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Sex segregation
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Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their gender.
The derogatory term gender apartheid (or sexual apartheid) has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination. In some circumstances, gender segregation is a controversial policy, with critics contending that in most or all circumstances it is a violation of human rights, and supporters arguing that it is necessary to maintain decency, sacredness, modesty, female safety or the family unit.
he interest of modesty, public toilets, public showers, dormitories, changing rooms, prisons and other areas are usually sex segregated, outside of a private home.
In some countries, trains have designated women-only passenger cars.
lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m2155786",this)' onMouseout='hide("m2155786")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Sport">Sports are usually segregated on a gender basis.
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Encyclopedia
Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their gender.
The derogatory term gender apartheid (or sexual apartheid) has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination. In some circumstances, gender segregation is a controversial policy, with critics contending that in most or all circumstances it is a violation of human rights, and supporters arguing that it is necessary to maintain decency, sacredness, modesty, female safety or the family unit.
Public facilities
In the interest of modesty, public toilets, public showers, dormitories, changing rooms, prisons and other areas are usually sex segregated, outside of a private home.
In some countries, trains have designated women-only passenger cars.
Sports
Sports are usually segregated on a gender basis. Even sports that do not rely on physical contact, such as bowling, archery or golf, have separate sporting events. It is only in the early years that boys and girls are permitted to play sports together.
To cater to the religious requirements of various faiths, and for other preference reasons, sometimes separation is achieved by allocating times or facilities for the exclusive use of one gender, usually of women. This is sometimes done with public saunas, swimming pools and gymnasiums.
Many countries now have laws outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex, and regard the refusal to provide facilities on an equal basis to both men and women as sexual discrimination, but exceptions are usually permitted.
Sex discrimination
Historically, certain occupations tended to be exclusively for men and others for women. Occupations such as nursing and secretarial tended to be almost exclusively for women. This is referred to as occupational segregation.
With the movement to sexual equality, formal barriers have been removed. However, certain occupations still continue to be dominated by one gender or the other.
Education
For religious or other cultural reasons, schools might be segregated on a gender basis. There have been studies conducted to analyse whether single-sex or co-ed schools produce better educational outcomes, but each has its advocates and critics. Even in co-ed schools, certain classes, such as sex education, are sometimes segregated on the basis of gender. On the other hand, even in single-sex schools the teaching staff usually are both men and women. Some schools decide to segregate students only in core subjectsò this is called parallel education.
New research in Israel shows that both boys' and girls' performance can increase at school with a higher ratio of girls to boys in the classroom.
In Louisiana following the forced race integration of public schools, the schools were segregated by sex. St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes (surrounding New Orleans) instituted sex segregation to reduce the likelihood of black and white students dating. The last year of sex segregation in Jefferson Parish public schools was 1975.
Religion
Judaism
Orthodox Jewish synagogues have separate men's and women's sections, typically separated by a wall or curtain called a mechitza.
In Israel there are a few buses, serving ultra-orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, which are segregated by sex, with men sitting in the front and women in the back of the bus.
Islam
Islam discourages social interaction between men and women.
Sex segregation is strictly enforced in some Islamic countries.
Christianity
The terms "gender apartheid" and "sexual apartheid" have also been used to describe differential treatment of women in institutions such as the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. See, for example, Patricia Budd Kepler in her 1978 Theology Today article "Women Clergy and the Cultural Order".
In churches, men and women sit together in most Western Catholic parishes, while in many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox parishes, there is a separation of genders. This is not as common in the New World as it is in the Old World, especially in more rural areas where men will sit on the right (near Christ's icon) and women will sit on the left (near Mary's icon).
See also
External links
- an essay on the topic from Third World Women's Health
- an anti-Taliban pamphlet from the Feminist Majority Foundation
- by Peter Tatchell, October 7 1994
- by Colbert King, Washington Post December 22 2001
- Interview with Azar Majedi
- by Mahin Hassibi
- The Guardian, October 25 2001
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