Leah Sain ‘29, Entertainment Editor
With the rise of the Jane Doe and Cornell Seven sexual assault case, more women have spoken up about their own experience regarding sexist treatment and gender-based violence. Statistics show that gender-based violence is more likely to occur to women and girls. This causes women to feel unsafe in places they should be able to feel safe, including school, work, and public spaces.
According to a survey done by the Public Religion Research Institute, one in 10 American women say they have experienced discrimination and violence due to their gender. These statistics are similar or higher across the world, with women reporting sexist actions in all kinds of places and situations.
This study proves that these are not just isolated incidents, and sexism and misogyny harms people all over the world. A study conducted in England by Equally Safe at School among school-aged children shows that one third of girls surveyed do not feel safe from sexual harassment at school. Sixty-two percent of girls said they were made to feel uncomfortable about their appearance, with 26 percent of those girls saying that they were made uncomfortable because of comments made by teachers. Girls should not have to be made uncomfortable by anyone, especially the people responsible for their education. These statistics show that sexism can come from anyone, and can happen to anyone regardless of age. Even at school, girls cannot feel entirely safe.
An increase of sexist language has occurred online recently. While the internet has never been exceptionally kind to women, pressuring them to adhere to beauty standards and behave a certain way, new ways to tear women down have materialized.
Men online have taken to calling women “foid” in their comment sections. This term is normally targeted at women who are doing something conventionally “weird” or “cringe.” This discourages women from being themselves online and finding other people with similar interests to interact with. It is another way that society tries to force women into a mold of what they deem “feminine” and “proper.”
Another popular term people are being called is a “larper.” While the acronym originally meant “live-action roleplayer,” the term has been used to accuse people of pretending to be a fan of something. Although this term can be used on anyone, it is commonly targeted at women who like things that typically have a male-dominated fanbase. This makes online spaces discriminatory for women, making them fear harassment, as well as discouraging them from engaging in their interests.
These issues can feel far away and unimportant when you have not experienced them first hand, but the issue is closer than some may think. Some SLHS students have spoken about their firsthand experiences. Sophomore Ava Shimskey said, “I have experienced it through my family and sometimes in middle school.” Regarding a specific experience, Shimskey said, “At a Thanksgiving party, my uncle was kind of weird and would say some kind of sexist things to me.” Shimskey also recounted experiences in middle school, saying, “…boys used to come up to me, and my butt got squeezed one time.” This experience is a reason why women cannot feel safe at school, which is supposed to be a place of growth and equal learning among peers. If women do not feel safe at school, a place that they are required to be at and expected to learn, how can they be expected to feel safe anywhere else?
Aside from outright prejudice, there is a vast difference in what women learn about the world in comparison to men. When discussing gender discrimination, it is important to gather data from both men and women, because men typically have different perspectives on sexism than women. For instance, senior Sergio Arciero, in terms of what his parents taught him about safety, said, “My parents taught me a lot about safety when it comes to sexism, like think before you speak and not say stupid stuff about things that could hurt anyone’s feelings.”
Women tend to have a different response to that question. An example of this came from sophomore Aniya Lucas: “Don’t talk to people who you get a bad gut feeling from,”she responded. These two responses exhibit that women are taught to avoid, and men are taught to change their attitudes. Junior Jackson Enlow provided his perspective when he said, “More general safety precautions, like don’t take items from strangers and don’t get in their car.” Women are usually taught how not to talk to men, to not wear certain types of clothing, to carry pepper spray and other items of self defense, and other safety precautions, whereas men are taught how to talk to women. Women are prepped from a young age to be wary of the world and the people around them, specifically men, whereas men are taught more about general safety.
Sexism and harassment can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, but young women are statistically more vulnerable than men. Many women feel unsafe at school, are targets of online bullying, and are taught to be constantly vigilant and cautious. This is something that we as a society are responsible for fixing, and we need to step up to make the world a safer place for women.
