Discrimination is a big issue whether you want to accept it or not. But how obvious is it?
Of course, when people loosely use racial or sexist terms, discrimination is obviously there. But the subconscious discrimination that occurs within people’s minds should also be considered. Whether it’s discrimination against race, sex or a person’s sexual orientation, it is there and should not be overlooked.
When a person’s sex is at hand, people don’t think of discrimination as that big of a deal. But say I was driving, got a flat and had to pull over to change the tire. I could almost guarantee if a man were to drive by, he would think I needed help. It’s not his fault because society has created this myth that women can’t do anything for themselves unless they’re in the kitchen.
Another very common idea is that if a girl has a sexually transmitted disease, she is a whore, when in reality she could have received it by just having one sexual partner. This same thing can happen to men, and often does.
Another example is people discriminating because of a person’s perceived sexual orientation. People might see two men, looking well kept sitting together in a restaurant, and some might think they are gay. Why is it that when a man is dressed in nice clothes, other than a business suit, he is labeled gay? This goes in the completely opposite way for women. A woman could also be labeled a lesbian just because she is dressed in masculine clothing or just because she plays less feminine sports.
The biggest area of discrimination that affects people is racism. But why is this more of a problem than the other discriminations? People seem to get more offended when his or her race is offended, rather than sex or sexuality. If someone degraded me by my race, of course I would be outraged, but no more than I would be if they attacked me any other way. Shouldn’t people stand up for every aspect of themselves rather than just one or two things?
Let’s not forget we can’t know everything just because of the way something looks.