Double Standards

Sexism goes both ways.  While in modern American society women's rights are a common topic of conversation, there are also ways in which society discriminates against men.  These ways may be less in number, but in many cases they are more serious.  For example, one of the best-known ways in which society discriminates against women is by paying them less than men for the same amount of work.  This is without doubt a serious inequality, but it makes less difference to individual women than do some of the inequalities directed towards men, such as the judicial system's tendency to mete out more severe punishments to men than to women for the same crimes.  Other examples of discrimination against men occur in the social norm requiring men to repress their emotions, many people's tendency to dismiss domestic violence against men (by other men or by women) or even find it funny, and the exclusivity of selective service.

Is Abrasiveness Immoral?

Most people have encountered at least a few abrasive people in their lives - curt cashiers at Dunkin' Donuts, gruff receptionists at the doctor's office, greasy telemarketers who get nasty when their clients show a lack of interest in their product.  Are these people acting immorally, or are they simply being rather unpleasant?

I think that the answer varies widely depending on the circumstances.  If the unpleasant cashier had just learned of his dear brother's death in a car accident, then his manner is not just understandable, it may be morally justifiable, if it would cause him a great deal of emotional distress to adopt a pleasant manner.  The distress he would incur by putting on a facade of pleasantness would far exceed the distress incurred by his customers.

If, on the other hand, the gruff receptionist had simply missed out on a few hours of sleep the previous night and did not feel like being personable, then she might be acting immorally, because she was causing more distress to her customers than she would incur by acting nicely.  Of course, other variables could affect this situation as well - the customers could also be acting unpleasantly, in which case it would irk the receptionist more to be pleasant, for example.

Response: Choosing Characteristics

In response to Brandon's post "Surrogate Motherhood" (March 25, 2012):

I agree with the idea that clients of surrogate mothers should not be aware of the physical characteristics of the mother who will be having their child.  However, I think that this should not be peculiar to surrogate motherhood - the industry enabling artificial insemination should adopt a similar policy.  Currently, there are websites for artificial insemination services which list the height, ethnicity, and other physical details of the men who donated the material which would be available to whoever wishes to make use of the service.  For the same reason that I think surrogate mothers should not provide details of their physical characteristics, I think that sperm donors should not provide their physical details - that is to say, it would help ensure that the parents want a child, no matter who that child turns out to be, rather than a person who they can fit into a certain preconceived mould.