二、美国产生性别歧视问题的根源
Chapter 2 Roots of Gender-Based Discrimination in the United States 文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
美国存在的严重的性别歧视问题，有其深刻的、多方面的原因。美国由来已久的性别歧视传统、父权制文化，特别是社会制度的弊端是导致性别歧视问题难以有效解决的根本性障碍。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
The serious problem of gender discrimination in the United States stems from profound and multi-faceted reasons. The long-existing historical tradition of gender discrimination, the patriarchal culture, and particularly, drawbacks of the US social system constitute fundamental hindrances to the elimination of gender discrimination in the United States.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
（一）性别歧视的历史传统由来已久文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
Section 1 The Long-Existing Historical Tradition of Gender Discrimination 文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/8306.html
美国的性别歧视有极其深刻的社会历史根源。作为美国立国的政治纲领，《独立宣言》中所指的“人”却是不包括妇女和黑人的。美国长期以来自我标榜的“美式人权史”实质上只是属于白人男性的历史，“美式人权”实际上仅是白人男性享有的特权。1848年7月，美国妇女举行第一届女权大会，仿效《独立宣言》发表了《美国妇女权利宣言》，尖锐地指出妇女在法律、政治、经济、社会等各方面受到歧视和不公正对待，要求与男性享有平等的权利。但是，美国妇女争取自己平等权利的道路异常曲折。
Gender discrimination in the United States has extremely profound social and historical roots. The United States Declaration of Independence proclaimed, “All men are created equal.” As the political program that shaped the founding of the United States, the “men” referred to in the Declaration of Independence do not include women and black people. The “History of US Human Rights” that the United States always boasts about is actually a history dominated by US white males, and the so-called “US human rights” are actually privileges enjoyed by white males in the country. As early as July 1848, US women held the first gathering devoted to women’s rights in the United States and issued the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments to echo the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments sharply pointed out that women were discriminated against and unfairly treated in legal, political, economic, and social aspects and demanded that women should have equal rights to men. Despite that, the path for US women to fight for their equal rights has been extremely tortuous.
自建国初期开始，美国妇女就一直呼吁宪法承认其选举权，但是在这个自视“最民主、最自由”的国家，直到建国100多年后的1920年，美国宪法第19条修正案正式生效，妇女才获得了选举权。美国妇女为争取与男子的平等权利和地位进行斗争的历史，也从一个侧面证明了美国沉重的性别歧视历史传统。
Since the early days of the United States, US women had been demanding that the US Constitution should recognize their right to vote. Nevertheless, this country, which has always described itself as “the most democratic and the freest” country in the world, did not grant women such a right until 1920 by ratifying the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. More than 100 years after the founding of the country, US women finally attained the right to vote. The history of US women’s struggles for equal rights and status to men reveals the deep roots of gender discrimination in the United States.
（二）父权制文化妨碍两性平等关系的形成
Section 2 The Patriarchal Culture Hinders Gender Equality.
由于种种历史原因，美国社会中父权制文化根深蒂固。父权制文化将现实存在的性别歧视看作是自然形成的、理所当然的和不可改变的，是由妇女的生理状况决定的。这种观念已经渗透到了美国文化之中。社会公众和一些政治家的言论中充斥着对妇女的陈规定型的偏见。20世纪50年代至60年代，“让妇女返回家庭”成为一股强大的社会思潮。美国社会普遍认为，妇女的角色就是生儿育女，成为贤妻良母。1963年美国著名女权主义作家贝蒂·弗里丹出版《女性的奥秘》一书，向这一陈腐的妇女观提出了挑战。如今，在许多美国人的内心深处，美国仍然是一个“女人为家庭主妇”的社会。这种文化氛围，使得美国妇女在政治、经济、文化、伦理等各个领域都处于与男性不平等的地位。即使在家庭这样的私人领域中，女性也处于与男性不平等的地位。公众更多地将男性与领导人的角色联系在一起，而将女性与抚养孩子、照顾家庭联系在一起。
Due to various historical reasons, the patriarchal culture is deeply rooted in US society. The patriarchal culture regards the existing gender discrimination as a natural, reasonable, and unchangeable thing, and it is believed that it is determined by the physiological conditions of women. This concept has been deeply embedded in US culture. In the United States, the public’s and some politicians’ remarks are full of prejudices against women. From the 1950s to the 1960s, “letting women return to the families” became a powerful ideological trend in US society, where most people believed that the role of women was to have children and become good mothers and wives. In 1963, the famous US feminist writer Betty Friedan published her book The Feminine Mystique, which challenged this stereotypical view of women. Nowadays, deep down in the hearts of many US citizens, the United States is still a society where women are housewives. This cultural atmosphere places US women in an unequal position to men in terms of politics, economy, culture, and ethics. Even in the private sphere such as families, women are also in an unequal position to men. The public is more likely to associate men with the role of leaders, and women with the role of carers for children and families.
