Fact: I am tired of how women are treated in the BiCo.

CCM

290 Interdisc. Gen/Sex

Professors Dalke & Lindgren

4 December 2009

Final Project Proposal:

For such an intelligent community of scholars why do students in the BiCo express such sexist attitudes towards women?

 

            Fact: I am tired of how women are treated in the BiCo. 

 

            For a collegiate community that is comprised of some of America’s brightest and most talented men and women I am shocked that sexist attitudes still penetrate our prestigious campuses. These days I typically dread going to social events at Haverford. I dread being in the company of men that only see me as an object, another woman that needs to be conquered. There’s even a chance that World War III might break out if my butt is smacked one more time. What bothers me the most is that many of my female peers actually tolerate these sexist attitudes from their male counterparts. 

 

            Fact: I can’t fight this battle on my own. 

 

            Another Saturday night can’t go by where I am left alone, confronting some drunken stranger that has violated my body by smacking my rear end. Once reading this some of you may say that I am being too dramatic. Luckily for me I am rather stubborn and I will most likely ignore your critical remarks. Aren’t you tired of walking past tables in the dining center and hearing the word “SLUT” being thrown around?   Why is it that the vast majority of men on our co-ed campus identify promiscuous women as “SLUTS” and their fellow bros as “PLAYERS?” A couple of weeks ago I attended a social gathering where I witnessed a male student yell “Get out whore” over and over again to a fellow female student. Much to my dismay the woman in question did not at any point confront her attacker or defend herself to other partygoers from his verbal attacks. She simply ignored the entire humiliating affair. Seeing that no one was going to confront this particular individual I decided to take up the task myself. Upon having a conversation with this male student I quickly discovered that he believed that his verbal attacks were completely justifiable. According to him, the girl in question deserved to be called a whore since she had not only dated but had also broken up with several of his male friends…

 

            I can go on and on about the sexist ways in which men treat and discuss women on our campuses. Furthermore, I can also talk for hours about how many BiCo women excuse and even tolerate these attitudes of complete disrespect. Whether you want to believe it or not patriarchy still exists in our little Main Line bubble. From where I stand men still dominate our educational and social networks. But why is this still happening? What can we do to stop this injustice? First off I believe that it’s critical that we try to understand how and why these attitudes develop among our male and female peers. As a class we have time and time again discussed the notion of activism. I have heard from many of you that you wish to be active on campus. Even though we have reached the end of the semester I believe that we can still accomplish our dream of being feminist activists. With that said I have decided to pioneer a poster campaign on the Haverford (and possibly Bryn Mawr) campus that will raise awareness about the underlining sexist attitudes that many individuals in the BiCo community have towards women. The flyers that I will post around campus will display controversial statements/questions that will hopefully prompt students to question the existing attitudes and stereotypes that they have about BiCo women. Furthermore, I will include a “reaction space” on each poster that will welcome student responses to the issues that are being presented. In an effort to encourage further discussion I will create a forum on the Anonymous Boards and possibly on Haverford’s GO! Boards as well. I have also created an email address (BiCoFeminists@gmail.com) where students can email us their reactions. Overall, I hope that this project will raise awareness about the treatment of women on our campuses and I invite everyone in this class to participate in this campaign. If you are at all interested in helping me come up with poster topics then please post your ideas here! Though I have included some ideas below I am more than willing to incorporate any suggestions you may have. I am particularly interested in hearing from the Bryn Mawr students in our class. Are there any issues that, as Bryn Mawr College students, you feel need to be addressed? Also, if anyone is interested in helping me poster Haverford (or Bryn Mawr even) then please let me know. I will greatly appreciate any help that I can get and I will be more than happy to provide you with the neon pink paper that I will be using for this campaign. 

 

            Below I have included some sample statements that I will use for the poster campaign in addition to a list of texts that I will refer to during this project. These texts will not only provide me with a foundation for understanding the development of these sexist attitudes but they will also provide me with supplemental material to include in my flyers. 

 

Sample statements/questions:

 

 

I haven’t decided on a title for this campaign but I have included some ideas below. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions! =)

 

 

References:

 

 

I will use this text as a means to better understand women’s identity issues. Are the issues that Betty Friedan refers to, in regards to women feeling pressure to be wives, mothers etc., still present in our modern society. Do college-aged women still deal with these identity conflicts? On another note, since this text made such a profound impact in influencing the women’s movement of the 60’s I would like to analyze the type of discourse that Friedan uses to covey her key points. 

 

 

This text will help me to better understand the masculine identities of college-aged men and the identity conflicts that they face. Part three of this text which is titled, “Collegiate Masculinities: Privilege and Peril,” will be particularly helpful. I will refer to several articles in this section that discuss the impact of fraternity life, alcohol, and sexual assault on men and women in a college setting.