a4928b1771f2cee4a80ef0f060a13c86 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
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6

Sexism and Misogyny

Introduction

This chapter examines contemporary constructions of masculinity and femininity and how they relate to sexual assault of women.

While much progress has been made over the past decades thanks to feminist scholars’ and activists’ efforts to counter traditional gender stereotypes, several recent events in the UK, North America and Australia suggest that Western society is experiencing a backlash against feminism. While it has been argued that our post-modern society has moved on to become post- feminist, these recent events, among others, challenge the commonly held belief that we no longer

“need” feminism. The first event involves what is called “Freshers’

Week” in universities across the UK and North America. Freshers’

Week is an orientation period for new students at tertiary institutions, characterized by a range of university and student-run activities aimed at making new students, who may be experiencing their first view of adult life in a new city, feel more at home.

Traditionally, there is much partying, drinking and the usual shenanigans alongside the more formally organized events on campus. However, on September 20, 2013, Laura Bates reported in The Guardian a rather disturbing trend in this year’s festivities. The article, entitled “Freshers’ week sexism, and the damage it does”, reports a range of “laddish” behaviour that clearly not only is sexist, but which speaks to an underlying rape culture. She writes, This week, a special council at St. Mary’s University in Canada is reviewing orientation activities carried out at the university, after 85

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Sex, Love and Abuse

a video was posted online showing 80 student leaders celebrating the first week of the university term. They were chanting (in front of new first-year students): “Y is for ‘Your sister’, O is for ‘Oh so tight’, U is for ‘underage’, N is for ‘No consent’, G is for ‘Grab that ass’.” The story came just weeks after a poster advertising a fresher’s week event at Cardiff Metropolitan University prominently featured a picture of a T-shirt bearing the words: “I was raping a woman last night and she cried.”

(Bates 2013)

Bates claims that the whole sexist tone of Freshers’ Week began more

“subtly” some weeks earlier with an emailed article to prospective students at UCAS describing university housemates as “mum figures”

and “dad figures” taking on traditional gender roles. As students began to arrive on campus, many more incidents were reported. The Guardian asked students on Twitter to “share their experiences of

#FreshersWeekSexism” and according to Bates, “the responses came thick and fast”, via the @EverydaySexism project: Halls rep to a fresher: “I’m going to treat you like a dol-phin, segregate you from the group until you give into me”.

@EverydaySexism

@EverydaySexism A classmate laughed when I said I wanted to play football for the Uni team, assuming that women can’t play football.

@EverydaySexism Someone on my facebook had just used the phrase “It’s not rape if it’s freshers” #FreshersWeekSexism luckily not at my uni.

(Bates 2013)

Phrases such as “fresher fishing” describe the rash of blatant harassment aimed at young women during this week, including one female student “being pinned against a railing against her will”, while others reported “being grabbed, touched and harassed”.

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