Explaining equality and sexism

[SunshineofRay]

Having a conversation with someone a few days ago and we got onto sexism, I was explaining that women don't have to be the ones who do all the housework and stay at home, kids can wear whatever they like, play with whatever they like etc
But I wondered how to explain where this stemmed from?
Basically is there a good explanation of sexism and it's origins to give to someone who has no idea
I get it but I can't put it into words as well as some of you probably can

[Keepithidden]

I'm not sure anyone has really nailed down exactly where sexism and the patriarchy originated. It is such an ancient system of control that it seems to predate historical records so is pretty much down to speculation which is often debated. There's a load of stuff on evolutionary psychology that has been widely debunked by professionals, but it persists in the media for some reason, possibly as it justifies the power imbalance.

There's also some interesting research on "othering" and "out groups" whereby a group of individuals displaying certain charateristics are deemed less than others and targeted/vilified due to this. It crops up quite often when humans get together, this seems to be the basis of discrimination, be it sexism, racism or any other brand of -ism.

Not sure if that is any help, but there could be something to Google if you wanted to learn a bit more.

PS - usual caveats apply, I'm not a professional anthropologist/psychologist/historian etc.

[SunshineofRay]

Thank you will have a google later on, I just said that this is the way society teaches us is the norm,
You're right about different -isms though, I think racism is pushed through the media a lot these days, for example the 'Muslim=terrorist/extremism' that seems to be so prevalent

[BillnTedsMostFeministAdventure]

To my mind, the origins of sexism are to do with the biological disparity in child bearing and certainty of parenthood.

[Squidstirfry]

Religion and superstition would have had a lot to do with the origins of patriarchy...

Modern society has evolved to realise how most religious superstition is redundant and out-dated, but we still have a long way to go.

[Keepithidden]

I tend to think of religion/patriarchy as a bit chicken and egg. Which one came first type thing.

I've had conversations in the past about war and relegion, the old "religion has caused more wars than anything else" line. While I'm sure they were a factor, I can't help thinking that religion was a tool used to wield power rather than an origin in itself. I suspect the same is true of the patriarchy/religion debate. I have no proof to back any of this up of course, it's just a hunch!

BillnTeds I've heard of before, interestingly I've not seen a critique of it and because it's the most obvious difference between men and women it makes sense more than some of the other theories out there.

It's a fascinating subject, if we knew why it originated it would be easier to argue against it. Mind you, anyone with a moral compass and the desire to question societal rules shouldn't need arguing against anyway...