Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Feminism

Published on October 4, 2004 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

More than 1/3 of traditionally all female Wells college's students are currently camped out in the lobby of the school's administration building, or on the lawn outside. At issue is the board of trustees' decision to admit men to the college next year.

Feeling that males will dominate the class, and that "coeducation silences women", the protestors say they will protest until the board reverses their decision.

In my opinion, this is the 21st century equivalent of Martin Luther King walking up to George Wallace and DEMANDING "separate but equal" education for African-American students. The statement that these women are making is that women are intellectually inferior, and that admitting males to the campus will only prove it.

Pardon me, but isn't that the OPPOSITE of what the feminist movement set out to portray? Haven't they demanded for, and rightfully received, admission to all male colleges (I've got news for women; men act quite differently in the presence of women as well, so the arguments used to preserve all female colleges could equally be applied to all male colleges).

Have these women considered the implications of leaving a single sex campus for a boardroom that consists of both genders, or do they intend to continue their discriminatory practices beyond academia and into the corporate world? Have they considered the harm they are doing to the very laws they are trying to preserve in potentially setting court precedents upholding the right to a single sex academic environment?

Frankly, I think these women are showing poor judgement and creating potential conflict out of an issue that was bound to be brought up in litigation sooner or later anyway.

signing off,

Gideon MacLeish

Comments (Page 2)

notsohighlyevolved

on Oct 06, 2004

Feeling that males will dominate the class, and that "coeducation silences women", the protestors say they will protest until the board reverses their decision.

In my experience there might be some validity to these two points, even if they are a bit too emphatically stated. Having been to two universities (hey, I know the sample size isn't that impressive, but it's still better than one), I have consistently seen males dominate tutorials even though females have had the numerical superiority (take into account I studied the humanities at both universities, and in my experience, humanities have consistently shown higher female enrolment).

So yes (again - based on personal experience) I have witnessed males dominate tutorials and in doing so "silence women", and not through any feelings of inferiority on the part of the females, but by a difference in communication styles and perceived rewards to be gained in such an environment. Males seem to be more prone to verbosity and competitiveness, and i have seen the dynamic of a class change as soon as this style of male participation has been introduced (having had the privilege of being the only male in a tutorial before other males showed up the next week, and having the good sense of keeping my mouth shut to see how females communicated with out the agitation of the "male voice").

Are these women actually feminists, are they protesting a singular issue that they see as a threat to their individual benefit? This distinction could be important as i am yet to be convinced of the fact that all females are feminists, and furthermore, that all protesting females are protesting feminist issues. All i know is that my High School is still a single sex school (all boys school) and there is yet to be a protest at its front gates.

I can understand the charge of hypocrisy though. If all female colleges are to be allowed than that also stands for colleges that seek to be male only, the only principle that should stand being that the quality of and opportunity for education at either institution should be no different from the other. I am yet, however, to meet a male that would seriously consider protesting the inclusion of females in our educational institutions, but this might just be the point these women are arguing - the one thing that can be said to be different between the sexes is that sometimes, if not always, our priorities are very different

Sorry about the length of the comment.

Marco

KarmaGirl

on Oct 06, 2004

This is a very valid point, and one that I pondered while I was reading this.

I don't think that they are feminists at all. I think that they are trying to keep a traditional foundation to their school. If anything, they are fighting the feministic (is that a word?) "cause". They are protesting a tradition, and a way of being educated that they do not want changed. I see no fault in that.

Not all women are feminists. The idea that women should be treated fairly is not a "feminists" viewpoint. "Fair" and "same" are not the same thing. Feminists want to believe that everything should be the same and equal between men and women. There are a lot of women that want to be treated fairly, but don't care about the "equal" crap.

As you might tell, I'm not exactly a feminist. I think women deserve to be treated fair, but not always "equal". Face it, we're not equal- we're different. That's not to say one is "better" than the other, we're just different.

Draginol

on Oct 07, 2004

Given how much attention has been given to golf courses this really does shed light on the hypocricy of many femninists.

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