sexism
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GC: n

S: EIGE (last access: 6 January 2026); EBSCO ((last access: 6 January 2026).

N: 1. 1968; see “sexist” + “-ism”. Sex-discrimination is attested from 1916. Middle English, from Latin sexus.

2. Two meanings:

  1. prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women.
  2. behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.
First Known Use: 1934, in the meaning defined at sense 2.

3. Social Problems; Sociology of Human Relations: sexism.

  • Discrimination based on sex or on stereotypes related to gender, typically towards women.
  • French and Spanish equivalents, respectively: sexisme; sexismo.

4. Sociology of Human Relations: machismo.

  • Exaggeratedly assertive manliness; a show of masculinity (from Spanish macho-man). Key term: machoness.
  • French and Spanish equivalents, respectively: machisme; machismo.

7. Cultural interrelation: The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood, 1985): dystopian representation of structural sexism based on patriarchal control of women’s bodies and gender roles.

S: 1. Etymonline (last access: 9 January 2026). 2. MW (last access: 9 January 2026). 3. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 9 January 2026). 4. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 9 January 2026). 5. (last access: 9 January 2026).

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CR: aporophobia, domestic violence, ecofeminism, equal opportunities, gender, gender-based violence, homophobia, human development, human rights, inequalities, mobbing, patriarchy, slave, slavery, social education, social justice, xenophobia.