Chemaly Calls Out Schools and Society for Trivializing Derogatory Actions against Females
Soraya Chemaly’s article, “What’s Wrong with Degrading Girls and Women in Schools?” examines the objectification of girls and women in schools and universities that has yet to be understood as sexist and discriminatory. Chemaly illustrates that actions such as males wearing t-shirts with derogatory sayings and pictures, are viewed at as “silly”. In addition, she proves that for years colleges have looked the other way while fraternities engage in sexist demoralizing games that reduce a woman to nothing more than body parts. Chemaly also notes that females acceptance of objectification begins at a young age, when they learn to accept that this is just how
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boys are. Thus, continuing to allow the actions and minimizing the importance of the damage being done throughout our society. Chemaly persuasively uses all rhetorical devices, leading us to an understanding of the shocking reality of the objectification women face that is pushed aside as normal. Consequently, becoming a widely accepted behavior based on a “boys will be boys” mentality. Chemaly’s emotional appeal to her readers is a powerful use of pathos, as she urges one to look head on at the extent of the degradation females’ face in schools. Specifically, her words inspire a call to action when she describes a story about 2 boys who wore t-shirts with degrading female pictures and sayings on them to school. Chemaly asserts, “Words like "tasteless" and "offensive," used to describe the t-shirts misrepresent what is going on. They minimize the reality of what images like these represent, particularly in a learning environment. This isn't empty fun. A t-shirt like this one actively, publicly, and usually with impunity, denigrates girls and women while they are in school. It trades on stereotypes and their highly effective threats, something no one talks about in terms of academic competition. It's also a challenge to the authority and higher status of women teachers and administrators. This isn't "silly," but sexist. It's not just "dumb," but discriminatory.”(Chemaly) This statement presents a feeling of urgency for the need to change this mentality. Chemaly transports her readers into an awareness of how society minimizes the problem by using words that misrepresent the reality of what is outright discrimination against women. Furthermore, she suggests that females generally spend a great deal of time evaluating every little detail about themselves, leading to her belief that, “All girls learn to adapt, to stay quiet, and not “blow things out of proportion,” to internalize their objectification, to pay more costs of trying to avoid violence and to live with the everyday sexism of demeaning t-shirts, posters, videos, games, music, and misogynistic institutions that do little or nothing to address this problem.” Chemaly sums up in words that which many feel, but won’t, or don’t even think to express, as they have become conditioned to not even realize there is anything wrong with sexual degradation. Hence, stirring emotions of outrage, along with a sadness for accepting the injustice for so many years. Chemaly may appear to be a bit casual at times within her article, however, she is quite effective with her ethos as she is fair in her interpretation.
An example that may create a question as to her character is found in her use of foul language when pointing out some factors of why girls think that sexual assault and violence are something they just have to live with. Chemaly exclaims, “….this is seriously fucked up”. While this may seem to somewhat discredit her appeal, the majority of her audience is women, and however crass the word may be, it is still the thought that would most likely go through most women’s minds when reading the information she presents. Chemaly engages her readers with powerful examples of the disgraceful actions that have been going on in many college fraternities for years. For instance, Chemaly discusses the miss handling and blatant discrimination of women by fraternities. Included in this list are prominent Yale fraternities, Chemaly notes, “Five years ago, Yale’s Zeta Psi fraternity took photos of member holding up signs reading, “We love Yale sluts.” Another fraternity had fun running around singing, “No means yes! Yes means anal!” The schools recommended punishment for sexual assault violations at the time was a written reprimand.” Giving her readers access to information such as this builds upon her respect as an author, as she further proves her case. Moreover, a reader is inclined to trust her based on the readily conclusive articles she …show more content…
links with to back up her words, along with her understanding the blame for these objectifying acts is an issue related to many factors. Another solid example of ethos Chemaly employs is fairness, as she notates the research of where this imperious attitude stems from. She explains that everyone has a part in this problem which has become common in our culture, and that the problem is deeper than just a male dominance attitude when she suggests, “Young men are going to school way too comfortable expressing themselves in exploitative, sexist ways that denigrate their female peers and are corrosive to the academic environment. Young women, equally immersed in culture, are taught very early to have low expectations and to compete for male attention. Sexism, gender-based double standards, and male entitlement are so normalized that girls think sexual assault and violence are just a "part of life" that they have to live with.” Thus, blaming all society for the problem. Furthermore, Chemaly’s tone throughout the article is serious and strong, yet composed, which lends to her trustworthiness. This is important considering discrimination is a topic that would understandably cater to a rant. Chemaly reinforces her claims with supportive links to case studies regarding the emotional, mental and physical effects on females, along with links to other articles which confirm the problems on campuses and how they are handled by school officials, thus demonstrating an effective use of logos.
