Racism and Sexism in the Modern Day - Masked Truth

While some retain the ideal that racism and sexism belong to an era of ignorance in the earlier years of American society, the evidence against such ideals proves otherwise. Much of the youth of today believe sexism and gender inequality died in the 1960's, because we have all heard of the quiet goings-on in white suburban households between a man and his wife. Along with this, much of today's youth believe that racism died along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who sacrificed his life fighting for the equality of all races which he hoped would become one race united. While not as prevalent in the public as in the past, these malicious, tumorous frames of mind remain at large within our "civil society". We see it in the "harmless" jokes heard on the television, the private exchanges between friends and family, and the inadvertent actions we take. Our society is divided, as Taylor and Helfenbein state, by geography, physically and in a plethora of other ways. Physically, miles of roads and buildings seclude parts of cities deemed "slums", uncouth places where the ne'er-do-wells and "troublemakers" of our society remain. This, inadvertently, creates a racist cycle, because these places provide for the residence of minorities who, though work hard, work for wages incomparable to those whom live in the upscale homes on the other end of town. This provides for another geographical boundary through economic means. The gender inequality tends to be less influenced by geographical segregation, and more influenced by media means. Many a times, I have heard the joke, "Woman, bring me a sandwich." While little thought is taken into consideration of the words, this greatly furthers the sexist agenda, but this fact hides under the guise of comical genius. Racism and Sexism is very much alive, and these ideals flow around us in the visage of inadvertent stares, wandering thoughts, and comedic wit.