Long time, no talk! Blame Reading Week for the month gap. That being said, I can’t believe we’re over halfway through the semester. Forget New Years’s resolutions: this is the time of year when students are making “how to bring my average up” or “how not to fail the term” resolutions.
I don’t have enough words to accommodate a lengthy filler introduction, but I will once again invite you to send a letter to the editor to iwarrior@uwaterloo.ca if you have an opinion on anything you read here. I would love to hear from you!
This issue turned out very feminist, quite unintentionally, which I find rather fitting considering yesterday was International Women’s Day. Michael addresses issues of female and visual minority under-representation in engineering on page 5, and Patricia details the WIMIn Ideathon she attended this past weekend on page 12. And of course, it is a given that my editorial will have some level of a feminist undertone.
I can already hear the groans and see the eye rolls. The typical reaction to a feminist rant.
If you hate so-called feminism, please keep reading. Strange request? Most people would begin with this disclaimer to ward off haters, but not me. First of all, I love when people disagree with me. Second, I believe I can change your mind.
The stereotypical feminist is an unattractive, aggressive, man-hating lesbian who believes in female domination and unshaved armpits. However, to be completely honest, feminism is such a broad scope that any individual can express any opinion and call themselves a feminist.
For example: I call myself a feminist because I believe my dress is irrelevant. Some say feminism is incompatible with my clothing choices, because freedom is proportional to the amount of skin showing, but this is not true in the least. Like I said, it was my choice to cover. Where is the oppression in that? Isn’t it beautiful to live in a country where we can wear what we want? Others may choose to wear more or less than I do, but that does not give anyone the right to judge them.
I am a feminist because I believe that women should be valued for their brains. On my first co-op, a co-worker (who was one of two women in the office) lamented the difficulty of being a woman in our field, and informed me that having a dominant personality was critical to our future success. This is the stereotypical feminist outlook. My Grade 12 English teacher gave me a better piece of advice: make it about the idea. If an idea is assessed based on merit rather than source, there will never be a case of women being undervalued in a male-dominated workplace.
I am a feminist because I believe in no slut shaming, which is why the “9 Tips to Avoid Sexual Assault” poster on the inside of one of the SLC bathroom stalls initially irritated me. I naturally assumed that, being in the girls’ bathroom, it was meant to teach girls to protect themselves from rape, which makes it sound like the girl’s fault. No, it’s not. It is never her fault.
I got a laugh when I actually bothered to read the tips, which is why I had to share. My favourite tip: “Carry a rape whistle. If you find you are about to rape someone, blow the whistle until someone comes to stop you.” Well, it isn’t actually funny…disturbing is more like it.
The bottom of the poster read, “If we teach people how to protect themselves from sexual assault, then we also need to teach them not to assault.” I wish it was unnecessary to teach people that rape is wrong. How is it possible that the world we live in does not consider this common sense?
Many crimes can be justified situationally. For example, unwarranted murder is wrong, but killing is not only acceptable but expected in times of war. Killing can also be justified in self-defense. Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying it is ethical, just that it is circumstantial. So is stealing: for those in desperate situations, the need for survival may leave no other avenue. But rape is wrong on principle. There is never a reason or an excuse to rape someone: not in times of war, or self-defense (that doesn’t even make sense…), or any imaginable extreme situation. Rape is despicable and condemnable in all cases. The victim should never be blamed, and the perpetrator should never be acquitted.
I know, how did I even end up writing an editorial on rape? I was initially planning to kill two birds with one stone by combining my article with the editorial, until I realized that I have way too much to say on the topic (as usual). Kesha is the inspiration for this rant, and you can get the background by reading my accompanying article on page 13.
Tl;dr: two years ago, Kesha filed a sexual abuse and battery claim against her producer, Dr. Luke, which explains why she has been off the radar. Realizing that waiting for the end of the legal battle to resume recording would be detrimental to her career, Kesha filed an injunction request last year to break or alter her contract with Sony-owned Kemosabe Record label. Of course, the decision to stop recording was personal rather than legal, but was a completely understandable one. Three weeks ago, the New York courts denied her request, holding her to another six albums. Apparently, granting an injunction is unnecessary when there are no signs of “irreparable harm”. Besides, at least “she’s being given an opportunity to record”.
But I do not understand why no one is discussing Dr. Luke’s innocence or guilt, or why the alleged crime is not a factor. I do not understand how the system prioritizes a piece of paper over a person’s physical and mental health. Maybe this is because Law for ECEs is pretty low-level, and they don’t teach us the intricacies of contract law. Or maybe my mind is just not as twisted as the system we live in.
The courts are sending the message that rape is situational. Since she doesn’t show signs of “irreparable harm” (reminder: she was admitted into rehab in January 2014), she must be ok. They are saying that if the victim is “okay”, then so is the crime. They are saying that the abuser does not have to face any consequences.
But rape is not situational, and there is no compensation for this crime because no one ever deserves to be subjected to such horrific treatment.
I want to live in a world where women never feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or objectified. This can be in seemingly simple cases such as receiving unwanted male attention, or walking home alone from campus at night (which my guy friends try to warn me against doing). And of course, there are all the extreme cases of assault victims, which is why it is beautiful that the #FreeKesha movement has become about the bigger picture. Kesha represents every underrepresented woman, every battered woman who is unable to break away, every oppressed individual who needs a voice. She recognizes this, saying, “I think about young girls today – I don’t want my future daughter – or your daughter – or any person to be afraid that they will be punished if they speak out about being abused, especially if their abuser is in a position of power.”
Feminism is about supporting each other in a world that so readily trivializes sexual abuse. It is about standing up for women’s rights, which really means ensuring that women are treated like people. Like Kesha says: “Yes, I am very much a feminist, but more than that, I am a humanist. I believe in supporting my fellow human beings in being SAFE.”
What we need to focus on is basic human rights, which do not depend on one’s sex. By definition, they depend on nothing. Every human being has the same rights: no individual or institution should be able to take them away.
Have I managed to convince you of the importance of feminism?
Note: my intention is not to undermine male assault victims, but my focus is centred around Kesha’s story and female victims because this is more common. Also, I have nothing against lesbians, just extreme feminists who hate men for the sake of hating men.
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