One example pertains to a study by Sociologists for Women in Society, which finds the major reasons girls don’t report sexual violence is due to fear and the desire to be accepted. Chemaly cites, “Researchers concluded that "girls don't support other girls when they report sexual violence. The young women expressed fear that they would be labeled as a "whore" or "slut," or accused of exaggeration or lying by both authority figures and their peers, decreasing their likelihood of reporting sexual abuse." Accordingly, between the reality of these findings, and common sense, Chemaly further invokes her credibility. In another solid analogy she claims, “The negative consequences of denigrating humor and imagery are clear, even if they are not well understood. Sexist media and humor results in greater acceptance of rape myths and gendered violence, trivializes them, and leads to an increased inclination to blame victims. For good measure, it also results in a lack of desire to either punish rapists and abusers or assign responsibility to them for their actions. That affects, and ultimately imperils, all of us. As a class of human beings.” Chemaly establishes something that we actually
see in our culture, and advances our thought process to realize that we need to stop giving in to the acceptance of degrading behaviors. . Another area Chemaly persuasively uses logos is within her many examples pointing out exactly the kinds of sickening things are happening across the country in many notable university fraternities. In one example, she describes, “….young men at Georgia Tech received an email signed "In luring rapebait"….a woman filed a lawsuit against Wesleyan University citing a fraternity known on campus as the "rape factory.” Similarly, Chemaly reports, “At USC, two years ago, some boys released a Gullet Report (named for a "gullet," defined as "a target's mouth and throat.” In fact, there were so many examples it was nauseating. In conclusion, she lays out a pattern of behavior that runs rampant across campuses with reliable online sources that helps establish her as a trustworthy writer. Chemaly’s article was solid in her use of all rhetorical devices. She included an abundance of information, studies and examples supporting where the objectifying mentality begins and why it continues to be accepted. Accordingly, proving she is credible and unbiased. Her article evokes intense feelings of the need to change the attitudes that make this sexually dysfunctional thought process normal. Chemaly opened my eyes as I was inflicted with the realization that I had fallen under the “boys will be boys” mentality. Throughout my life I have found myself in many situations where I have made a comment about something on a TV show, or commercial, as being degrading, and I was quickly labeled as a “prude” or told to “lighten up”, it just humor. Thus, shutting me up and causing me to reexamine myself as to whether I am taking things too seriously, or just overreacting. This article literally cleared up years of suppression and second guessing on my part. It is almost amusing that our society allows such blatant discrimination of women. Whereas, using the t-shirts as an example, if someone wore a derogatory t-shirt with any other ethnicity it would be quick to be called hate speech and not just “silly”.
As I grew out of the the Veggie Tales phase, the idea of standing up for what I believed in became more relevant. Throughout primary school, I unquestioningly did what most girls did, and followed the status quo. However, upon entering middle school, I started to notice a stark juxtaposition between the behaviors of the boys and the girls in my class. Now, after years of observing overt stereotypes and prejudice, I have learned not only to question the patriarchy, but to stand up to it, as I believe that sexism is a crucial problem we face in today’s world.
