Article:Sexism in American Politics

This article will focus on Sexism in American Politics specifically in Presidential Elections. Sexism is discrimination based on outward sexual characteristics or perceived gender. Sexism is inherently a cultural belief, in that individuals are indoctrinated with a certain set of beliefs as to what behavior or roles are acceptable for a gender. Sexism in the United States functions as a way to distribute power based on an individual's ability to meet gender expectations, however, Sexism typically rewards men over women and as such men are granted more power as well opportunities. Sexism exists as a process within patriarchy as it is the dominant cultural practice in the United States, although, it can function separately in that feminine behavior or appearance can be rewarded. As politics represents the field in which the most power is available for distribution, as such politics is a field rife with sexism and this effect is most apparent in high-stakes elections such as Presidential Elections. The extreme prominence of Presidential Elections means that a large amount of sexist media and discriminatory attack ads are created, therefore it offers an extraordinary opportunity to examine the role of Sexism in politics. This recent presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is great model for the effect of sexism in presidential elections as Clinton, is the first female candidate to be nominated one of the two major political parties, and thus she has received a great deal of sexist portrayal and rhetoric from the media as well as Trump.

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[null]Talking about sexism: Meta-sexist talk in presidential politics.