woman has ever been US President, a

woman has ever been US President, and only two women are now and have ever been Justices of the Supreme Court. Women in state legislatures compose only 22.4 percent even of those bodies (Center for American Women in Politics, 2001). Women own businesses at approximately half the rate of men, and of the top one hundred wealthiest people in Forbes Magazine's list for 2001, only ten were women. And this is only a partial list of the great inequalities suffered by women in contem­ porary US society. Finally, it is also important to point out to the skeptic that the fact that women are suffering from sexism in much of the world is itself harmful to all women. Women form a social group - a non-voluntary social group. They thereby share each other's fate to an extent. If women are harassed on the streets of Kabul, then American women who travel there will be harassed. If women are subjected to hwniliating or violent treatment in East Asia, then American women who travel there will be as well. If women are not taken seriously in a country, then how can a woman diplomat from America hope to do her job there? The skeptic thus underestimates both the degree to which sexism still exists in Western society and the effects that sexism worldwide has on all women.
The defeatist argues that there is nothing that he or anyone personally can do to
fight sexism. Defeatists often continue by arguing that since they are not themselves mistreating women, do not dislike women or hold them to be inferior, they should not therefore be required to do anything to combat sexism; nor do they think that any­ thing constructive can be done to eliminate it. Defeatists overlook the existence of institutional and unconscious sexism. They fail to recognize that they can participate in sexism even without overt, conscious sexist attitudes. ITthey take seriously the problem of sexism, then they should examine their behaviors, choices, and prefer­ ences for what those express to the world. Perhaps they will flnd underneath a dislike of a certain co-worker, say, a prejudice against assertive women that they do not harbor against assertive men. This would be an example of unconscious sexism (made conscious). They should also examine how they respond to other peo­ ple's overt interpersonal sexism. Do they laugh at wife jokes? Look the other way from sexual harassment in the office? Such behaviors support sexism, and thus injustice. Finally, the defeatist who acknowledges institutional sexism has the obliga­ tion not to support it: not to vote for it, not to buy from it, not to encourage it. The defeatist has no real defense, in other words, as long as he admits that there may be unconscious sexism, interpersonal sexism among others, or institutional sexi• sm.
In conclusion, sexism is alive and well in contemporary Western society, and to an even greater degree in much of the rest of the world. Sexism is a serious form of oppression, and, as such, it is incumbent on decent people to oppose it, though the form that opposition should take remains a serious matter for theorists and activists alike.





References



Alcoff Linda Martin (1998) Racism. In A Companion to Feminist Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell.