Sexism as the “Invisible Constitution” of the Modern World

Women under the pressure of family, population politics, and urbanization

Abstract
This article conceptualizes sexism as the “invisible constitution” of modern power. Sexism is not limited to forms of discrimination; it is a technology of power that regulates the labor regime, the use of space (home/city), the distribution of time (care time), bodily control, and population policies. It discusses how the institution of the family operates as a micro-model of power, how women’s lives are disciplined alongside urbanization and industrialism, and why “free companionate life” (free egalitarian partnership) matters as an ethico-political criterion. Ultimately, the struggle against sexism requires a multi-dimensional program that includes economic solidarity, local/community-based protection mechanisms, education, and cultural transformation.

Keywords
Sexism; family; urbanization; industrialism; women’s labor; violence; free companionate life; democratic society.

1.       Introduction

Modern societies widely employ the language of equality; yet this language can often render structural forms of inequality invisible. Sexism is one of the main mechanisms of this invisibility: not a written law, but a “constitution” operating through the norms of everyday life. This constitution regulates a broad field—from school to work, from the street to the media, from the household to population policies.

2.       Conceptual framework: Sexism = a technology of power

Sexism not only produces a distribution of roles concerning “who does what”; it also allocates social resources (time, labor, space) within a specific hierarchy. Two main dimensions stand out:

• Labor regime: The association of women with unpaid care work and low-paid, precarious labor.
• Regime of control: The control of women’s bodies, mobility, and visibility (including violence and the threat of violence).

3. Discussion

3.1 Family and population: institutional continuity

Although the family can generate solidarity and affection, under conditions of hierarchical society it can turn into a micro-model of power. Mechanisms such as inheritance, honor, role distribution, and the burden of care restrict women’s lives and “naturalize” male power. Here the link to population policies becomes visible: controlling fertility, preserving the family form, and limiting women’s social participation sustain the institutional continuity of sexism.

3.2 Urbanization and industrialism: discipline and commodification

While the city can be a space of liberation, in capitalist modernity it can become a space of control: security regimes, consumer culture, advertising, work tempo, and the dissolution of social bonds. Women’s bodies are besieged as labor power, as an object of consumption, and as an object of visibility; this siege produces not only economic but also psychosocial outcomes—loneliness, violence, and erosion of identity.

3.3 Free companionate life: an ethico-political criterion

“Free companionate life” aims to establish equality not only in the legal sphere but in everyday practice. Shared decision-making, justice in labor, non-violence, and a culture of consent are its criteria. In this way, the struggle against sexism becomes not only a “demand for rights” but the reconstruction of relationships.

4. Conclusion: a multi-dimensional program of transformation

The struggle against sexism can be structured in five areas:

1. Justice in domestic labor and social security,
2. Cooperative/solidarity economies,
3. Local support and protection networks against violence,
4. Educational and organizing spaces for young women,
5. Transforming representation in media and culture.

Azad Badiki – kurdbe.com editorial team

27.02.2026