Comparing Cudd And Young's View Of Sexism

Today, we define sexism as “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.” Cudd, Jones, and Young all depicted their own views on sexism and why they believed it existed. I will outline their accounts of sexism and compare them by discussing the criteria that they believed defined sexism.

Cudd and Jones wrote Sexism in 2003 and as we will see not much has changed 12 years later. “It is a pervasive, long-standing, and deeply disturbing fact that, by many ways of measuring well-being, women around the globe live lesser lives than men.” (Cudd, Jones 73) This alone sets the tone to really grasp that sexism is a global phenomenon. Cudd and Jones outline why different forms of this discrimination take place,

She begins by stating that people naturally identify with a group because of how others identify with them in that group. Yes, people can switch groups but the point she makes is that whatever group you are in will represent and almost stereotype the ones in the group. She provides five faces of oppression that convey the individuals reactions to the groups and how the social constructs mold an individual. The first face is exploitation, she focuses on Marx’s theory of class structure. An example of this would be a lower class that is powerless toward the upper class without the knowledge that the upper class is dependent on them to obtain power and yet they do not expect more than they given. The second face is marginalization, this includes gender, racial, age, and status oppression. “Marginals are people the system of labor markets cannot or will not employ.” (Young 98) Someone racially marked black, a women, or older person may find it relatively rough finding a job. The third face is powerlessness. This can go hand in hand with exploitation because it deals with the treatment of someone based on class. A good example is the social division like middle class or lower class. The fourth face of oppression is cultural imperialism, the universalization of one group’s culture. It is a stereotype placed on the group’s culture and frankly if the individual falls under those impressions they can find themselves as outsiders. The fifth and final face is violence. It is a social practice that is constructed by the group by targeted toward the individual, they become intrinsically conscious and afraid of being subjected to violence based on their group. The group of women for example have a reason to fear rape while men may not. Young’s goal was to be analytical and not explanatory about the sexism and oppression groups may