Letter to the Editor

If you stuck around past the election results at TalEng this Tuesday, you would have witnessed about 20 girls from all across Engineering performing the “Jingle Bell Rock” dance from Mean Girls. I am writing this letter to the editor to address some concerning comments made about the act, and to dispel any sexist ideas associated with it.
Firstly, the idea to perform this dance came when Mean Girls was played in POETS recently. A couple of girls were sitting in POETS watching, and came up with the kind of idea that’s normally fleeting and never comes to fruition – to do the dance at TalEng with as many engineering girls as possible. However, this idea was seen as so ridiculous and hilarious that it actually happened. Yes, the dance is provocative, but we know that. It was done for fun, and as a way to bring together girls in Engineering. This dance provided a way for us to get together away from the sausage fest that is our faculty, have fun, and enjoy the fact that we’re women. It was a way to poke fun at the image of women the media so often portrays, but without being super girly or drinking our faces off.
However, our act drew some concerning comments. As previously stated, it was meant for fun and as satire, but was apparently interpreted by some audience members as a bunch of Christmas whores shaking their junk on stage in an attempt to get the entire audience hard.
The first concern came about from the way we were introduced. In Mean Girls, the Plastics act is introduced as “Santa’s Little Helpers”, and therefore we requested to be introduced as such. However, instead of meeting our request or even introduce us as our signed-up name of “Eng Girls do the Jingle Bell Rock”, we were introduced as “Santa’s Slutty Helpers”. This was extremely inappropriate, and not a single one of us enjoyed it. Calling women sluts and men studs is a double standard that somehow has still not been thrown out, and as women in engineering, we do not enjoy that mentality. We were not there to be slutty, we were there to have fun and to show that there are girls in engineering and we can be attractive and comfortable with the fact that we have XX chromosomes.
Before I move on to the next concern, I’d like to refresh your memories on the definition of feminism: pursuit of equality between the sexes. It is not, as many interpret, the belief that women are better than men and should rise above them. I think that almost all of us can call ourselves feminists, regardless of our gender.
The other comment made was along the lines of our act setting feminism and our gender back 50 years. This particular comment on our dance was exactly the opposite of what feminism strives for: it was an attempt to shame us, and it made it sound as if we were a bunch of stupid whores vying for attention. Additionally, not only was it not feminist, but by not allowing us to have fun and express our sexuality, it is an act of repression. So, when you’re trying to be feminist, maybe you should focus more on letting women do what they want, just the way men are able to, instead of degrading us. Making us apologize or feel guilty about the fact that we feel good about ourselves and our sexuality is setting us back to the Victorian ages.
Finally, I want to ask: why do people have such a problem with a bunch of girls wearing tank tops and shorts (the way you would in the summer) and dancing around, but are so supportive of topless girl’s boat races? Why are you alright with women in a club dancing in a manner far more <(risque)add e apostrophe at end of risque> than we did at TalEng, but not with a group of your peers celebrating their gender and bonding over a fun experience?
All we ask is that next time, before you pass judgment on women having fun together, you think about what you’re really saying first.