Curious about your thoughts

[athena]

19. At least (most) people today see that racism is a problem.

Sexism seems to be just fine with most people, even on DU. Just look at all the posts that say that women's complaints about sexism have "gotten old". You can make an outrageously sexist statement, and people will defend it as being the truth, while criticizing feminists who complain as being thin-skinned or not having a sense of humor. The same is not true of racism.

In my opinion, racism is more acute, but sexism runs deeper. One day, people will be treated equally regardless of their skin color. Black people will no longer be killed by cops for the crime of being Black. That day, society will still expect that women do most of the cooking, cleaning, and child care in the home, as if women were naturally born as second-class citizens whose purpose on Earth is to serve as men's maids. Large numbers of people will still believe that women should be forced against their will to go through pregnancy and give birth because a woman's bodily integrity is less important than the pain that might be felt by a fetus that might be male. Women will still be underrepresented in government and the top echelons of corporations. People will still blame women for their own underrepresentation in the sciences by saying, as Larry Summers did, that they just choose not to work as hard. Women who dare to speak their minds in business meetings will still lose out on promotions for being "aggressive" and having a "strong personality". Female politicians will still be criticized for being "shrill", "loud", "angry", and "entitled". And the worst part of it is that almost no one will see a problem with any of this.

It's really counterproductive to try to argue that either sexism or racism is more important. We must join forces to fight both at the same time. A person who can recognize sexism is more likely to be able to recognize racism, and vice versa. This is not a contest.