I'm new to this website and, as such, I feel as though a formal introduction is in order.  My name is Candace and I'm a 19 year old college sophomore at a leading research university.  I work at a women's center and am involved in various organizations on my campus.  One thing that seems to come up frequently in my life, whether on campus or in my community, is the many misconceptions about feminism.

One day last week, I stumbled upon a website.  This website had a somewhat humorous cartoon from the 1920s detailing what a "single woman" should do and how she should act on a date with a man.  It was humorous only because it was so obsolete and outdated.  One piece of advice was along these lines "Careless women never appeal to gentlemen.  Don't talk while dancing, for when a man dances he wants to dance."  A feminist myself, I laughed because I was able to reflect upon how far we've come as a society.  That's until I scrolled down to the comments.

Many comments talked about how it was a funny cartoon because it was outdated.  Most, however, said that the cartoon still applied today.  Many of the comments were quite grating.  One comment said "well maybe if u girls werent so fake, and did other things then put chemicals on your face to seem pretty. its as fun as watching paint dry, cause it basically is….." Another said "Feminism is NOT an excuse for man hating. Sadly its what it seems to be more often than not.  And if you think women are not considered objects, you are F***ing crazy. Hello p0rn, Hello Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler etc… Women have become bitches, treat men like crap, then cry boo hoo when they are alone." This comment was from a woman.  Another person said "I am only wondering what this bitch is doing out of the kitchen!!!!! Feminist are funny….. its funny because no one takes you serious and we all just laugh at you."  Another quipped "don’t even get feminism anymore, it’s pretty much over in America. Any jobs that women can’t get is because of different body parts. No jobs are denied because your a women. Seriously, almost 90% of people who say jokes and say all that sexist stuff is to purposely mess with feminist women; idk about you, but every feminist I’ve met is SOOOO ANNOYING."



While I realize that most comments on sites like this (or of any nature really) are just attempts to anger people, I was astounded at how ignorant many of the commenters are.  Yes, many are stating opinions that are not their own to anger the "feminists" they allegedly hate.  Just as many, however, are actual chauvanists, or even misogynists.  I find it hard to believe that so many people are so terribly misinformed.

First of all, feminism means equality between genders.  That is all that it means.  I think that, because it is somewhat of a misnomer, people assume that feminism is the idea that women are superior to men.  While some radical feminists do, in fact, hold this opinion, many do not.  I would assume that most rational, intelligent people are, in fact, feminists.  Most of the people on that website that are knocking feminism are most likely feminists themselves.  I think it's understandable why this misconception exists; it seems as though the most radical people are the most adament about getting their voice heard.  It's still disheartening, however.

Second, to claim that women and men are equal in America and that "no jobs are denied because you are a woman" is preposterous at best.  I recently did a paper on sexism at my own university.  In talking to many people, I realized that women and minorities are underrepresented in teaching positions here.  Not only are there more men than women, but men are often paid much better and achieve tenure before their women counterparts.  Even when this difference in rank is accounted for, women often make less money and rank lower on a job satisfaction scale.

Similarly, I talked with a woman who had done a lot of research in this area.  She claimed that, in the Orchestra, "If there's a screen, they'll hire Betty.  If there's not, they'll hire Bert." She was implying that people would rather see men playing instruments, but women are often equally as good, if not better than men.  I think this is a pretty good example of women being denied a job and not because of their "different body parts."  After talking to this woman and attending a local Orchestra (without a screen), I did notice that a vast majority of the players were men.  The few women had their hair pulled back.

Finally, on my campus, there was a flier advertisting the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.  I stopped to look at when their first meeting was.  Hastily scribbled on the poster, there was a picture of a woman in an apron that said "Stop making posters and get back in the kitchen." I was surprised and upset by this.  Apparently, even at a leading university, women are looked down upon and supposed to conform to gender roles.  I'm sure these people were even bothered that women attend a university; afterall, aren't they simply supposed to tend to their husband and children, not to mention all of their cooking and cleaning duties?

I've found that, behind the mask of anononimity, people will say anything.  Chauvinist and misogynistic attitudes that are often well-hidden in social situations tend to come out.  My only hope is that the vast majority of these comments are jokes.  Sadly, attitudes of this nature do exist.  I hope that, as a society, we can work together to dispel some of these misconceptions and to fight sexism; a problem that is very much alive and well, even today.