Upfront talk about sexism - from a guy

I have posted twice about me being pulled over and getting a ticket (and, once more, not bitching about it I was wrong).

A week after I was pulled over my sister-in-law was as well. For throwing a cigarette out the window. She is your typical Southern California blond driving a BMW. Cop said he could give her one of two tickets, from $500-$1000 fine. He smiled and gave her neither, nothing but a warning.

My wife walks into a room and gets attention in a second. I would bet a ton that if she and I had the same qualifications for a job (in the IT field) that she would get the job over me almost every time, even if she had half the years experience I did.

And I don't see this as contained to just men. I have worked with really handsome guys before where we had a female boss and they moved up even though they did not do much (in the security and manufacturing fields mainly).

Point is - people tend to like to treat 'better looking' folks differently.

Look at the courts and juries (there have been studies done on this) - same thing exists there.

The other day I was at a FasTrip to get some gas and something to drink. I came out of the store and this older black lady missing most her teeth ask me for some change. I didn't have any one me, but when I got in the car I saw 50 cents there and called her over. Had she been a knock out scantily clad men would have been going up to her to ask what they could give her (like they do my wife at times).

If I were some buff and stud broken down on the side of the road without a shirt on women might be more apt to stop and offer me a ride (no...not that kind of ride! Well, maybe). If I were just the guy I am they would probably speed up and dial 911 telling them they saw a beached whale in the desert and to call captain Ahab.

Sexism, to me, sounds really one sided - whether from the male or female side of it.

In the end the problem is that not that simple. It is how we see others of both sexes.

When I saw that old lady at the gas station I did not see a chance to impress some pretty lady, I saw a woman who could very well be my mom (were she not dead). A good person down on their luck.

Yeah - I think some women are 'hotter' than others in my own personal way. But that does not mean one has to treat them any better or worse. There are a lot more handsome/sexy men than me on this planet that my wife smiles at. No harm in having an appreciation for your own ideals of beauty/art.

The problem comes in where things really count - how we treat each other.

Looks are like art, we all see something different and sometimes we can mostly agree.

But a swirly piece of insanity by Picasso is worth more than a realistic looking Brother's Hilderbrandt.

And while I may not be Mr. Handsome, I am married to a Picasso... (no offense hun on the swirling insanity thing...LOL).

Treat each other well on this planet. Some of us like the mountains, some the desert, some the ocean. But we all should love it all and take care of it all. I am not a 'mountainist' I am an earth loving guy with preferences ;)

And nowhere is the emphasis on beauty and age more dramatic than in the gay community (the gay MALE community, I hasten to add; I know very little about the lesbian/bi/trans communities). I'm afraid most people are guilty of believing that good-looking people are more intelligent, capable, and talented than their less attractive peers. Sad but true.

... or "guest workers." We're not paintings to be hung on the wall or arm decorations to impress others. It matters not WHO does it to WHOM. It's wrong.

Treating human beings, including one's self, as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves is morally and politically wrong.

It's wrong when done by one person or by millions of people, whether institutionalized or individualized, whether it's because of sexual appetites, greed, lack of self-esteem, or a lust for power. It's wrong. There is no "better" and "worse" ... it's just WRONG!

the tyranny of the beautiful people, sucks.
Beauty“ is a market value within the competitive, capitalist society and the positive estimation of „beauty“ coevally leads to the discrimination of others who deviate from this contructed, bodily norm.This form of discrimination, which is prevalent in all areas of life and still hardly regarded, is called lookism.
http://www.lookism.info/eng/index2.html
http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2005/womenandfat.asp

The sense of beauty is neither innate nor "natural" nor completely indiviualistic. Moreover, it is always influenced by social norms
Social beauty norms always serve as a safeguarding of power relations.

Thanks for sharing!