I believe he should be the one setting the standards and making sure everything operates smoothly. When he talks about Jane, the only thing he could think about was her body parts and not her as a person and obviously lacks knowledge. Although its a TV show and will have its jokes, sometimes it would be better if Michael just shut his mouth and didn't say anything at all, but then again it wouldn't be much of a show.
ReplyDeleteNot only women, but men can be a victims of sexism as well. In the work world, there are times when women dominate and are preferred over men. But at the same time men can be preferred over women. Either way, sexism can make for a tense, uncomfortable workplace. I have not personally experienced this, but what I find terrible is when people base it on stereotypes. Personally I think whoever can perform at their job the best regardless of gender is what should matter. Everyone at the workplace should feel equally welcome no matter what position they hold and no matter what gender they are.
Overall sexism is not much of an issue as it was in the past. Women are given the chance to work their way up in the workplace just like men. I think the issue of sexism has greatly improved, the stereotypical roles of men and women has somewhat faded. The primary role of men in society is not only to provide for a family but also to play a role in the household and raising kids, and women have the freedom to seek careers rather than only stay home and raise children.
Our class discussions on sexism in the workplace highlighted some key areas of difficulties and discriminatory behavior which are present in the world today. We not only see classical male-female discrimination but have now jumped into an area where sexual preferences are a center for discriminatory behavior. These issues are often hard to identify and hard to prove which only adds to the severity of the problem.
ReplyDeleteDiscriminatory behavior based on sexual orientation and gender is very serious but, while detrimental to the office atmosphere, the issue can also be abused. Oversensitivity through certain office encounters can lead to false accusations of sexual harassment or sexism. While the accusing parties may not have malicious intent, people can still be wrongly accused for sexual or discriminatory behavior. For this reason, accusations of abuse must be dealt with carefully and those involved must be honest and, if guilty, dealt with accordingly. Things such as interoffice relationships are fine but a line must be drawn between what is right and what is considered productivity inhibiting behavior. Companies must be clear and concise with policies pertaining to sexual harassment. Employees must understand that sexist and discriminatory behavior is prohibited and will be reported anonymously.
Our discussion highlighted many areas that are of considerable concern surrounding this particular issue. It is incredibly important for individuals to know and understand where the line will be drawn within office interactions. Employees must know that they will be held accountable for there actions and there comments. Without a direct and clear statement of policies, people will have trouble knowing where the line is and victims will not know when issues should be reported. Relying on common sense is difficult because each person’s moral compass is a little different and some people lack morals entirely. Finally, companies must move past the viewpoint of protectionism, which is shown heavily through Michael’s behavior in the episode we watched. He feels it is his job to protect women from discriminatory behavior and in so doing, marginalizes them. It is very important to adopt policy that clearly states what is right and what is wrong pertaining to people from all walks of life. Companies who establish this type of clear policy send a message to employees and customers that certain behaviors will not be tolerated and will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Last week's discussion on sexism was quite interesting. I definitely thought The Office was a good template for witnessing sexist issues and seeing how they can surface in the workplace. Clearly Michael was out-of-line, which is always expected, but something that I don’t think was brought up was Jan’s action. As if to show that women can be just as bad as men, she offered paying Michael $200 to drive to New York to sleep with her. When he declined, she offered him $300. Clearly this was a form of sexual harassment, as Michael was uneasy about the notion. Picture a man offering this deal to a woman while at work. Though they rarely exist on the show, consequences in real life would be severe.
ReplyDeleteSome of the discussion on current issues may have been misleading, especially when talking about women in engineering, as Josh pointed out. It wasn’t mentioned in class, but one should consider that just because a particular profession lacks a certain sex does not necessarily mean that sex is being treated unfairly. Just as men may not want to be nurses or kindergarten teachers, women may not want to be engineers. It definitely doesn’t mean there isn’t a level playing field. I know of at least three different summer research positions in engineering here at WSU that were strictly for females only. You would never see a position like this that was only for males. I have worked with numerous female engineers and professors while at school and have never once seen sexism aimed at them. That's just my experience, though.
That’s surely not to say it wasn’t a problem in the past, though. It clearly was. And just because some professions treat males and females with the same respect doesn’t mean that all do. Furthermore, even if males and females are getting the same jobs and same wages, issues like those seen in The Office unfortunately still exist, and probably will for years to come. I would disagree with anyone who says progress isn’t being made, though. Mindsets are changing with each generation.
