Examples Of Prejudice In The 1930s

The prejudices of the 1930s are still alive today, however, topics such as people being defined by their gender, are not as horrid as they used to be. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, men were always in charge, and women acted and dressed a certain way. Today, this is not as big of a deal however, it still could be improved. Many organizations and schools around the world today are fighting for gender equality and doing as much as possible to make it happen. The prejudices existing in the 1930s has not fully gone away, yet are much more civilized than before.

In the 1930s, men were strong, straight, and always took control. To clarify, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout was talking about how she loves seeing her Uncle Jack at Christmas time and whenever they arrived, he would always give Atticus a kiss
on the cheek. Scout then continued to say “they were the only two men we ever saw kiss each other” (Lee 103). The words “ the only two men we ever saw kiss” shows that men were defined as straight, never letting their guard down. Today, it doesn’t matter and it would not be as big of a deal for Scout to see Jack kiss Atticus on the cheek because people aren’t being defined as much by their gender. For example, recently, a school in Australia can now nominate their gender as “X” when they get their school certificate. In the article, it states that “This is entirely a student choice and recognises that individuals may identify and be recognised within the community as a gender other than the sex they were assigned at birth or during infancy” (Wahlquist). Since it was entirely a student choice, people today are doing something to put a stop to gender definitions. Also, we have come a long way because this school “recognises that individuals may identify and be recognised within the community as a gender other than the sex” which would not be accepted back in the 1930s. The article also states that “The move has been praised by LGBT advocates” (Wahlquist). Members of the LGBT community are being heard and supported and are satisfied because they are no longer being defined by their gender.

All women had to act properly, and wear dresses in order to fit in back then.
For instance, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem was talking to Scout and he says, “It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!” (Lee 153). The words “bein’ a girl and acting right” show that back then, girls were taught to act a certain way, and do certain things. Specifically the words “acting right” show that women always had to act proper and polite. Today, women are thought of more equally compared to men, meaning they don’t have to always wear dresses, or talk a certain way. However, not everyone is on board with the idea of women being treated equally, this is why recently, The Feminist Equality Movement group hosted a panel promoting gender equality. This took place at the Southern Methodist University. After the event, the panelists stated that “while progress has been made gender discrimination has not ended” (Berry). The words “gender discrimination has not ended” shows that this form of prejudice still exists, however, progress has taken place. Ultimately, prejudices against gender identification are still existent, yet we have improved a
lot.

Gender equality has come a long way since the 1930s, yet still has a ways to go. As shown in the current events, these prejudices are slowly fading away, and will continue to fade as time goes on. Even though they still exist, they have been revised greatly today. Overall, the prejudices such as gender defining who you are, have not fully disappeared, yet they have improved immensely over time.