Are men hard wired to be sexist?

 Now there's a question! Are men hard wired to be sexist? As we all know there is still a lot of sexism about here in the UK, not as bad as it was, but it still exists. Despite numerous laws like the Sex Discrimination Act, and the Equal Pay Act it still happens. Much less than it did in the work place it has to be said as there are laws that protect female staff, but even here it still happens much more than it should. For years there has been laws and education to change people's mindset, and to a fair extent this has worked and continues to do so. But I still wonder why when young lads get into the pub they can't resist making sexist or lewd comments as a lady walks past. Men think differently to women, I think we all know that, but thinking differently is not a reason for showing disrespect. Now before I go any further, I must point out that like gender, sexism is on a sliding scale a spectrum if you will, so at one end there is a strong positive feeling, almost that a woman can never ever do anything wrong to the other end where they can never do anything right. Most people I would like to think are left of centre, showing respect and positive support for women but recognising that no person is absolutely perfect. However the ones further right are the people that perhaps need some help. 

Sadly it is not confined to young lads as it also persists in other areas of society and is perpetuated by people that should know better. Melanie Blake, author of two recent books Ruthless Women and Guilty Women a story of seven women all over the age of 50 (reviewed on this blog recently) turned down a £1M deal with a TV production company as she discovered when she was about to sign the contract that the executives had inserted a clause entitling them to change the age of the female characters without consultation with Ms Blake. When the executives (all male) were questioned about this, the reply was "Well we wouldn't put women 'THAT' age on TV who would want to watch it?" It is because this type of sexism exists  that it took Melanie so long to get the first book published in the first place. Hearing the reply, she tore up the contract and walked out. Well done Melanie! 

So why have I asked the question? Well I know from experience as do many of my readers, that when you are hard wired to be something, in my case to have a very strong female side, it is almost impossible to change it. An example I often use is if you have blond hair but want black, you can dye it, no problem the blond is gone, however very soon the blond roots show through so, it is a constant battle to retain a full head of black hair and that is because it is genetic, it was how you were born.  I tried for years to shake off the feminine side of me with, it has to be said little success! So I know how difficult it is to change something you are born with.

To return to the question: Are men hard wired to be sexist? Well if, and of course I am no expert on this subject, if men are hard wired to have this attitude then it will be a lot more difficult to eradicate it and in all truth possibly impossible to do so. But that does not mean we shouldn't try or use it as an excuse. Saying men are inherently sexist is possibly going too far, I think, but it could be through evolution men have become hard wired to consider themselves above women, superior in some way, the hunter gatherer perhaps, which in turn allows the sexist element to flourish. 

I am a firm believer in that all are equal, (not in the Gorge Orwell Animal Farm sense; All men are equal but some are more equal than others) but in a true sense, I believe it matters not what your race, creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation is, or for that matter how much you get paid, a person is a person it doesn't matter to me if they earn £1000 a day or the minimum wage, they still deserve respect. Which of course is what this is ultimately all about. 

Obviously I do not have the answer, the United Nations has stated that no country in the world currently has gender equality, also according to the UN 25% of people in the UK think that men should have more right to a job than women. My feeling is the best person for the job is the person to employ irrespective of sex. As women more and more take on roles that were traditionally male the line become increasingly blurred and sexism should dissipate, which it undoubtably has. But then we come back to the pub and a group of men making sexist remarks so we are not there yet......

So dear reader what do you think? Are men hard wired to be sexist?