I was struck by the fact that the Shultz article uses the term “sanitized workplace.” In reference to suppressing sexuality at work, Shultz says there is a “drive to sanitize the workplace.” The term sanitize is associated with cleanliness and sanitation; suggesting that sex and sexuality is dirty and needs to be maintained/eliminated. I do think that certain sexual incidents are inappropriate in a work setting; however, I agree with Shultz’s argument that certain sexual conduct such as banning intimate relationships between employees does not equate to eliminating possible sexual harassment or discrimination.
ReplyDeleteI think a good example of heteronormativity in our society can be seen in our media. Most relationships on TV shows are between a male and female; and the shows that do depict two males or two females in a relationship are considered abnormal, progressive, or are in some way not the norm. On the network TV show The Bachelor, there has never been a homosexual couple and the show has aired something like 15 seasons. (There has also never been a Bachelor or Bachelorette of color either which supports the ideas on institutionalized racism we discussed last week.) I think this is a significant example because the show airs on network TV (ABC), which is supposed to attract “mainstream” Americans. (As opposed to say, Tila Tequila’s show in which she was choosing between both males and females. This show was aired on MTV which typically targets a younger, “hipper” audience. However, I think it can be argued that this show expressed stereotypes of bisexuals as wild and sex-crazed.) If the producers of The Bachelor felt that a homosexual couple would be accepted by the mainstream audience in the same way the heterosexual couples have been, then I would think they would air such a situation. But they have not. To me, this suggests that the mainstream audience would not support a homosexual couple, therefore, furthering the idea of heteronormativity within our society and media. Another obvious example of heteronormativity is that in nearly every state in America, same sex-marriage is still not recognized as legal. This would be an example of de jure sexism, or sexism by law. This addresses the interesting predicament that once controlled segregation - the law is perpetuating discrimination. This leads me to believe that institutionalized sexism, similar to institutionalized racism as discussed in class, does in fact exist. Furthermore, the legal system is defining what is considered acceptable or “normal” for one’s sexual orientation.
The Office episode we watched last week was a good place to start when discussing sexism. As usual, Michael Scott was the stem of all problems. The situations that arised from Michael’s behavior weren’t necessary realistic when considering a work environment, however, it proved to spark some interesting discussion.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Michael didn’t mean any harm with his antics, most of what he did during that episode was very sexist and demeaning to women. A few examples that struck me were when Michael was talking about why the flasher didn’t expose himself to Pam or Karen “from behind.” Also, in attempt to make amends, Michael taking all of the female employees to the mall could be considered offensive. A refreshing contradiction to Michael’s ignorance was when Pam replaced the flat tire by herself because Michael obviously didn’t know how.
The discussion we had about legitimate sexism and overreactions was very interesting to me. Especially in this past decade, some women have become overly sensitive when it comes to sexism. Even things that aren’t intended to be sexist can portrayed as such by overzealous feminists. An example of this is the “womens response” to the dodge commercial we watched in class. Some women blew this way out of proportion and made a big deal out of nothing.
Another topic that we did not talk about much in class but I think is relevant to this discussion is how sexism can work both ways. Most discussions on sexism are based around the premise that women are the victim, when this not always the case. An example that I can think of is if a women gets a job over a man who is more qualified for the position. I fully acknowledge that women can be more qualified, but some get hired simply because of the fact that they are female. In my opinion, the advancement of women’s rights is a great thing, but I don’t think women should be compensated for oppressions that took place in the past, which is what seems to happen under certain circumstances. Another example of this, which I admit is fairly stupid, is in high school sports. Why are females allowed to play male sports (like football and wrestling) when males aren’t allowed to play female sports (like volleyball). I have often wondered about this, and I think it is an issue worth mentioning in discussions of sexism.
