The Spartans Speak
Sexism isn’t sexyFriday, April 20, 2012 By Karlie Stocker
It’s a Monday afternoon, and I’m sitting in the school cafeteria. I ask the boy across from me if he knows what’s for lunch. “Don’t speak unless spoken to,” he says. “Now go get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich, woman!” This astonishes me. To some, this is a joke, a satire of male chauvinism, but I’m afraid it’s become more than that. Walking through the halls of Pembroke Academy, I hear guys say rude and demeaning things to each other. On the other hand, I also hear guys say things too horrifying to repeat to the girls. In fact, these chauvinistic “jokes” have become a recent phenomenon and that’s what scares me the most. What happened to respecting a woman? It seems that many of these guys don’t remember that it was a woman who gave them life. Less than 100 years ago, females held picket signs and spoke at rallies to fight for the modern women’s liberation, yet some men choose to make light of this, chasing women back to the roles of house-slaves. And the girls that condone these “jokes” by failing to speak up, they’re no better. In other countries, women still aren’t free. In all honesty, joking about something as serious as subjugation of women seems inane. Chauvinism isn’t attractive. Sexism isn’t sexy. Gentlemen—and for some, I use the term lightly—open your eyes and take a step back before you share your sexist jokes. To many of us, they’re just not funny. |