OPINION
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
Gaby Leung |
Just Say It
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Letter to the Editor
A response to Lee Bender’84
Serendipitous Musings
F
eminism. What is wrong with that word? Ask whoever told Emma Watson to refrain from using it in her 2014 United Nations speech. The actress gave a speech to the U.N. Women’s HeForShe launch event last year, encouraging men to fight with women for gender equality across the world. She proudly used the word “feminism,” explaining that it is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, not a term that is used to label man-hating. She told The Evening Standard in a recent interview that she was encouraged not
the discrimination against men, there is concrete evidence that gender inequality exists, and it disproportionately disadvantages women. Young believes real conversations must “let men talk not only about feminist-approved topics such as gender stereotypes that keep them from expressing their feelings, but about more controversial concerns: wrongful accusations of rape; sexual harassment policies that selectively penalize men for innocuous banter [...]” People are trying to turn the issue towards men and away from women. Feminism is about promoting gender
“Feminism” may seem like a mere word that shouldn’t hold so much power. But it does. There is a negative stigma surrounding the word — which should not exist.
Re: “Letter to the Editor: A Change for the Worse,” Opinion, Dec. 2. With all due respect, no one asked for your opinion and, to be frank, we’re pretty ashamed of it. Although we don’t expect every Cornell alumnus to understand today’s campus climate or the experience of students of color at Cornell, we do expect someone who graduated from this prestigious university to approach complex problems like this one with a shred of intellectual curiosity and with an empathy that attempts to accurately understand the real conversation happening on our campus. When you accuse students of fighting for “safe spaces,” you fail to try to see what students of color are actually interested in combatting. When students of color are fighting for better graduation rates, the same resources that white students are granted, a faculty composition that represents our diverse university and for a campus free of slurs and derogatory remarks, they are not asking for too much. Instead, they are responding to the insidious reality that white privilege dominates this campus. As a white, double legacy student, you weren’t at a statistical risk to not graduate, no one ever called you the n-word and you were likely connected with alumni, students and faculty when you stepped on to campus in the early 1980s. When you spoke with armed campus police, you could be certain that they represented your best interests — that they were there to keep you safe. You call our generation “coddled, narcissistic, self-absorbed, thin-skinned young people, permanent ‘victims,’ who will be ill-equipped to function effectively in the real world.” This narrative is tired. I encourage you to come back to The Hill to see students double and triple majoring at higher rates than your generation, getting involved in more campus activities than ever before and launching their careers in varying, impressive ways. This is all happening while we steadily increase the racial and socioeconomic diversity of our student population and the number of first generation students that attend. Not to mention that we also face astronomically higher tuition, rent and food costs than you did, are often asked to work two or three jobs to pay the bills and still graduate with burdensome amounts of student debt. You may notice that every signatory on this letter is white. This is deliberate. It’s important that you understand that students of color are not the only students who believe that change needs to happen. We hear — with far too much frequency — that protesters should stop whining and appreciate the opportunity to even attend a university like Cornell. Those messages falsely presume that students of color protesting are the only ones who believe that Cornell is broken. We’re not writing today to speak for or to take the microphone away from our peers who are fighting for the same equality that you erroneously assume was secured forty years ago. Rather, we’re here to say shame on you for daring to take that microphone away, all the while knowing that those students of color who have bravely grabbed it will keep fighting, talking and holding it no matter what. We write in support of their work. We are sorry your article will continue to spread misinformation with minimal context. We don’t say that in pity as they certainly don’t need it. We say it because during moments like this one, we don't know what else to say. What we do know is that those students have, and will continue to make, this university a more productive place and will leave as the “respectable leaders” that you ask them to be. Whether or not they become those leaders in a way that you, or others who share your perspective, find respectable is of no concern to us. Jordan Berger Blake Brown Emily Decicco Michael Ferrer Elizabeth Gorman Kendall Grant Matt Indimine Emma Johnston Adam Shelepak Matthew Stefanko
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to use the word, for “people felt that it was alienating and separating and the whole idea of the speech was to include as many people as possible. But I thought long and hard and ultimately felt that it was just the right thing to do. If women are terrified to use the word, how on earth are men supposed to start using it?” Watson’s speech might have occurred last year, but the spotlight on feminism shouldn’t fade — especially in light of this recent news revealing that Watson was told not to use the apparently “alienating” word. The amount of criticism that came from her speech was equally disconcerting. Much of it focused on how Watson ignored men when talking about feminism. Although she told men that “gender equality is your issue too,” people immediately criticized the name of her campaign: HeForShe. It still targeted men as the problem and disregarded the sexism they face as well. In a TIME magazine article, Cathy Young wrote that the present form of feminism “has too often ignored sexist biases against males, and sometimes has actively contributed to them. Until that changes, the movement for gender equality will be incomplete.” She used examples of how assault victims receive less media publicity and less outrage when they are male, as opposed to sexual assault cases where the victims are women. I do not disagree that male victims receive less sympathy and media attention for sexual assaults or sympathy for domestic violence acts against them. However, it is also true that one out of every five American women has reported experiencing rape in her lifetime. For men, it’s one in 71. And it doesn’t only stop there. White American women earn 78 percent of their white male counterparts earn; black women earn 64 percent of what their white male counterparts earn, and Latina women earn 53 percent of what their white male counterparts earn. Furthermore, 4.8 percent of Fortune 500 CEO’s are women — a historic high. So although Young and many others alike criticize Watson for being part of
equality for both genders, and it is evident that females are facing the brunt of sexism. Furthermore, the majority of those criticizing Watson for her speech seem to have missed the point. They are merely trying to find problems with a speech that was meant to inspire and promote change. Malala Yousafzai, an activist and blogger who survived a Taliban attack on her life for demanding equal access to education for both girls and boys, and was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, decided to call herself a feminist because of Watson’s speech. Yousafzai explained that although she constantly fights for the rights of other women, she didn’t quite identify as a feminist before the speech. She had heard many negative connotations surrounding the word and hesitated whether or not to to call herself one. After hearing Watson speak, she told the actress, “When you said ‘if not now, when?’ I decided there’s nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist. So I’m a feminist and we should be a feminist because feminism is another word for equality.” Yousafzai’s switch to call herself a feminist reveals how powerful Watson’s speech was and how “feminism” shouldn’t be viewed as a taboo word. It should represent an inspiring and empowering ideal. Men and women alike should strive for gender equality. “Feminism” may seem like a mere word that shouldn’t hold so much power. But it does. There is a negative stigma surrounding the word — which should not exist. People are afraid of using it, for they don’t want to identify themselves with “men-haters.” If people who believe in promoting gender equality have the courage to call themselves feminists, and feel comfortable using the word ‘feminism,’ the word will hold its true meaning. I am a feminist, because I believe in equal rights and opportunities for women and men. Gaby Leung is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached atgl376@cornell.edu. Serendipitous Musings appears alternate Thursdays this semester.