In Zhou, Li’s article “The Sexism of School Dress Codes,” she explains how the dress codes are diminishing children's self-esteem and, is mostly sexist towards girls as well as the LGBT community. To reach a wide audience including students, parents, and high school administrators, she relies on a wide variety of sources from high school students to highly credited professors. Zhou creates a strong argument against strict dress codes and encourages audience to take a stand against out of date dress codes that schools implement, using the rhetorical tools ethos, pathos, and logos to advance her argument.
“Women and men do not receive an equal education because outside of the classroom women are perceived not as sovereign beings but as prey” (Rich 446). Women already have this preconceived notion that they not only have to compete with men in school but the pressure that society puts on them to compete with other women every day. The body shaming epidemic going on now tells women that if they don’t have the right measurement then you are not considered attractive, it is another example of how women are viewed as a whole instead of as individuals. Adrienne Rich also discusses the obstacle that women face every day, but no one wants to talk about, rape. “How much of my working energy is drained by the subliminal knowledge that as a woman, I test my physical right to exist each time I go out alone?” What Rich is expressing is that women always have the unnecessary burden, of not only being considered the weaker sex in society but also physically being reminded that as women doing something as mundane as walking to your car you have to be conscious of the possibility of being raped. This is affecting women outside of the classroom setting, if women were represented more in mainstream curriculum there would not be such a conception about gender
Modern America, in accordance to course materials and personal experiences, overtly sexualizes people, specifically among the youth, engendering new versions of gender expectations, roles, relationships, and how society views people based on appearance, sexual promiscuity or supposed promiscuity, and so on. Easy A (2011) represents an example clarifying how gender socialization impacts today’s youth via several concepts such as slut shaming, slut glorification, challenging masculinity, dating/hooking up, gender expectations and social acceptance. This film primarily focuses on a female’s promiscuity. Olive, the main character, is automatically labeled slut, after a rumor she unintentionally sparked by a bathroom conversation. Soon, the rumor spread and Olive became “school slut” in minutes.
...her girl’s reputations. When diminishing other girl’s reputations, girls also diminish the other girls self worth. The slut label is the most powerful tool used to shame another girl. It is said, “two out of five girls nationwide-42 percent- have had sexual rumors spread about them.” (Pg. xiv) This shows the dominant groups use of power through their knowledge of girls having to have a specific attitude and behavior. Men use slut-bashing to keep sexuality under control while women to undermine other women. Either or, the power of doing so governs many actions done by people.
Szymanski, Dawn M., Lauren B. Moffitt, and Erika R. Carr. “Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory and Research.” APA, 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
Burt explains that “the hypothesized net effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their own victimization” (Burt, 217). When men get raped they don't see it as getting raped. Yet, when it comes to women they are more easily blamed because of “poor choices” like walking down an alleyway late at night, wearing sexy clothes or for drinking too much, giving a man a “justifiable” reason for his actions. McMahon also describes how “common rape myths include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that “she wanted it” and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses” (McMahon, 357). Chapleau, Oswald and Russel also explicate how “benevolent sexism is associated with victim blaming to protect one’s belief in a just world” (602). Benevolent sexism is the reverent attitudes that reward women who are traditionally feminine and is similar to hostile sexism in the idea that hostile sexism is when women are objectified or degraded often presented as anger, resentment or fear, while benevolent sexism is just as harmful, but put into a positive disguise, in a casual nonchalant manner that doesn’t make it so
Mean Girls, starring Lindsey Lohan and Rachel McAdams, took over worldwide box office sales in 2004 making it a staple in pop culture today. The movie is about a young girl named Cady who lived in Africa with her family and moved to a new town in the suburbs of Illinois. Cady gets a taste of what real public school is like and unfortunately it’s a rude awakening. The film portrays many stereotypical gender roles that society has created for females, males, and the LGBT community. This essay will seek to explore how the film Mean Girls portrays gendered pressures from peers, parental modeling, and the gendered expectations and pressures facing female students.
