AS FRESH new students arrive at the University this fall, a sparkling array of orientation programs await to re-educate them on a number of topics held near and dear to our administrators' bleeding hearts. One of these topics is sexual harassment, and, as thousands of new students will soon be told, it's a much bigger problem than most people realize. According to the Web site of the University's Women's Center, in fact, 42 percent of undergraduates, 52 percent of graduate students and 20 to 50 percent of female faculty "report experiencing some form of sexual harassment." However, the same statement warns, "few of these cases are actually reported." And so while unreported reports of sexual harassment pour in, it seems that no college woman can feel safe from the ubiquitous scourge of sexist oppression on our nation's campuses.
Of course, if this sounds like a load of nonsense, don't be alarmed; that's only because it is a load of nonsense. By all available evidence through phone conversations and information on its Web site, the Women's Center is run by a cadre of radical ideologues who believe that most of us students here at the University are unenlightened heterosexist bigots who need to be purged of our oppressive tendencies and re-molded in a new politically correct image. To bolster their fanatical portrayal of society as overbearingly sexist and repressive toward women, these ideologues operate under a definition of sexual harassment that is so unbelievably broad it would be laughable if only it weren't so horrifyingly harmful. But it is harmful.
The same broad definition of "sexual harassment" that makes said harassment seem so rampant on college campuses also trivializes the term as well as victims of true sexual harassment. The Women's Center lists sexual "jokes" and "gestures" as problematic instances of sexual harassment, along with "suggestive comments about physical attributes or sexual experience." In so doing, it brands those who tell inappropriate jokes with the same label as those who condition students' grades on sexual favors. On a basic level, it's like re-defining murder to include traffic offenses, and then freaking out over the sudden multitude of murderers in society. But more importantly, it marginalizes victims of serious sexual harassment,by saturating the community with literally thousands of superficial "victims" who have been wronged in no way other than by hearing a few dirty jokes. Is there any better way to alienate and discredit those who have been truly victimized?
But for the Women's Center, labeling thousands of women at the University alone as victims of sexual harassment seems not to be a problem. Rather, it is a necessary consequence of proper ideological re-education. Indeed, the words of the Women's Center tell us that we students are stuck helplessly wallowing in our own ignorance and sin: "Sexual harassment is so commonplace that often we fail to even recognize harassing behavior as wrong." Further warnings make clear that not even women themselves can be trusted to think independently without help from authority: "It can be difficult at times to know you are being sexually harassed," women are assured, and, "Some women may mistakenly feel flattered by harassing comments" or "see them as normal." Quoting from a study with the subtitle, "Labeling Sexual Harassment in Restaurants," the Women's Center even warns against friendly banter: "Even if enjoyed
Read More
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | 16 hours agoLooking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | 3 days agoInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 4 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
