The term sexism denotes any system of beliefs, attitudes, practices, social norms, or institutional forms that functions to create or perpetuate invidious social distinctions among persons on the basis of their actual or presumed sex. This characterization of sexism reflects a widespread consensus among feminist theorists and queer theorists that the phenomenon cannot be understood simply in terms of the prejudices or ill-intentioned behavior of individuals, but rather must be seen as involving wide-ranging social structures, structures that can affect both the meanings and consequences of the actions of individuals, even if such actions are otherwise benign.

Marilyn Frye (1983) has explained, in just these terms, the inadequacy of a definition of sexism as any act or policy involving an "irrelevant or impertinent marking of the distinction between sexes." She then bids us to consider an employer who refuses to hire a woman for a managerial position on the...