The 15 types of Sexism (and their characteristics)

Discrimination, in all its expressions, is one of the biggest problems that all the countries of the world are facing. And it is that according to a study carried out between 2014 and 2019 by the OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) in a total of 31 countries, 1 in 5 people claim to have been discriminated against throughout his life.

Thus, 20% of the world population has suffered, in their meat, discrimination, one of the worst attacks against human rights and which is defined as unequal and generally pejorative treatment of a person or group of people for issues associated with your race, age, religion, culture, sexual orientation, sex, gender.

And it is precisely on these last concepts that we are going to stop. Well, one of the most widespread, harmful and, at times, insidious forms of discrimination is sexism, that discriminatory attitude that consists of underestimating, denigrating or developing and perpetrating prejudices against other people on the basis of their sex or gender. The UN estimates that 9 out of 10 people in the world have sexist biases.

Now, does sexism always manifest itself in the same way? No. Not much less. And it is precisely for this reason that in today's article and, as always in the hands of the most prestigious publications, we are going to review the bases and nature of the different forms of sexism that exist. So let's see what kinds of sexist attitudes can occur in society. In this way, through knowledge, we can combat this very harmful form of discrimination.

What is sexism?

Sexism is discrimination based on a person's sex and / or gender. Thus, it is a discriminatory attitude in which people undervalue, denigrate or develop prejudices against people on the grounds of their sex or gender and promote gender role stereotypes, that is, all those stereotypes that have traditionally been established by sexual differences.

This sexism, also known as sexual discrimination or gender discrimination is, more than an individual attitude, a problem deeply rooted in the foundations of society, since historically men have exercised dominance over women and this denigrating legacy is what gives arguments for these sexist attitudes.

The concept was born in the sixties as a result of feminist movements, which saw this form of discrimination as the means that sought to promote the superiority of men over women. Hence, sexism is defined as the set of attitudes, behaviors, conducts, prejudices, beliefs, symbols and customs that promote discrimination against people based on sex and / or gender.

As a point, sex is the set of biological characteristics that define men and women, responding to the anatomy of the reproductive system (that is, the sexual organs of the person) and to all those secondary sexual characteristics that depend on hormonal properties and physiological. Instead, gender is a label that arises from the expectations of social roles based on a person's sex, that is, the set of behaviors, attitudes, attributes and clothing that society considers appropriate for men or women, thus the psychosocial construction of sex.

Thus, sexism is any form of discrimination that is exercised against a person or group based on both their sex and their gender, promoting prejudices and discriminatory attitudes generally based on the idea of ​​the supremacy of men over women.

What kinds of sexism are there?

After this introduction, surely the bases of sexism have been more than clear. Even so, this oversimplified definition of such a vast and nuanced social problem does not do justice to reality. For this reason and with the aim of being able to identify sexist behaviors, below we are going to detail the different types of sexism that exist.

1. Benevolent sexism

Benevolent sexism is the one that goes the most unnoticed, as it is expressed with behaviors that are seen as acts of kindness. But in reality, treating a person differently based on their sex or gender is still a form of discrimination. Treating women as if they are more fragile or in need of protection is benevolent sexism.

2. Hostile sexism

Hostile sexism is the one that best suits the idea that we have of discrimination, since it is all those behaviors of aggressiveness, hostility and physical or psychological violence exerted on a person or group for reasons of sex or gender. Unfortunately, gender-based violence and violence based on sexual orientation or identity are still present in more advanced societies.

3. Ambivalent sexism

Ambivalent sexism is a combination of benevolent and hostile sexism, as it is that developed by people who vary their conception of women between innocent beings who need protection and manipulative people who must be dominated. In ambivalent sexism, “good” and “bad” women are differentiated according to how they dress and how they behave.

4. Mansplaining

Mansplaining is a form of sexism based on condescension and paternalism. It consists of the attitudes of men belittling the woman they are talking to, explaining things without taking into account that the person who is receiving the explanation already knows the subject that is being talked about. Mansplaining is based on the idea that a woman's ability to understand is inferior to that of a man.

5. Sexism against women

Sexism against women is the most deeply rooted manifestation of this form of discrimination, since it encompasses all those discriminatory attitudes that men exercise against women for the simple fact of being a woman. It is directed towards women whose sex corresponds to their gender identity, what we know as "feminine".

6. Sexism against transsexuals

Sexism against transsexuals is that manifestation in which discrimination is exercised against people whose biological sex does not correspond to their gender identity. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we are advancing as a society, transgender people are the target of many discriminatory attitudes.

7. Sexism against intersex people

Sexism against intersex people is a little known form due to the few cases of intersexuality, a condition in which the external or internal genitalia do not conform to the traditional categories of male or female or the person has a chromosomal endowment other than XX or XY. This ambiguity when defining sex makes these people, unfortunately, the target of many acts of discrimination.

8. Sexism against men

Sexism against men is that form of discrimination based on misandry, that is, hatred or aversion towards men. Although men are the ones who traditionally exercise sexism, they can also be victims of this discrimination based on their sex, that is, because they are men.

9. Occupational sexism

Occupational sexism is any form of discrimination based on sex or gender that is expressed in the workplace. They are all those discriminatory attitudes that occur in the workplace, which may manifest with problems in hiring, difficulties in reaching high positions or a salary gap.

10. Sexism in sport

Sexism in sport is any form of discrimination that women suffer in the sporting and media context, since professional sport has generally been seen as an activity for men where women are objectified, invisible, devalued and stereotyped.

11. Normative sexism

Normative sexism is one that, although it is not expressed with violence such as hostile, is based on promoting all stereotypes of gender roles in society without greater justification than tradition or custom. When, for example, we refuse to buy dolls for a child, we are fostering this normative sexism.

12. Institutional sexism

Institutional sexism refers to all those discriminatory attitudes that are promoted from the institutions of a State. They are policies and laws that, even indirectly, promote discrimination against a group for reasons of your sex or gender.

13. Interpersonal sexism

Interpersonal sexism is one that, unlike the previous one, is based on relationships between people. It can occur in any context of personal or professional life, but they are all those discriminatory attitudes that one person exercises over another on the grounds of their sex or gender without any policy behind it that promotes it.

14. Internalized sexism

Internalized sexism is a concept that refers to the situation in which a person who is discriminated against because of their sex or gender ends up unconsciously incorporating these ideas. Thus, inadvertently, the person ends up having sexist thoughts about himself.

15. Opposite sexism

By opposite sexism we understand that form of discrimination based on the idea that men and women are two mutually exclusive categories. Thus, oppositional sexism is based on establishing a very sharp line between what a man should be and what a woman should be, thus being the clearest manifestation of gender stereotypes.