Author: Linni Kral
Imagine, for a moment, that it’s April Fool’s Day. You walk to the quad, pick up The Weekly and find a “joke” article about the school’s latest degree. This article describes a new major for black students, featuring classes such as How to Ride in the Back of the Bus or A Guide to Where to Sit in Restaurants. Would this be acceptable?
Of course not. But what would you do if someone told you not to overreact because “it’s just the April Fool’s issue?” This was the reaction we received from men and women alike upon expressing anger over Abiel Garcia’s April 1st article, “Mrs. Degree Teaches Girls To Be Ladies.” The article attempts to create humor by reinforcing the oppression of women, asking readers to laugh at the notion that women are unequal to men and must be relegated to the kitchen. The article might be funny if women didn’t still face incredible barriers and if this viewpoint were no longer upheld in many areas of society, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
In fact, the article serves to elucidate just how far women haven’t come and the archaic beliefs that are still held on campus and elsewhere. While the article may have set out to raise the issue of Oxy lacking a Women’s Studies major, it instead proves why such a major is necessary. When it was still around, the major raised issues of gender equality, issues that are clearly being ignored if we not only allow articles like this to be published, but condemn those who are upset by them as “overreacting.”Problems of sexism plagued the entire April Fool’s issue, all operating under the assumption that it’s okay to reinforce the inferior status of women as long as your tongue is kept firmly in your cheek. In Sports, a Harry Potter look-a-like was sulking “like a whiney bitch” in a photo caption.
In News, an article about a Norris Brothel glamorized the lives of sex workers and promoted the oft-held misconception that prostitution is a choice, while it is frequently forced on people. While sex work and housewifery can be choices, they are too often done under pressure or as last resorts to be used for comedic effect.
Unfortunately, the willingness with which our campus tolerates the objectification and humiliation of women is not exclusive to the pages of The Weekly. One glaring example comes in the form of sexual assault. Most sources estimate that one in eight women is sexually assaulted during college, which would represent a staggering proportion of Oxy’s student body. Do we really believe our campus is the exception to the rule? The Oxy bubble unfortunately does not shield us from the mass violence perpetrated against women across college campuses in this nation, so why are we making jokes about women’s status in institutions of higher education?
When it comes to sexual assault, students pay little notice to these stats and the lack of attention paid to them by the administration. No students seem interested in questioning why women here are scared to report being attacked. People are apparently too busy studying to notice that attackers and even repeat-offenders are allowed to continue attending Oxy. How can we purport to uphold the cornerstone of equity in our mission statement when our residence halls are plagued by consistent gendered violence that goes largely ignored?
Here at Oxy, students take their “liberal” tag for granted, acting as if enrollment at the college is enough to excuse horrendously offensive behavior. Students assume that these things aren’t being talked about because they aren’t happening, or because they’re being taken care of by the administration. This is clearly not the case-it is downright na’ve to think that sexual assault doesn’t happen on this campus on a regular basis, or to think that our world has evolved to a place where only a small minority of people think a woman’s place is in the kitchen.The subjugation of women is real, both on and off this campus. Given the harsh realities of gender oppression, how can we tolerate an article with such a blatant discriminatory claim, simply because it masquerades as humor? Sexism is still sexism, even on April Fool’s Day.
Linni Kral is a senior Politics major. She can be reached at lkral@oxy.edu. Mackenzie Israel-Trummel is a senior Politics. She can be reached at misrael-trum@oxy.edu.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
