Combatting Casual Sexism on Campus
Finally arriving at college is an immensely emotional time. The first steps you take here feel almost revolutionary—every stride feels purposeful, life-changing. This excitement is the same across the board for young men and women—except with women, we come heeding constant warnings of sexual assault.
Arriving on campus this fall, I felt I had a pretty good grip on the situation. Sexual assault happens everywhere, and that is just an unfortunate reality I have to accept in my life. I had mentally prepared a list of do’s and don’ts—don’t walk alone, don’t drink something you haven’t seen made, don’t meet up with someone you don’t know. I figured drastic measures would keep away the creeps, and keep my friends and me safe. What I didn’t expect was the rape culture that so deeply permeates any college campus.
GRAPHIC BY MIKE DESOCIO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
I didn’t expect to hear a boy who I assumed was friendly to excuse predatory behavior because the guys’ egos “made them believe” that girls essentially owed them sex. I shouldn’t have to hear a young man explain to me that creepy behavior is “okay” if you think you run the world. I shouldn’t have to make up an excuse, a lie, every time I don’t want to have sex with someone. I shouldn’t have to be fearful of being honest.
The scary thing is that people allowing the growth of rape culture are not necessarily rapists themselves. They are not always the Brock Turner’s of the world—they can be people you consider friends, too. They are people who slut-shame, people who see the questionable behavior and turn a blind eye, people who take drunkenness as pass for being an aggressive predator. And it boggles my mind that they can’t see the harm they are creating.
PHOTO BY KALMAN ZABARSKY
In the past few weeks, I’ve learned that the only way to combat casual sexism on campus is to be open about it. Allowing ignorance only furthers the agenda that sexual assault is a minor problem on college campuses. I’ve learned to talk back, to tell people what they’re saying is not okay, and to have a dialogue about why it isn’t okay. Any resolution to an issue started with a conversation, and this is a conversation we need to have. Sexual assault is inevitable, but how we handle the culture surrounding it does not have to have the same tragic consequences. So, don’t let your friends have a free pass. Let them know that their sexism isn’t okay, and allow them to ask questions. If they have a problem, then they clearly weren’t meant to be in your life in the first place. Your body isn’t something to be conquered, and we must destroy the culture that says it is.