It is clear that there is a significant movement in our country. One where women are demanding to be heard, to be paid fairly, to be given a voice, to be able to walk down the street without fear of sexual assault. Events such as the women’s march and campaigns like #MeToo are extremely helpful in pushing this movement forward. However, while there is progress, women and society still face challenges. Colleges especially face the challenge of the rape culture that is present across the country.
Last week, two Barstool Sports affiliated pages popped up on Instagram. Barstool sports is no stranger to controversy for their often misogynistic, homophobic, and racist content marketed as jokes. Campus-specific Barstool pages do not send a good message to the students, and especially the women of our campus.
Barstool sports has a history of being misogynistic, and they haven’t tried to hide it. Founder Dave Portney wrote in 2010, “Even though I never condone rape if you’re a size 6 and you’re wearing skinny jeans you kind of deserve to be raped right? I mean skinny jeans don’t look good on size 0 and 2 chicks, nevermind size 6′s.” Sorry to Break it to ya Dave, but you are in fact condoning rape. Another great piece of intellect from Portney was when he said during an interview, “ Just to make friends with the feminists I’d like to reiterate that we don’t condone rape of any kind at our Blackout Parties in mid-January. However, if a chick passes out, that’s a grey area though.”
Their website seems to align with the founder’s beliefs closely. Promoting articles such as, “Slut Reporter Drinks Cam Newton’s Jizz” does not scream tolerant to me. The website is also known for recurring features such as, “Guess that Ass,” “Guess that Rack,” and “Grading the Newest Sex Scandal Teacher.” Plus, we can’t forget the “Smokeshow Of the Day,” and the daily “Wake Up With [Insert Woman’s Name Here].”
I am a strong supporter of women feeling sexy and having fun. However, a website which treats women as objects is certainly not my cup of tea. The site creates a watering hole for lonely men to call girls “slut” and “whore”, while simultaneously choosing when it fits best for them to gain pleasure from their bodies. Promoting women as objects is dangerous because it leads to the idea that women can be treated in any way regardless of their opinions, and even without their consent. College campuses already have a severe problem with sexual assault. While it may be easy to blame drinking or a mini-skirt, the true focus should be on the messages being spread around campus.
Students may argue that the Behrend Smokeshow page is complimenting the women featured. Don’t be fooled, women are not team player in this world. They are merely accessories used for male pleasure, and that is the root of the issue. Despite the issues, the two Instagram pages that were created less than a week ago have gained hundreds of followers. Which is why we need to start asking questions. How far is too far? How far will we let this go? Is it okay that several ‘leaders’ of the campus follow these pages; including the SGA president, numerous fraternity/sorority members and many more? While the Instagram page makes it clear that they are not affiliated with Behrend, the negative impacts these pages have created include student safety and moral.