Sexism in the workplace is and can be a very big deal. In the episode of The Office that was shown in class Michael takes sexual harassment to a new level. In the episode Fillis on her way to work gets flashed by a random male stranger and when she arrives at work is visibly distraught. When Michael gets to work he is made aware of the situation that someone has flashed a fellow female character and becomes concerned. Subsequently Michael finds out it was Fillis who in his opinion is one of the less attractive female employees he finds it very funny and begins a tirade of various insensitive and very sexist comments throughout the episode. This outrageous scenario makes me think about what would happen if this really took place at various workplaces and how people would act. Having worked construction and various maritime jobs which are all very highly saturated male environments I feel if there would have been two reactions. First it would be a very big deal just for the fact that there are so few women in the construction industry that the chances of sexual harassment are that much greater and there would be policies to deal with the situation accordingly and much more preemptively. For the second scenario which is the complete inverse would that there would be nothing done and some people might laugh about it. I mention the later scenario because something very similar happened at one of my previous places of employment. One of the managers exposed himself to one of the administrative assistants in the middle of the workplace during business hours with absolutely no ramifications. In fact the administrative secretary thought it was extremely funny and did not show or express any complaints in regards to the matter in addition to making several jokes about the event later. Sexism in the workplace in my personal opinion is very subjective that really varies from person to person. For instance it depends on the place of employment, atmosphere of work, the personality of the person who is the aggressor and the person who is the victim, relationship between the people, etc. I am in no way defending what happened but every place of work has different attitudes on what is socially/culturally acceptable. However I feel very strongly that every place of employment should have sexual harassment policies in place. Where everyone is made aware of the policies in case someone does cross the line and makes a person feel uncomfortable or worse so that they know they have options and can take some type of counter-action to defend themselves as well as feeling secure at work.
ReplyDeletethe episode of The Office highlighted a typical sexist male view of a woman. Micheal is the type that believes in the myth of the frail sex. He's the kind of guy that doesn't think a woman should drive, let alone be his equal in the work place. I'm not completely sure it's all Micheal's fault though.
ReplyDeleteHow many of us grew up watching shows like The Brady Bunch with the stereotypical stay at home mom? In class we even saw a tire commercial the revolved around the fact that "women shouldn't drive". The sales pitch was that if she was going to be out on the scary highway all by her self she would need the best tires to keep your car safe. It wasn't all that long ago that women were expected to stay at home and have children. Careers were thought to just drain their energy during their precious child bearing years.
Micheal reflects the old school train of thought that some managers still have in the workforce today. It's not even really all his fault. To some extent our society programs us to be sexist, and Micheal is a reflection of those societal beliefs during his formative years.
In most cases these day however, I believe most people think that men and women are equal, at least in the work place. There really is no reasonable excuse someone should not get equal pay for equal work. In my opinion however, as my generation begins to go into the workforce and progress through the corporate strata I expect many of the glass ceilings that once kept women and minorities out of certain positions will begin to disappear.
A couple of scenes in the Office episode that we watched last week, really represented sexist cultural ideology. One of them is when they got a flat tire, and Michael was the first one who started acting like he knows what he’s doing, because he is a man. However, he had no idea what he was doing, Pam had to do all of the actual work. Michael’s behavior is greatly influenced by the sexist cultural ideology, because it is accepted that men know how to take care of cars. He could not just say he doesn’t know how to do it, the cultural ideology works both ways. Women expected him to know how to do it, and he did not expect any woman to know how to do it. The world has been changing faster than our culture has. Many women have entered the same workplace positions that were held solely by men only couple decades ago. Just the other day I have heard about this statistic, of traveling businesswomen versus traveling businessman, and it was 40 to 60%. Almost half of the successful business travelers are women, how amazing is this? The reality is eye-opening, but somehow, people still have old views on the work positions and skills that vary depending on sex. It is funny for me to see sexism jokes in the advertisement and marketing industry, and when they are used in TV shows. The jokes about men/women roles in the household or at work, or even someone’s sexual orientation are acceptable I think. There are many laws today that protect us from sexual harassment and discrimination. We have come a long way , especially in the past few decades. In my opinion, we cannot expect world to change even faster than it already does.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I think that I hate that it has to be an issue. It seems it always has to be an issue, this means this and that must mean this. It's annoying that always there has to be an issue. It seems that people take it too far causing a barrier between men and women or homosexual and heterosexual. When really the playing field should be equal. Take for example the saying 'that's so gay' or 'that's gay' a lot of people take offensive to that saying. I know why but when I say 'that's gay' I mean it has that is so stupid not so homosexual like. Yet, there a people who take to mean that is so homosexual or that it makes fun of those who are homosexual but I don't see that way. I understand that the problem is the people who mean it to make fun of those who are homosexual. And that is what is so annoying about an issue with in sexism. People can't get a grip on what is right and what is wrong. I don't deny that there is a problem with sexism and racism but for me it isn't a problem. I am willing to stand up when I need to, to say that was wrong. Yet, I feel that being a little relaxed is important. It is all about the context and what the person means by it.
ReplyDeleteI have heard, laughed at and watched sexist or any offensive jokes/tv shows and so on. It is how one deals with it. When I see Michael Scott go to the point where he makes an idiot out of himself I laugh. If he was not acting and serious then he would be a seriously screwed up person and maybe no one taught him that there are such things as boundaries.
I am all for women be treated equally but I also feel that the feminist activist sometimes go too far. Yes, women should get all the rights men get but we don't need special treatment. We deserve to go to work and make the same amount has the man doing the same job. But I feel that the feminist activist go too far, for example, I remember sometime ago a lady got mad that she couldn't breast feed in a public pool. And that caused an outrage, well that is ridiculous, one it probably isn't healthy for the baby to have so much chlorine, two it is appropriate to feed a baby in a public place where parents allow their children who have rules or expectations for their children.
Just like racism, sexism is something people do not openly say they are sexist. People do not realize it, but when sexism occurs, people usually laugh it off like a joke. Sexism can occur anywhere, but what most commonly known is in workplaces. Most of the time, people discuss sexism in a form of men discriminating women. But today, it can happen in many different ways. There could be the case of women discriminating against men, men against men and women against women. Peoples’ sexuality plays a big role in sexual harassment. With that being said, just like racism, sexism is usually in the form of jokes or pranks. For example, men can make comments like “she’s on her period and that is why she’s angry”. Comments like that can seem like a joke, but it can also be degrading.
ReplyDeleteFrom the episode of the Office, it seems like Michael has this perception of if everything is a joke than its okay. What he fail to realize that it might be funny to him, it can be offensive to others. He really needs to evaluate his audience before presenting the joke. Workplace is a very tricky place to say jokes that are either racism or sexism. Because everybody there is trying to be professional and serious, a joke that can be considered racist or sexist will be taken seriously. If Michael have a special relationship with his employees, like outside of work, then it can be acceptable. But other than that, the jokes will be considered offensive.
I believe sexism still exist today. In our society, whoever is the best gets the job. But at times, that is not the case. Is a male professor more qualify to teach women studies than a female professor? Or is it safer to have a female officer to patrol than a male officer? These are the questions that are still flowing through our mind and it is affecting the ideology of sexism. It is said that women are treated equal and have the same opportunity as men. But how long did it take to have a woman candidate for president? Even if she was elected, will she be accepted? I believe this year’s election determined how acceptance is either sexism or racism. A color president or a woman president and by the results, it seems like America has conquered a small stepping stone of racism. Now what happened if you’re a color woman? Does she have equal rights in society and workplace as any men?
Couple of interesting thoughts I had when we discussed sexism this week.
ReplyDeleteOne, I know it's still an ongoing issue in today's society. But personally I feel that as a country, much like the issue of Racism, we have vastly improved in the past 60 years. In the mainstream media, this is shown by the change and removal in derogatory ideologies found in many old advertising campaigns. But, one major issue that still seems to be prevalent in society today is that women make less wages than their male counterparts. In today's world, studies have shown that in equal settings for both male and females, the difference has greatly decreased.
For example, after doing a little bit of research, I found a study done in 2005, that noted wives earned more than their husbands in 25.5% of dual-income families. Also, a study in 2008 published by the US Labor Department found that in the same career fields at the same "level" of employment, un-married women earned 94.2% of their un-married fellow male employees; a mere 5.8% less in which most can argue is negligible due to negotiations during the hiring phase. Essentially, when studies of equal footed women and men are done, the results are that they are very close to each other. But when the overall population is analyzed, women are found to have lower average salaries. There are many possibilities for this, including (stereotypes aside) the fact that more women pick jobs in education and healthcare, where their earnings are typically lower than average.
As far as sexism specifically within the workplace (i.e. office, etc.), I think things have improved as well. Aside from enacted laws that ban sexual harassment between coworkers, the views of the society have changed allowing for a more "equalized" work atmosphere that is not just dominated by men, but also by women. My problem with the laws on sexual harassment is that, to me, I am deathly afraid of saying anything that would even remotely offend someone, even if I didn't intend for it to do so. And this all stems from the fact that the laws that have little-to-no leeway or forgiveness. I think it needs to have some modification because I feel like it's a system that can easily be exploited at the expense of the person who wasn't intending on committing sexual harassment.
Over this past week, the class discussed sexism at various levels of society. Sexism, much like the earlier discussion of racism, takes many forms and occurs in many environments and is the result of generalizations being made over large groups of people. Some of these variations discussed included systematic sexism established in society, in the workplace as overly displayed in an episode of “The Office,” on an individual basis, and when it occurs in non-biologically based settings, heteronormality as an example. The problem of sexism has changed along with society, in my opinion taking on a more gender, personal representation, based division than before.
