To
begin, I think that we have
to look at what "sexist" means.
Following the dictionary definition
being sexist, it means "discriminating
in favor of members of one sex."
It also means "assuming that
a person's abilities and social
functions are determined by
his or her sex." As someone
who doesn't believe that there
are pre-determined roles for
men and women, I don't think
that men and women are sexist
from the get-go. Sexism comes
into play when our gender roles
are defined for us.
As
for an answer as to "why" people
do this, I think the main reason
is fear...either fear that your
"power" is being taken away
from you and/or fear that you
have to take more responsibility
for yourself. Most of this fear
is based on ignorance--either
not believing that one gender
is capable of doing what the
other gender is or not believing
in yourself. We are limited
by barriers as much as we limit
ourselves. Until will push these
limitations by daring to believe
in ourselves, we will have a
hard time moving those barriers.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Amy
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