I Spy

I Spy Sexism

Dust off your spectacles, binoculars, or magnifying glass; it’s time to lend your 20/20 to the fight against sexism, racism, and homophobia in your community. It’s Third Wave’s I Spy Sexism campaign.

I Spy Sexism

As a member or supporter of Third Wave, you are joining our commitment to act out against organizations, businesses, and people who discriminate on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation. (Ignorance is ignorance, no matter what the logic, or lack thereof.) Often it’s the unjust behavior right under your nose that’s the hardest to identify and rectify. It’s easy to get used to the way things have been done since the day we were born. And discriminatory practices can come to seem almost natural. For instance, most of us have probably been conditioned to believe that women and girls just aren’t as good at math or science.

The first step in bringing about change is to open our eyes to the day-to-day happenings around us. The I SPY SEXISM campaign will help you identify and take action quickly and effectively. Plus, you’ll be getting good practice adding your voice, loud and clear, to the chorus of your community.

Take Note

The first step is to sit up and take notice of what’s going on around you. Have a look at these questions and see if any of them sound all too familiar:

  • How often do the movies you see have women as the central characters?
  • How many of the movies you see were directed by a woman?
  • How many of the elected officials in your city are openly gay? State? Federal?
  • How many people of color serve as judges in your local judicial system? State? Federal?
  • In your favorite general-interest magazines, how many articles are written by women? How many are about women/people of color/lesbian and gay people?
  • Which news stories get front-page coverage in your daily paper?
  • Do gay teenagers socialize openly and safely at local school-wide events?
  • How many women’s professional sporting events are broadcast by the major networks?
  • As a woman, can you walk home alone at night in your neighborhood without being nervous?
  • Does your local newsstand carry lesbian and gay magazines?
  • How many average-size or heavy women appear on your favorite sit-coms? Are they ever the central characters?
  • How many women artists are covered in your art history classes?
  • How much street crime is reported on your local news? By comparison, how much corporate/white collar crime is reported on your local news?
  • How many local school principals (or chancellors or presidents) are women? How many are men? Compare that to the teacher female/male ratio?

These are just a few of the ways that sexism, racism, and homophobia are built into the culture we live in. No doubt, you can think of dozens more. In order to make change, we have to identify these practices and let it be known that we think it’s lousy. So keep your eyes peeled. Carry a notebook and jot down incidents that strike you as unfair. Ask the people involved for their names, so they know you are watching. Talk to your friends. Ask them if they’ve ever witnessed similar behavior. Ask your teachers what they think of it? Let them know what you think.

Sound Off

Once you recognize unfair behavior for what it is, the next step is to let your feelings be known. You can download postcards that will help you get the word out.

  1. First and most important, send a card to the wrongdoer. Let him or her or it know that you are watching and that you will continue to watch until the situation changes.
  2. Send a card to a member of the media (newspapers, TV news programs, magazines, web sites). These are open channels you can use to get your message to people who share your views and want to help you make change.
  3. Send a card to your elected officials (your Senator, the President of the United States or of the school board, or your Mayor). Their job is to listen to your concerns and act on them. If they don’t respond to one postcard, get others to send more.
  4. Send a card to Third Wave. We are a resource for you. We can put you in touch with others, near and far, who may be encountering the same situations. Third Wave will also document what you are doing and how you are working to change it.
  5. And finally, send a card to a family member or friend. Although you may not talk much about it, you’ll be amazed to find that people close to you often have the same concerns about unjust activities in your community. By sending them word of your own work in writing you will encourage and inspire them to take actions of their own.

That’s it. It’s that easy. And that’s what we call MOVEMENT.