Opinions & Editorials•5 Retraction: One of our astute readers brought to my attention that the reference to South Central in my previous column as “the decayed urban area in L.A. where many homies presumably live” was offensive. I was not familiar with the neighborhood or L.A. as a whole and wrongly utilized a description I found on the internet. I did not mean to pass judgment on the area whatsoever. Having learned more about the neighborhood’s history as a site of resistance against racial violence, I now realize my word choice was poor. I am truly sorry, and thanks to our readers for pointing this out! Stephanie Huang ‘16 Fashion Columnist
A Ditty on the Doody
Anynomous
E
The gender pay gap:
what women in the job market need to know
By Kara Odum ’15 Economics Columnist
Pandora’s Box
verybody poops. But does everybody appreciate it? This issue, I’d like to invite all of you to open your eyes and anuses to the wonders of coprophilia: the magical mentality linking feces and sexual arousal. Contrary to popular understanding, such a fetish goes beyond the mere act of defecating on someone; attraction to the smell, taste, texture, or sight of feces as a primary means of arousal and gratification, alone or with a partner, constitutes coprophilia. Before diving into the history of this practice, I’d like to clarify that coprophilia is a legitimate sexual preference with a solid following. I encourage you to receive coprophilia as you would any other fetish: as long as consent is in the mix, scat away! So here is my attempt to open up a historically taboo subject. Through some intriguing research, I’ve learned that coprophilia can be celebrated in many ways. While some prefer to witness from a distance, others like to get down and dirty with the feces. Without getting too graphic, coprophiles have testified to lathering themselves in, handling, and
EconoMix
consuming poop. One male online user has recommended using scat as a form of lube when masturbating, also mentioning that the allure of coprophilia stems from the fetish’s intimate and illicit asspects. Though the coprophile community remains pretty anonymous on the web, there are some well-known figures who have been revealed to enjoy scat sex behind closed doors. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, famous for his Piano Concertos, also wrote a delectable tune called “Lick My Ass Nicely,” a party ballad composed of the lyrics:
“Lick my ass nicely, lick it nice and clean, nice and clean, lick my ass. That’s a greasy desire, nicely buttered, like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity. Three will lick more than two, come on, just try it, and lick, lick, lick. Everybody lick his own ass himself.”
Also joining the coprophilia club is Germany’s own Adolf Hitler, whose neice, Geli Raubal, asserts the former dictator required her to squat over him so he could see all up in her sphincter. Even my modern-day queen, Nicki Minaj, has alluded to sexual poop pleasures as evident in her song “Did It On ‘Em,” when the female emcee repeats the title line between verses asserting her dominance over her partner. In short, coprophilia ain’t no thang. Sing it loud, sing it proud, and in the words of Onika Tanya Maraj, “P-p-pput your number twos in the air if you did it on ‘em.”
T
he gender pay gap is the systematic wage discrepancy between men and women resulting from gender discrimination, variance in chosen field, and number of hours worked. The most popular figure often quoted is that women make 77% of what their male counterparts earn, or put differently, women earn 23% less than men according to the median income of a full-time year-round worker. However, this discrepancy isn’t completely due to gender discrimination in the workplace. In fact, if everything is held constant including the type of work, experience, skill, hours worked, etc., then the gender pay gap drops to 7%, which is still an unacceptably high number. What are the other causes of the gender pay gap? Most experts agree that women choose professions that aren’t as profitable. For example, more women go into education and the social sciences, which historically pay less, while men are more likely to pursue historically more profitable fields such as engineering and computer science. This aspect of the pay gap represents the differing general career interests between women and men. Another explanation of the pay gap comes from men and women’s tendencies to negotiate for wages differently. This discrepancy starts from the first job held and grows as the women’s career progresses. If a man can negotiate a higher salary, like $35,000 compared to the woman’s starting salary of $30,000, then the next time a raise comes up or the worker gets a new job, the man will be able to get an even larger salary. The key for women starting “The key for their first job is to negotiate for women starting their salary, rather than take the first number offered. However, their first job women are hesitant to do this is to negociate for many reasons: they fear for their salary, the offer can be rescinded, rather than take they are afraid of rejection or risk, and they feel they will the first number be perceived differently for it. offered.” There is an element of truth to the concern that women who negotiate will be perceived as aggressive. In a study done at Carnegie Mellon, men and women asked for a raise using the same script, but while employers liked the men’s forwardness the women were branded as being ‘pushy’. There is some hope that over time the gender pay gap will erode. Progress has been made in attracting talented women to science, making understood the importance of negotiating, and introducing even more skilled women into the workforce. Schools have been making an effort to include more women in STEM areas by increasing visibility of female professionals, broadening the focus of science to be more interdisciplinary, and encouraging girls early on to explore math and science. Recently women have been earning more degrees, 60% of all masters and 50.4% of PhDs and programs have been set up to help teach undergraduate and early-career women how to negotiate effectively for better salaries. Slowly but surely, the gender pay gap will continue to decrease, although gender discrimination will be around in the workplace for a while yet.
April 4, 2013 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Ten