Hitchens implied sexism is not similar to racism stating racism, "must be strictly defined as the attribution of inferior characteristics to the members of a distinct ethnic group." Yet sexism is the attribution of inferiority to the members of a gender group." So in both cases, an entire group of people are viewed as inferior to another group of people. No one should be treated as automatically inferior based on gender or race. Also, women are the most oppressed minority in the world in terms of numbers and degree of harm. Webster's defines minority as "a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment."

webster's says something to the effect of "a relatively small portion of a population". the "relatively small" is important. Latinos in America, Jews anywhere but Israel ... these are minorities. since women out number men (they really do, look it up), you need to find a new word.

He's not denying that sexism exists. He's denying that simply pointing out gender differences is sexist, since sex is a real concept, whereas the concept of race is a human construct.

shavit, there are several definitions of minority. The definition I use is #3. This is an exact copy of Webster's 3rd definition of minority: 3 a: a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment b: a member of a minority group It says nothing about a minority being a smaller part of a group. A minority group can be the majority in terms of numbers. Definition #3 says only that a minority group is different is some way and is treated differently.

But definition 2 reads, "The smaller in number of two groups constituting a whole; specifically : a group having less than the number of votes necessary for control."

Example: Black South Africans under Apartheid might have been oppressed and segregated, but they were hardly a minority. A semantic point, perhaps, but the devil is in the details. It is possible to have disenfranchised majorities and pluralities. Women have been thus for most of human history, and still are across most of the world.

By the way, is that your real last name? Because if it is, that absolutely rocks. And if you made it up, kudos on your Greek. ;-)