My Facebook friends are excited about condemning anyone who questions the propriety of movie theaters holding “all-women” screenings of Wonder Woman. The main attack leveled at the Neanderthals (Deplorables?) who suggest that movies should be open to patrons of all genders is that they are “sexist” and that “sexism” continues to pervade our society.
Sexism or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender.
It would seem that the theater owners are discriminating (sell/don’t sell) on the basis of sex or gender. But it is the people opposed to this who are guilty of “sexism” in actual English usage.
Does this mean that the dictionary definition of “sexism” is now obsolete? People seem to be using the word in a new way.
Separately, my friends are saying that the depiction of a female superhero is “game-changing” and “revolutionary”. Yet Wikipedia says that the character dates back to 1941 and that “The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.” What’s game-changing about this particular movie? (of course I cannot go myself because it is not targeted at 3-year-olds; maybe if there is a Masha and the Bear and Wonder Woman movie I will be able to watch it)
Finally, if a theater admits only people who identify as “women” at 7:30 pm, how do they know that at 8:30 pm the entire audience will continue to identify as “women”? So I don’t see how it would be possible to have an “all-women showing”. Maybe they could have an “all-women ticket sale” since they could ask people for their gender ID at the time of purchase.
One movie, many questions!
It is not sexism or discrimination. It is just offering a different experience to viewers who what to watch the show. Girls only can watch the show and cry or shout without any men frowning and so forth. It gives them some extra freedom of expression and privacy. I think it is just like single sex grade schools or high schools where girls go to one school and boys go to a different school. This separation by sex grouping allows each to express themselves differently without worrying about “the boys” watching.
Theaters should be free to disallow people on any basis what-so-ever. People just get jealous that “women” seem to get a pass on all the anti freedom of association laws that ruin things for every other group and institution.
That’s a great argument, Bill! It is perfect for my Facebook friends who are passionate about Hillary/Black Lives Matter/etc.. It is not that they discriminate against black people. They just want to offer a different social experience in their homes by inviting only white people. This gives the white people some extra freedom of expression and privacy. The white people can also express themselves differently, e.g., comparing country club memberships, without worrying about darker-skinned people watching.
Bobby: The posting is about the English language and the word “sexism,” not about the virtues of sex-based discrimination by theater owners (I questioned only the practicality of such discrimination in our transgender age).
“Sexism” is in the same category as “racism.” The definitions are utterly irrelevant and it’s stupid to worry about it. The instant somebody uses either term as an accusation you know they are merely on the attack and you need to hit back at them somehow. No point in being rational about it.
It’s like parsing the true meaning of The Little Red Book as the Red Guards beat you with sticks.
I have no opinion on the women-only screenings. Regarding whether the movie is “game-changing,” though, I think it’s true in a commercial sense: major action movies are extremely expensive to make, so studios are very cautious about taking risks. This is one reason why they make so many sequels, and why a hit movie has so many imitators. Having one successful blockbuster movie with a female lead character makes it more likely that other such movies will be financed in the future.
One recent female character that I find particularly innovative and interesting is Bart, the holistic assassin played by Fiona Dourif in the BBC America series “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.” Unlike most leading female characters, including Wonder Woman, Bart is deliberately ugly (“possibly entirely made of lint, dirt, and gunpowder”), with no sex appeal at all, but audiences really liked her: she brings a single-minded focus and gleefulness to her work, and she has plot armor that’s so exaggerated it’s funny.