Page 200 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

174 gender microaggressions and sexism

Table 8.1 Contrasting Role Descriptions: Businessman and Businesswoman
• He’s aggressive; she’s pushy.
• He’s good at details; she’s picky.
• He loses his temper because he’s so involved in the job; she’s bitchy.
• When he’s depressed (or hungover), everyone tiptoes past his offi ce; she’s
moody so it must be her “time of the month.”
• He follows through; she doesn’t know when to quit.
• He’s confi dent; she’s conceited.
• He stands fi rm; she’s hard.
• He has judgment; she’s prejudiced.
• He’s a man of the world; she’s “been around.”
• He drinks because of excessive job pressure; she’s a lush.
• He isn’t afraid to say what he thinks; she’s mouthy.
• He excises authority diligently; she power-mad.
• He’s close-mouthed; she’s secretive.
• He’s climbed the ladder to success; she slept her way to the top.

Source: Author unknown. Taken from Zastrow (2004, p. 450).

They are often admonished to not make a big deal about it and/or “ ignore it
or not to be oversensitive ” (Capodilupo et al., in press). Often they told stories
of how their complaints or observations were portrayed as personal short-
comings and of their not taking personal responsibility for contributing to the
situation (victim blame).

The denial of sexism flies in the face of reality. Both overt and subtle sexism are

continuing realities found in sexual harassment, objectification, sexist humor,
and many forms of discrimination (Klonoff & Landrine, 1995; Matteson &
Moradi, 2005; Swim & Cohen, 1997). It was found that women of all ages
reported frequent sexism in academics, social life, employment, and athletics.
Ninety - nine percent of a female sample reported sexism at some time in their
lives; 97% experienced it in the past year; and many reported high frequencies
through their lives (Klonoff & Landrine, 1995).

7. Denial of Individual Sexism — Denial of individual sexism varies from
deliberative to sincere levels. With respect to the former, men who hold tra-
ditional sex - role views of women and/or hold hostile and negative attitudes
toward them may consciously and deliberately disguise their sexist thoughts or
actions. Thus, they may consciously discriminate against a woman applying

for a job but disguise the reason as “ the male candidate was better qualified. ”
In our society, it is not politically correct or socially acceptable to discrimi-
nate against any one group. However, the majority of gender microaggres-
sions directed at women are from men who sincerely believe they are not
sexist, profess equality for women, and consciously abhor sex discrimination.

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