Even after years of success in the women’s rights movement, sexism is still clearly an issue. Although less overt, gender prejudices exist, especially on social media. Twitter is a particularly popular source for sexist comments, but it is not the only place to find degrading comments. Although many of these remarks are meant to be funny, they hurt women by demeaning them and subsequently lowering their sense of self. Although it would be far-fetched to think that all sexist comments could be eliminated, raising awareness about how detrimental these remarks are is an appropriate first step.

Jokes about women “belonging in the kitchen” are not at all humorous, and if some arrogant men believe the sole purpose of women is to make them food, eventually they will starve. One particularly conspicuous example of sexism is this t-shirt:

On social media, with one million+ followers, @MeninistTweet provides a clear example of sexism still existing and thriving in society. By using derogatory terms agains women, @MeninistTweet merely helps to create a society that does not foster growth for young women. @MeninistTweet is supposed to be satirical, but, in general, it does more harm than good. This account goes further than degrading women to make racist comments, and is all the more reason for the account to be banned.

With many magazines and products that lower women’s self esteem by promoting certain body types, there is clearly enough in the media to demean women, without sexist comments about women’s “inability to drive”. For instance, magazines often promote a skinny female body type, with little appreciation for heavier women. Although, men make a point that magazines, like Men’s Health, give them an unrealistic standard for their body types. Also, society and social media promote the ideals that men are supposed to lack emotions and expected to make a lot of money or be mechanically inclined (like fixing cars and changing tires, etc.).  However, there are certainly far more magazines and social media influences that give women an unreasonable standard for their bodies and disposition than for men.

Women themselves are not free from blame for degrading fellow women. For instance, by calling each other derogatory terms, women effectively manage to hurt each other. Also, insulting each other’s promiscuity or looks represents internal sexism that demonstrates the negative effects of sexism in modern society. Basically, as long as both men and women continue making derogatory comments, sexism will exist in society. Enough of the media thrives by degrading women, so raising awareness about sexism in the media would be beneficial to end gender prejudices.