Today in the media, feminists are portrayed at two ends of a spectrum: either being a feminazi, or not caring about female rights at all. I believe that there should be something in the middle: where most young adult females believe themselves to be feminists. On my college campus, women’s rights are considered something like a joke, with a woman’s group’s messages being ridiculed. With this social norm being administered, women on my campus are afraid to speak out for their rights, especially in front of men. So without further ado, this is what it’s like to be a female on a college campus today.
It’s Saturday morning, and I wake up to a timely warning notice email from my campus public safety saying that a student was sexually assaulted on campus last night. Unfortunately, this is a common thing to read in the mornings, so I don’t think much about it and start to text my friends asking when we are getting breakfast.
When walking into the dining hall, I am conscious of every gaze watching me walk across the floor. Although I am wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, the fact that I am wearing yoga pants is being judged because they are a sexualized object. I continue about my breakfast routine pulling my t-shirt down over my bottom.
When I get back to my dorm and start to do homework, I am scrolling through Facebook and notice that the government is voting whether Planned Parenthood should be shut down. I hope to myself that I never need sex education or birth control if the situation arises.
As my friends and I are getting ready to go out, we choose our outfits carefully. We need clothes that attract attention but not too much attention, because if we wear too little, we could be a target for harassment. We all end up choosing jeans and a nice blouse, because it is nice enough but not too “flirty”.
Side note: I respect that women can wear whatever out, but it is my personal choice to dress this way. Keep rocking that mini skirt girl, because you look hot.
As my friends and I start to go out, we remind each other to always use the buddy system and to never leave a friend alone, because we need to protect each other. If I am left alone at a party where I don’t know too many people, I feel uncomfortable with the situation, especially in the male gaze.
As we reach a house, I start talking to a guy and try to get away when he “accidentally” touches my butt. And when I say something about it, I am making a big deal out of nothing and should appreciate that a guy is talking to me.
As my friends and I are heading home, we notice that the guy from the party before is following us home. We stop at a friend’s house to hide out until we think that he is gone. Our guy friends laugh off the situation, saying that he was probably trying to be funny. It is not funny that I feel threatened.
As we get home and get ready for bed, I put on my pj’s and scroll through my social media apps. There is a joke on twitter by a “Meninist” account, a parody of a feminism account. The twitter account is full of jokes geared towards women and feminism.
Looking back at one of my days, I realize all that women have to go through just to keep up the same standard as men. Although feminism is made fun of, what we need in this day and age is equality and understanding.