在父权制文化长期浸染下的一些大众媒体，建构了以男性话语为核心的性别关系，传播陈规定型而且贬损的妇女形象，以谋求狭隘的商业和消费主义利益，也进一步固化了妇女的弱势地位和公众对女性的刻板形象。最明显的例证是在政治选举中，媒体对参与政治的男性和女性的报道不同，明显对女性抱有一定程度的偏见。
Some mass media, under the long-lasting influence of the patriarchal culture, construct a male-centered media environment and disseminate stereotyped and derogatory views on women to gain commercial and consumerist interests. All this further puts women in an inferior status and enhances the public’s stereotyped views on women. The most obvious example is that in political elections, the media often makes very different reports on male and female candidates and shows a certain degree of prejudice against women.
（三）社会制度的弊病严重阻碍着性别平等的实现
Section 3 Drawbacks of the US Social System Severely Hinder Gender Equality
多年来的妇女运动虽然使得美国的性别不平等状况有所改观，但并没有也不可能从根本上改变美国女性受到不平等对待的状况。联合国专家组2015年访问美国后发布的报告指出，妇女在竞选筹款方面面临的巨大困难是导致妇女在选举政治职位任职率偏低的重要原因。在过去几十年中，金钱在美国政治选举中的作用大幅增加。男性主导的政治人际网络的排他性，是导致美国妇女筹集竞选资金困难重重的原因之一。
Although the women’s movement over the years has indeed reduced gender inequality in the United States, it has not fundamentally changed the situation in which US women are mistreated. A UN expert group released a report on their visit to the United States in 2015 and the report said, “The low level of representation for women in elected political posts is partly due to the greater difficulties women face in fundraising for campaigns. The role of money in political campaigns has grown significantly in the last decades. Women’s difficulty in fundraising is considered to result from complex causes. One opinion is that it is a result of exclusion from the predominantly male political networks that promote funding.”
美国社会以私有制为基础的经济制度，为极少数金融寡头和垄断集团所左右。美国政治制度中扮演主角的共和党、民主党，实际上被极少数利益集团所掌控。美国国会和政府的很多政客实际上沦为资本和极少数利益集团的代言人。在这种社会制度的背景下，资本、权力、极少数人的利益成为立法、行政、司法以及社会管理的最终价值指向，从而决定了美国难以把实现性别平等放到应有的位置而重视，没有从实现社会公正和妇女人权的高度来看待消除性别歧视问题。因此，美国政府很难采取积极措施解决性别歧视这一重大的现实社会问题。
The economic system based on private ownership in US society is dominated by a handful of financial oligarchy and monopoly groups. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party, who play leading roles in the US political system, are actually controlled by a very small number of interest groups. Many politicians in US Congress and the government have actually become spokesmen for the capital and a few interest groups. Within such a social system, the legislation, administration, justice, and social management of the country actually serve the interests of the capital, power, and a few people. This determines that it is impossible for the United States to give due attention to gender equality and the issue of eliminating gender discrimination, which is a part of the drive to achieve social justice and to realize a woman’s human rights. Given all this, it is difficult for the US government to take active measures to solve this major social problem of gender discrimination.
2010年和2015年美国接受联合国人权理事会普遍定期审议时，美国政府均承诺批准《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》。然而时至今日，美国国会仍未批准这一联合国核心人权公约。联合国报告指出，对于批准该公约的抗拒反映了美国政界对于保障妇女平等人权的反对力量。此外，美国也没有响应联合国的倡议，制定国家人权行动计划；更没有推行联合国倡导的促进妇女参政的配额制度。
When the United States accepted the universal periodic review of the UN Human Rights Council in 2010 and 2015, the US government committed to ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Nevertheless, to this day, the US Congress still has not yet ratified the CEDAW. UN reports have pointed out that the resistance to the ratification of the Convention reflects the opposition of the US political circles to grant women equal human rights. In addition, the United States has not yet responded to the UN initiative to formulate a national human rights action plan; nor has it adopted a quota system promoted by the United Nations to promote women’s participation in politics.
按照联合国近年来对弹性工作时间、部分就业等更为灵活的“家庭友好”就业举措进行的评价，美国在20个工业化国家中名列最后。在工业化国家中，美国是唯一没有从立法上保障带薪育儿的国家。此外，美国只有16%的劳动妇女享有全薪产假，美国迟迟没有解决男女同工不同酬这个老大难问题。这些问题的存在，也暴露了美国社会制度的种种弊端。
According to the United Nations’ recent evaluation of family-friendly workplace arrangements, such as a flexible working arrangement and partial employment, the United States ranked last among the 20 industrialized countries in this field. Among the industrialized countries, the United States is the only country that has not yet legislatively guaranteed paid parental leave. Apart from that, only 16 percent of working women in the United States have full-pay maternity leave, and unequal pay for equal work between men and women still remains a problem in the country. These existing problems also expose various drawbacks of the US social system.
