Sexism is an institution, so to speak. A single individual could not "bring sexism into existence". Women do not have enough power, as it stands, to impose a systemic oppression of men. Perhaps in the future, or in some female dominated societies, sexism against men exists...but not in the United States.

> Women do not have enough power, as it stands, to impose a systemic oppression of men.

And men don't have enough power to impose a systemic oppression of women -- for that, they need women to cooperate in their own oppression. Women voluntarily rise to the challenge.

> Perhaps in the future, or in some female dominated societies, sexism against men exists...but not in the United States.

No. You may have meant effective, oppressive sexism, but not sexism per se. There's plenty of sexism directed at men.

"If men knew what women said about them in private, the human race would cease to exist." -- W. H. Auden

I don't think I can buy the victim-blaming argument. Is a woman who is born into a culture with female genital mutilation, or forced arranged marriage "cooperating in their own oppression"? Both of these acts can occur at young ages.

When female genital mutilation occurs, which is largely a problem in non-Western countries [or at least is perceived to be a non-Western problem, I'm not informed enough to say], white feminists historically attributed that to those people being 'uncivilized', which is obviously racist and white supremacist, rather than it being a result of those women experiencing a different manifestation of oppression in a male-dominated society.

So yeah, that's one way women can contribute to their own oppression. Obviously most forms of women's oppression are not the result of that woman "doing it to herself," but I can definitely see how that line of argumentation can be a slippery slope of victim-blaming.

> Consider the all-too-common example in which a woman, removed from one abusive relationship, promptly seeks out another. How is that "forced"?

That is a really poor example of women being instruments in their own oppression. In cases like that, women are likely suffering from internalized problems that result from patriarchy -- such as a desire to be dominated, to fit into the patriarchal framework, to fill out the role of the victim that they are told is their identity. Sure, some choice is involved, but it's more like Stockholm Syndrome than "I think I fancy having the living daylights beat out of me today."

My much less dramatic example is a woman who claims that she doesn't enjoy the company of other women, finds them to be too catty or bitchy, would rather hang out with men, etc. Commonly, this woman is seeking the approval of her male peers at the expense of...basically all women ever. She wants to come off as a "pretty tomboy" -- 'cool' enough to be one of the guys, but also conforming to sexist expectations about her appearance. This is obviously a stereotype, but I personally encounter it a lot. How can anyone truly respect women when their own kind are debasing them left and right?

> Real liberation will come, not when women are given the rights they deserve, but when they accept them.

I don't think I even need to explain how absurd this statement is. I'll agree that women are part of the problem in fighting for women's rights, but frankly I see and experience sexism far too often to be so dismissive.

I totally agree with you. Many women participate in the oppression of other women. White women have historically done this to women of color, but it can happen within the same race/class/etc.

Isn't sexism, by its nature, oppression? So what is sexism without oppression? I choose to call that discrimination or prejudice based on gender. You can call it "sexism minus x/y/z." I think the difference is that I see those other components as necessary for something or someone to be sexist, and you do not.

Frankly, I disagree with the wikipedia article and definition. As I've said -- these are controversial topics, something like the dictionary or wikipedia can't just be taken as sources of definitive truth in my opinion.

There is such a thing as institutional sexism, but that is not the only kind. I have already linked to the definition if sexism. There are many possible manifestations if it, and you are only describing one of them.

Did you read your link?

"Disadvantage or unequal opportunity arising from the cultural dominance of one gender over the other."

Women do not have cultural dominance over men.

mlent is saying that discrimination is not enough to constitute sexism, and specifically that discrimination against men cannot be sexism.