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Sexism can be understood as the systematic devaluation of women and femininity. Sexism comes in many forms, including hostile sexism (i.e., the overt belief in feminine inferiority), benevolent sexism (i.e., the implicit acceptance of feminine inferiority, often in the form of acquiescence with traditional gender norms), heterosexism (i.e., the normalization and privileging of heterosexual identities at the expense of queer identities), among many others. Sexism means that masculinity is always already positioned as more valid, real, and important than femininity, which is positioned as invalid, inferior, and meaningless.
Sexism manifests in many different ways. Treating women like property and not taking what women have to say seriously are two common ways sexism manifests, as are sexual, emotional, and physical abuse toward feminine people.
Secular hatred of homosexuality is another instance of sexism because the problem with homosexuality to a secularly heterosexist bigot is that gay men are perceived to be effeminate. There are, after all, no polite ways to describe a feminine boy, whereas masculine girls can be described as tom boys without insult or injury.
It is not common for men to explicitly claim that they hate women for the same reason that it is not common for white people to explicitly claim that they hate…
