Sexism

Sexism is discrimination against people based on their sex, gender, or perceived characteristics thereof. There are more kinds of sexism than misogyny. Several kinds of sexism are obstacles in the way of activism for non-binary recognition in particular, and of transgender rights in general.

Misogyny
Misogyny is sexist discrimination against women. Misogyny takes the form of institutional oppression, meaning that it is part of all the workings of a society. It's built into the culture, and makes trouble for women every day. This happens because a patriarchal society is based on misogyny, by definition. This kind of institutional oppression takes the form of pay inequality, difficulty in legally obtaining certain human rights (such as the ability to vote, own property, or have legal personhood), and widespread belief that sexual assault is normal. Misogyny doesn't affect all women the same, because oppressions are intersectional. This means that black women experience a mix of misogyny as well as racism, so they have a different experience of misogyny than white women.

Sometimes misogyny gets directed at people even though they don't identify as women, called misdirected misogyny.

Biological essentialism
The form of sexism called biological essentialism is the belief that your body is the main thing that makes you who you are. It is supposed to define you forever, no matter what you change about yourself, think about yourself, or anything. It says the gender you were assigned at birth must be your only real gender. Biological essentialism is used to justify most forms of sexism. It is harmful to virtually everyone, of any sex or gender.

Cissexism and transphobia
See main article: Cissexism.

Cissexism and transphobia are discrimination against transgender people. It has several forms, including binarism, which affects non-binary people. Transgender women are affected by a combination of misogyny and transphobia, called trans-misogyny.

Dyadism
See main article: Dyadism.

Solutions
See also: Activism and Feminism.