Besides the aggressive or obvious symptoms of?

Question

male-chauvinism, please list of the more subtle and covert indications of the affliction.

I'm requesting this list because there are many men and women who are still in the dark about its debilitating effects on society and the family unit. Thankyou.

Cristy and Chevella, you've listed some excellent insights. Chevella, I didn't know about the 'Amazon'..quite interesting, thanks for sharing.

Answer 1

In my experience, subtley sexist comments almost always hint at a deeper degree of sexism. (i.e, I'm not into that emotional stuff; I'm a guy.) Often, gentlemanly - or patronizing- behavior (offering to carry things - implicit is the assumption that you're incapable of carrying them yourself; expression of desires to 'protect' you, etc) indicates a devotion to gender roles that cast women as incapable/weaker.

Answer 2

There are a lot of examples in language that imply women are regarded as objects or property. Below, I have pasted text from questions I found right here in Yahoo! Answers, paired with some less offensive alternatives.

What's the easiest way to make my wife ...?
A less offensive alternative would be: How can I persuade my wife to...

How do I get a girl....
What can I do to attract a girl's attention?

What state produces the best women?
Sorry, I can't find a way to reword that so it doesn't sound like the woman is a commodity.

These are just a few of many instances where a thoughtless choice of words creates a demeaning message toward women.

Answer 3

Aside from the drastic symptoms of the disease known as misogyny (symptoms like genital mutilation, female slavery, and sexist laws) there are many subtle indications that we see every day. Many people think that we live in an equal society because women aren't being mutilated and such in developed countries. However, this is not the case.

Our language, for example, is fraught with sexist themes:
Women are given the prefixes Mrs. and Miss to reveal whether they are married. This in itself puts women out there, letting anyone know whether she is "on the market." Men, however, use Mr. and do not have to reveal their marital status. This is a way to give men the upper hand in prospective relationships and sexual relations. It illustrates the man choosing among the available women as his marital status remains a mystery.

Also, in American culture a woman is valued for the attractiveness and sexiness of her body, while a man is valued for his physical strength and accomplishments. A woman is sexy. A man is successful.

Another interesting word is from Greek mythology: Amazon. According to Greek folk etymology, the a means "without" as in atypical or amoral, while mazon comes from mazos meaning "breast" as still seen in mastectomy. In the Greek legend, Amazon women cut off their right breasts so that they could better shoot their bows. Apparently, the storytellers had a feeling that for women to play the active, "masculine" role the Amazons adopted for themselves, they had to trade in part of their femininity.

Another example, a callboy is the person who calls actors when it is time for them to go on stage, but a call girl is a prostitute. Compare sir and madam. Sir is a term of respect, while madam has acquired the specialized meaning of a brothel manager. Something similar has happened to master and mistress.

Now, take a look at commercials. Nothing better illustrates the themes and views of society than marketing. Commercials for cleaning supplies and child care products (dawn soap, viva paper towels, Ovaltine chocolate drink, Johnsons baby lotion, swiffer dusters, etc.) all have women actors and, therefor, market mainly to women. This proves that our society still views housework and child rearing as women's work. Check out the link below for more examples.

Answer 4

I agree. Subtleties are the worst and affect us all.

Other examples include
- calling all women "girls," as in, "Yeah, this girl I know turned 35 last weekend"
- using words that are meant to refer to females or women's genitals as insults ("Don't be such a woman about it")
- describe someone's whining as "crying like a little girl" (why not little boy? or baby?)
- calling women, especially those whom you do not know, by pet names (hon/ey, dear, sweetheart)

Answer 5

I agree with Chevella.