It's my feeling that the weighing, for comparative purposes, of prejudices and inequalities is not useful and can never be accurate. The sexism vs. racism horse race that has stemmed from 2008's primary season has been frustrating and dispiriting. Every form of marginalization, be it rooted in race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age or physical ability, has its own history, its own nuance and its own form of distinct expression that makes it pernicious in ways that are often not comparable. There is no way to conclude that one is worse or more pervasive than another.
However. In the often inelegant and reductive comparisons of racism and sexism, one sentiment has been voiced again and again, and I think it's worth considering without measuring it specifically against race. That sentiment is that sexism -- while, again, not by definition more offensive or more common than any other kind of identity-based diminishment -- remains conversationally acceptable in a way that probably magnifies its presence for some people.
With that in mind, our quote of the day, from a recent interview with Katie Couric:
"I find myself in the last bastion of male dominance, and realizing what Hillary Clinton might have realized not long ago: that sexism in the American society is more common than racism, and certainly more acceptable or forgivable."
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