This is how a lot of systemic racism and sexism persists, yes. But to be sexist, I think it’s the lack of self awareness to check yourself and the things you are doing or a willful disregard for it.

While racism and sexism is taught, I do think it underscores a key aspect of how the human mind works. We all have prejudices because the brain would be overloaded if it couldn’t take historical patterns and apply them to new information and situations. “Being taught” doesn’t necessarily means a person showed them or told them to be sexist or racist, but just being exposed to stereotypes will make the brain take that shortcut in the future.

That also means that we all have to be vigilant to identify them when they occur and challenge them. It also means we as a society need to put up safeguards to protect us from the shortcomings of our species. It’s why DEI is necessary. It’s why hate crime laws need to be on the books and enforced. We need to hold each other as a society to a higher standard than we as an individual could ever be.