Gender and Sexual Insensitivity Essay -- Gender Inequality Essays

Gender inequality refers to unfair or unequal treatment of people based on their femininity or masculinity. This is often in reference to roles that society has stipulated by default for each gender type. Sexual inequality refers to bias treatment of people based on their male or female sexual traits. Awareness and sensitivity to gender and sexual inequity are vital in the functioning of a society; every society member ought to have equal status, voice and opportunities irrespective of their gender. In every day-to-day activity, gender and sexual insensitivity exhibits in peoples’ speech, behavior and delegation of duties. Insensitivity is often unintentional, thus the need to create awareness among people on what is insensitive and be enthusiastic to begin the change that society needs to be able to give equal chances to all its members and give them a sense of belonging despite their gender (Jackson, 1998). Recently, I received an e-mail from my friend regarding his opinion on Valentine’s Day. In this email message, my friend, Rob presented women in a negative way by using derogatory language and casting aspersions. Rob claimed that women were the cause of men’s sorrow and global warming (Personal communication, February 13, 2014). Upon further reading, I realized Rob insinuated that Valentine’s Day was a creation of women and that the intention was to coerce men into buying presents. His assertion was that women were opportunistic, materialistic and always plotting to get something out of men. I found this demeaning as the generalizations and stereotyping presented in the email were offensive. He also used the word ladies, which he spelt in capital letters, which I felt offensive and unwarranted. A further an... ...ley: University of California Press Vance, C. M., Ensher, E. A., Hendricks, F. M., & Harris, C. (2004). Gender-based vicarious sensitivity to disempowering behavior in organizations: Exploring an expanded concept of hostile working environment. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 16(3), 135-147. Weisstein, N. (1993). Psychology constructs the female; or, The fantasy life of the male psychologist (with some attention to the fantasies of his friends, the male biologist and the male anthropologist). Feminism & Psychology, 3(2), 195-210. Withington, R. (1937). â€Å"Lady,† â€Å"woman,† and â€Å"person.† American Speech, 12(2), 117–121. Young, A. M., Vance, C. M., & Harris, C. (2007). Moving beyond gender to discover differences in sensitivity to disempowering acts: An examination of the role of social context. Group & Organization Management, 32(5), 598-620.