Sexism and Lack of Women's Rights in a Patriarchal Society

Sexism and Patriarchy is a prominent problem in today’s popular culture. Females have been criticized, underrepresented, and misrepresented for years. Not only are females viewed as lesser than men in many areas of popular culture but there is a huge discrepancy in wages between males and females even though the work is the same if not better. Through the use of equal opportunities, awareness, and initiative we can bridge the gap of gender inequality not only in popular culture but in everyday life.

Sexism can be described as the discrimination based on sex or in other terms the belief that men are superior to women (Napikoski, 2019). Sexism has caused women to feel that they are unworthy for centuries. Years ago, women could not vote, women were expected to fulfill roles that men created for them and act the way men wanted them to act. This included the traditional role of women being homemakers and being expected to take care of children and the house and provide a comfortable home for their husband. Women were also unable to pursue careers or advance their education. Patriarchy describes a society that is characterized by unequal status’ between males and females where women are disadvantaged (What is Patriarchy, n.d.). A patriarchy is an alternative term for a male dominated world. Patriarchy’s affect women’s ability to obtain jobs, professional roles, etc. Both sexism and patriarchy play a huge role in many different aspects in our world and have cause not only a lack of confidence in women but have put women on the back burner. A huge aspect of both sexism and patriarchy affects monetary value for women’s work. For example, the USA women’s soccer team is ranked number one in the world. They won in the Olympics and have one multiple world cup titles. They are also paid less than the Men’s USA soccer team although the men’s team has not accomplished as much. According to an article in Forbes, “The ten highest-paid female athletes combined earned less than the top male athletes” (Elsessor, 2018). Not only is this true in popular culture but it is also present in the workplace. In 2017, women were paid 77% of the amount males were paid (The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, n.d.). Women also hold less upper management positions than men. The truth is by putting women in the background the world is missing out on opportunities to succeed and more creative and unique efforts. This is present in almost all careers and fields. Females are continuously being underpaid and over worked. In general, any person should be rewarded for their successes whether it be at work, at school, on a sports team, in film etc., regardless of gender, sex, or ethnicity.

One main aspect of sexism and patriarchy is constantly being demonstrated in television. Women are paid less in Hollywood industries including TV shows, sitcoms, films. Reality TV, dramas, sitcoms, many more; these shows portray women in a lesser way than men. Reality TV is a huge part of popular culture today. Reality TV shows women as objects and less like actual people contrary to how they show men. Women are expected to have a specific appearance and to mold to fit a certain character created mainly by men. Women are often portrayed as objects of sex instead of given roles highlighting their character or intelligence. Years ago women were not given main roles, they were only given to men who were also paid more for their roles. A huge aspect of Television is that women on TV shows influence young girls: what they should wear, what they should look like, and how they should act. This is a bad influence for our youth giving them the idea that women are less than men. We should be promoting strong, healthy and powerful women. Movies for example like superwomen should be who our children aspire to be like. Instances of sexism are present all throughout social media and popular culture. The media is a major influencer of all people including our youth. The media often presents sexism without viewers even knowing it. It can be present in ads, on apps, in magazines and it is also present often in music. Most rap songs include verses disvaluing women and have music videos sexualizing women. Country music also tends to sexualize women. Seeing all of the different avenues that sexism is presented shows why we are unable to break the mold of gender inequality. It has to start with social media to begin making changes because social media is something that reaches everyone.

In order to move forward we must first reflect upon where we have come in our journey with women’s rights. The fight for gender equality began in 1848 with famous abolitionist Susan B. Anthony, Ida Harper and many other women sparking the idea of change and increasing women’s rights (Price, 2019). The women gathered and planned for years with protests gaining more and more followers. After a long fight in 1920 women gained the right to vote and the 19th amendment was created including the right to vote regardless of sex (Price, 2019). In 1963 the Equal Pay Act allowed men and women working the same job to make the same amount of money (Milestones in Women's History: A Timeline, 2019). In 1981 Sandra O’Connor was the first women elected into the Supreme Court which was the same year that Sally ride became the first female in space (Milestones in Women's History: A Timeline, 2019). In 2007 Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the house and in 2013 the ban was removed and women were able to serve in combat positions (Milestones in Women's History: A Timeline, 2019). Each of this moments played a special part in history and paved the way for our first female candidate for president; Hilary Clinton, a strong and confident woman that has set a new height for women around the world.

After acknowledging what areas of our society sexism is present in we can begin to implement change. First, taking a look at schools and ensuring the women are given more opportunities in schools. Males and females should be treated equally throughout school moreover females should be given the confidence to take leadership roles. We need to push the government to even the pay grade for males and females. Payment should not be a discriminatory measure. Another important change is the need to provide more opportunities for women. More opportunities for leadership, more leading roles, a bigger voice. Education and awareness also need to be brought to the forefront. People around the world need to understand that sexism and patriarchy are still present but can be changed with a different perspective and initiative. This starts at home with how we raise our children and continues into school where we send our children to become educated. We as a nation need to bring awareness to these issues and need to promote and implement change. “Empowered women contribute to the health, productivity, and prosperities of their families, societies and countries, creating a ripple effect that benefits everyone” (Global Issues: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, n.d.). The ultimate goal in all of this is gender equality. “Gender equality means that men and women have equal power and equal opportunities for financial independence, education, and personal development” (Global Issues: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, n.d.). Gender equality is not only important for women but also for men. Women have more to contribute to this world and it is up to us to encourage equality to bring new ideas and efforts to the forefront.

Sexism and Patriarchy are prevalent issues that still exist today. It not only affects women but affects our world by compromising how great our world could be if we allowed women to rise to their full potential. Through popular culture we are able to educate our youth on the equality between the genders. It is essential to promote strong, empowered, and confident women to inspire young girls who participate in popular culture. Ultimately, the goal is to encourage equality and foster a more accepting and inspiring world through the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment.