On Being Consciously Non-Sexist

Or non-racist, or non-[fill-in-the-blank]ist …

There seem to be three levels here that the label of sexism (to choose an ism – and just to further simplify, we'll make it sexism against women) covers:

1. Holding and expressing opinions about women that are negative, objectifying / dehumanizing, or limiting. E.g., "Women characters are either weak and flighty or bitchy ball-busters, but regardless they are only worth paying attention to if they have huge bazongas and can cook a good dinner."

2. Using imagery and tropes about women that are negative, objectifying / dehumanizing, or limiting, even if those don't really reflect conscious opinions. E.g., "This character is a strong, intelligent, independent woman who has sworn vengeance for her brutal rape, which is why she wears a chain mail bikini so as to taunt men over her huge bazongas."

3. Drawing a distinction between male and female characters. (This sometimes morphs into drawing the "wrong" distinctions between male and female characters.)

I think this broad use of the term "sexism" itself leads to a lot of the conflict over what represents sexism and whether something is sexist or someone is sexist or how to solve the problems of sexism in our society (or even if there is a problem with sexism in our society, or video games, or comic books).

There's still plenty of ugly Sexism Type 1 in culture around us, though it's no longer the accepted norm and certainly draws protests when it comes up. We don't hear many jokes about women drivers, as an example.

Sexism Type 2 is more of a debate, as it gets into the "judge what I express by what I intend" vs "judge what I express by how you see it" realm. Having a protagonist's girlfriend — even if she's a brilliant scientist and entrepreneur and laudable as a role model in every fashion — get "fridged" so as to motivate the male protagonist to future action is most likely sexist, even if it's not "meant" as such.

Sexism Type 3 gets deep in to genders studies and fundamental cultural understandings and conflicts. Drawing women all with big bazongas is sexist. Ignoring that women have breasts (and, in many cases, even if driven by cultural issues, choose to emphasize them) seems unrealistic, even if it gets away from that body sexism — unless you talk to other people who say "If everyone is a generic character, then they take on the characteristics of the dominant group, so ignoring that women are women is to make them men, which is sexist" … except that then you get back into the question of what makes women women in a way that won't put some other folks' noses out of joint.

I guess the point of the article is true — regardless of what sexism "actually" entails, it's non-trivial to avoid doing it (or at least to avoid seeming to do it, which may or may not be the same or similar of a thing).