ReplyDeleteThe basis of sexism can be traced, in very similar ways to racism, as an all too convenient means of grouping people. Socially established sexism is most often recognized as a differentiation between men and women, generalizations made regarding each. Systematic sexism is also noticeable in the class’s initial responses to the question all being from the point of view that women are suppressed or simplified by men, when in fact the opposite is equally as likely, women are not always oppressed, men are not always the oppressor. However, this is the historically established standard and is applied to incidents of sexism still. For example, as Josh points out in his blog post from personal experience, the engineering field is viewed as “sexist” for having a large number of men when compared to the number of women when the field goes out of its way to provide extra opportunities to women over men.
Sexism in professional environments was reviewed from “The Office” where incidents of Michael’s ignorance caused problems. Problems are bound to arise in sexist terms when the sexes divide and cease looking at each individual as an individual, but simply a member of the greater grouping. Accommodations must be made to each sex in accordance with the obvious fact that the sexes are different, women will bear children and need maternity leave, men will not. However it is inappropriate for a large environment, society, the workplace, and the like to establish rules beyond the clear biological differences. This is true because no umbrella standard can be applied to any sex or gender, and to do so is in itself a sexist act.
With umbrella standards being inappropriate, as they only enhance the generalizations that create sexism, each person must be handled individually. The subject I agree with the most from the class discussion was the necessity of common sense in these matters. Common sense on an individual basis is really the only feasible way to avoid incidents of sexism. Oversensitivity also causes problems for individuals, again an incident of individuals making assumptions based on preconceived notions. The example Dodge commercial and subsequent rebuttal is an example of this; both were based on generalizations, but in my opinion the initial was not meant as an attack on women, the rebuttal was an attack on men.
Non-biological divisions have also been used in sexist ways. Primarily the established concept of heteronormality is used to oppress other gender identifications. From a biological standpoint, heteronormality makes sense; it takes a male and female to create a new life in any sexually reproducing species. However socially, heteronormality is used to alienate other orientations based on the non-biological concept of gender identification, which is a personal trait. This is an overextension of a concept used as a justification of sexism, and is inappropriate.
I think sexism is one of those kinds of prejudices that never truly goes away, unfortunately, but evolves as people society changes. The state it is in now seems to be unintentional sexism, as in people may not be aware they are being sexist. It isn’t like back in the day when men would only allow women to work in certain jobs and the general view was that women only belonged in the kitchen. This was very clear sexism and homosexuals were something of a taboo. Today, however, sexism is one of those prejudices that exist in most people’s minds even if they do not admit it. It is like in The Office when Michael tries to say he isn’t sexist but his actions show the opposite such as taking all the women out to the mall because it’s a stereotype that all women love the mall.
ReplyDeleteMichael’s sexism may be overacted for the sake of the TV show but it is an example of the kind of sexism that many people have in this day and age. When people say they do not have any sexist or racist tendencies it is usually a lie. They may not mean to have these tendencies or even know about them themselves but at times they pop out. For example, when Michael said he would buy all the women of Dunder Mifflin something from Victoria Secret, not only was it inappropriate but it was a sexist thing to do.
Sexism is something that can’t simply go away because there is no way that you can set limits for it. For example, if a man holds a door open for a women is that considered sexist? The fact that men and women can’t be treated equally at all times is the biggest thing keeping sexism a problem. If it were to completely disappear then society would have to make huge changes such as coed bathrooms and such.
Sexism in the workplace is something that can be controlled and to control it it is best to not have someone like Michael Scott run seminars on it. It shouldn’t be left alone but it really should have boundaries. An outside person should be responsible for running classes so that those inside the work place don’t get the wrong idea about other employees.
Sexism can be a very big problem in the work place. Last weeks episodes of the office, even though the scenes where over dramatic and probably would not happen in the work place but it did showed major sexism. I know it is just a TV show and it is made a certain way to make people laugh but the episode can help for purposes detecting stereotypes and learning.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion in class in Friday was also interesting because in a lot of work places finding the right balance can be difficult. In my last job there was a very family like feel to it. Many of the employees would hangout after work and they would plan out activities to do on weekends. There were people who would laugh and make jokes with each other that were very inappropriate. As I worked there I saw some of these actions going on and I figured something had to go wrong eventually. As I was expecting later in the year there were accusations made and a couple people ended up getting fired. After that happened the work place did begin to become more of a professional work place again, everyone had to adjust to the new balance between work and social life.