I chose these four journal writings because I believe they are the strongest pieces I have written from the second half of the semester. The main focus of these journals was based on readings under the women as objects topic. The oppression of women has led to females being objectified and used as gratification for men. A woman’s body and appearance have become a commodity, especially in the media. Films, television shows, music and advertisements use women’s bodies to attract their audience and sell products. The movie watched in class “Killing Us Softly 4,” highlights this fact while presenting how women are represented throughout the media. The media has set and perpetuated a particular standard of beauty that is restrictive, but for some many women completely unattainable. The women represented in the media are young, thin and have western or European characteristics. Where does that leave the majority of women that do not fall under this category? This leads to women developing eating disorders to achieve an ideal body image that is manufactured through Photoshop and other picture editing systems. Women of color, women with disabilities or any woman that does not follow this standard is not represented within the media. When a few women do break this mold and become famous, they are set at a different standard. These women’s differences become the highlighted feature of their fame. However, the one constant in the media when it comes to women is the objectification and sexualization of women. This sexualization can lead to aggression or violence against women and the perpetuation of rape culture. The images viewed in the media directly impact how women view themselves and how others view women. By examining the issues women f...
One example is the “gay panic” strategy, where inaccurate reports of crime imply that “a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender victim shares responsibility for being attacked, or that an attack was justified because of an unwanted romantic or sexual advance. ("GLAAD Media Reference Guide - In Focus: Hate Crimes." GLAAD. 2011. Web.). This strategy has been used during the Matthew Shepard case, in which a judge barred defense lawyers from it as a defense. During the mass interviews done by the Tectonic Theater Project, Laramie, Wyoming was swarmed with reporters keen on gathering information on Shepard’s case. A majority of the interviews involved people playing the “gay panic” card, asserting that Matthew might have done something to cause his murder. Zubaida Ula addresses this during an interview, saying “But basically he said, ‘C’mon guys, let’s show the world that Laramie is not this kind of town.’ But it is that kind of town. If it wasn’t this kind of town, why did this happen here? …. I mean, these are people trying to distance themselves from this crime. And we need to own this crime. I feel. Everyone needs to own it. We are like this. We ARE
Even after these prejudices were overcome, the education system still maintained sexism in both obvious and subtle ways. Books rein...
Upon arrival at Barden University, student ambassadors are waiting to greet students. While the male students are seen pushing carts full of luggage, the female students are handing out rape whistles. The representation of men pushing carts rather than handing out whistles is a representation that men do not need to call for help. “Men are biological males claiming rights and privileges attendant to membership in the dominant gender group.” (Men...
It has become common knowledge that sexism affects women negatively in multiple ways. Experiencing sexism can lower their self-esteem, self image, makes them possible victims of abuse, and often makes them feel as if they are less than men, powerless, or unable to achieve what they want. However, these effects do not just happen when a woman is receiving the sexism directly. A study by Chaudoir & Quinn (2015) suggests that women who are around or serve as bystanders when a sexist incident happens are also affected by the comment, except that, in this case, what gets affected is women’s attitudes towards men in general. The study consisted of 114 undergraduate females that were shown a video of a man either making a sexist catcall and another one of a man simply greeting another woman.
When you send your children off in the morning to go to school, no matter what grade they are in whither it be elementary, junior high, or senior high, you expect that they will receive the best education that they can get. They should be asked challenging questions, encouraged and called upon to participate in class, they should also be given as much help as they need to secede by the teacher. However, this is most commonly not the case. Parents and the children themselves are unaware of what is going on because gender bias is not a noisy problem. Most people are unaware of the secret sexist lessons that occur every day in classrooms across the country. In this essay I will use two essay's from the reader: Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls written by Myra and David Sadker, and Tracking by Mary Kennedy Carter. I will also use my own personal experiences and the experiences of my parents and what it was like when they went through school. Do people realize the underlings of the education system or because the children are so young that they don't really notice it or think anything of it.