The flow and harmony of the work place can really be affected by sexism because it can be really hard for some people to work to their fullest potential when they are not comfortable and wondering when the next comment about them is going to come or the next time someone may inappropriately touch them.
My personal belief is that everyone should be able to go to work and be comfortable. I believe work is a place where you can have friendships but there needs to be balance and a mutual respect between everyone.
Sexism is very large issue in the world today, and it always has been. Overall I feel that sexism in America is not nearly as widespread and discriminatory as it once was, but it still exists in our society and the workplace. There have been drastic improvements to ensure that women have the same opportunities as men in the education system and work place. These improvements include laws such as Title IX which says “that any institution receiving federal funding may not discriminate against anyone based on gender.” It is remarkable how much progress has been made in the United Stated in the past fifty years to help reduce sexism. It wasn't until the passage of the Equal Pay Act on June 10, 1963 (effective June 11, 1964) that it became illegal to pay women lower rates for the same job strictly on the basis of their sex.
ReplyDeleteEven though there have been all these improvements to try to eliminate sexism it still exists today. The Office episode that we watched in class week was based on stereotypes that exist today between men and women. It brought up a lot of general stereotypes that still exist, such as that women like to shop and feel comfortable at the mall. The stereotypes addressed in this show are what make it funny because most people have enough sense to understand what is appropriate to say, and realize that if their boss acted like Michael on a day to day basis he would be fired. I feel that a lot of these stereotypes in the Office are based on ignorance, and it comes down to balancing on that line between being funny and being sexist.
When it comes down to it men and women are different. Their bodies are made up differently so I think it unrealistic to have complete balance in all situations. The key is to understand these differences and learn to evaluate people on their accomplishments and not their gender.
The article written by Vicki Schultz on sexual harassment had some very interesting points that I had not thought of regarding sexism and sexual harassment. When most people hear the terms “sexual harassment” or “sexism” today’s society immediately jump into a negative mindset no matter what ones opinion on the subject. This causes people to put up defensive barriers and to act on edge when the topic is discussed. Personally I feel that sexual harassment is a big deal, but has been over emphasized in the past few decades due to heavily publicized cases of harassment in the media and the uprising of the feminist movement.
ReplyDeleteIn the Schultz article it was discussed how the sterilizing of the workplace has caused many problems including unhappiness and restlessness at work. Whether you like it or not sexuality is part of our lives everyday being human beings and learning to deal with this can be a struggle for some. Despite this I feel that simply trying to ignore this factor and sterilize the work environment creates irrational fear that every man in a position of power is a potential harassment threat. It was interesting to hear of statistics that not only promoted interoffice relationships but stipulated that they in some cases increased productivity and moral of the workforce. This new school of thought contradicts the old philosophy of the past few decades that if not directly outright, office relationships were discouraged.
Another interesting point raised is that of with the success of women in the workplace in the last 50 years sexual harassment is not a one way street. It is perfectly plausible for men to be harassed not only by other male coworkers or superiors but by women as well. This would have been unheard of in the past but now must be taken into serious consideration.
As stated before, I believe that sexual harassment and sexism is an important issue to monitor in the workplace as it continues to evolve. This means keeping every employee aware of what boundaries are acceptable to cross and ones that are not without eliminating the possibility of interoffice relationships. Although this seems complicated it truly comes down to a degree of common sense and a base ground rules. For example keeping physical contact to socially acceptable actions such as handshakes etc.
Again the episode of the office that we viewed in class is an exaggeration of what a person would ever expect to see in the workplace for the purpose of entertainment. However, like the episode on racism at work, there are several issues raised that can translate into an actual work environment that one might experience. One example is the elderly white man who works in the office and did not see the problem with flashing. That along with some of his other reactions, excluding using the women’s bathroom on a regular basis, demonstrate an opinion of women in the work place carried over from many years ago that some people still hold.
ReplyDeleteAn issue that is a common situation in the work place is office relationships, although the relationship between Michael and Jan is an exaggeration of what is normally seen. Office romances can easily lead to awkward and uncomfortable situations in the work place, especially if they end. This leads to most work places banning them, but it still happens. It is a difficult situation to control in any work place and honestly I don’t think it is something that can be avoided. However it should be restrained and kept professional at work like we discussed in class.
In general the show demonstrated several sexual stereotypes that are seen in the work place. These include things like Michael taking the women to the mall to talk so they would be more “comfortable”. Another example is the assumption by Dwight that the women needed to be controlled for their protection after the flashing incident. These are extremes, but can be seen in similar forms such as gifts that may be considered sexist.