Reader defines sexism, feminism
in several of the most recent Issues
of the DN there have been many
mentionings of sexism. Sexism is a
stereotypical way of perceiving a
certain gender. Sexism applies to
both males and females.
Generally it is not a conscious
perception but rather a way we are
socialized to think from the day we
are born. A nude baby is treated dif
ferently than a female baby. Behavior
patterns are set - "real boys" play
with cars and guns while "real girl/’
play with baby dolls and cooking
utensils. Parents don’t tell their chil
dren this, but peer pressure, books,
television programs and films all
convey the message of what’s "nor
mal" gender-wise. At this early age,
physical differences are minimal - so
the roles are mentally imposed.
Arguments can be made as to
' whether women are as strong as men
in (he same way as arguments can be
mads as to men’s ability to cook, sew
and bring up children. Moat of these
are definitely not innate qualities but
socialized. The argument that some
women are proud of their feminine
physique (36-24-36) does not mean
the fraternity penny drop wasn’t sex
ist (DN Sept. 27). These women are
applying sexist stereotypes to them
selves, which doesn’t make them any
better or more acceptable.
There has also been some confu
sion as to the connection between
feminism and sexism. In a broad
sense, feminism is an attempt to strip
away or at least make people aware of
the gender stereotyping done toward
women (and men) by both women
and men.
Some people take this to an ex
treme to retaliate for the hundreds of
years women have been socialized to
be subservient, lesser beings. It is not
the idea that all women are saints
(DN, Sept. 28), but more that they’ve
been on the bottom so long that they
deserve to be in control for awhile.
This is an extreme point of view.
A professor of mine told his class
about opening a door for a woman
ooct, only to nave her say that she’d
rather do it for herself. He did not
appreciate this - even feminists
should "know how to be women."
He likes to open doors for women just
as he likes to see women's legs and so
forth. He fails-to see that the woman
in question only protested his action
because of its sexist intent - he was
opening the door for a woman, not for
a fellow human being. *
If we applied his logic to racism,
we could justifiably say we like
biiacks so long as they only try to
achieve status in sports and music. He
would view this as a totally bigoted
way of thinking and most unjustifi
able.
Sexism is destructive because it
discounts a lot about people based
solely on their gender. Feminism is*
not the same as man hating” and is
not something men should view as a
weakness in other men and undesir
able in women. "Mainstream femi
nism'* is an attempt to emphasize that
people are people first and foremost,
that gender should have as little to do
with the way people are perceived as
their eye color or hair length.
NeUEckersley
sophomore
social science/Spanish
Reader condemns Enquirer tactics
Editorial contradicts First Amendment
Dear Lee Rood,
1 would like to start this lettei by
saying that I do not appreciate your
. cheap interpretation or my intentions
(DN, Sept. 29). I also do not like the
remark you made, and I quote:
“Marking pens were not enough, nor
was Schultz’s after-the-fact confes
sion that he found the posters in bad
taste.” How do you know that! found
the posters in bad taste after the tact?
Did you follow me around for the
three weeks we had the posters to
substantiate that fact? I think not
This in earn reminds me of ground
less Enquirer-type tactics to bring
your point across.
Did you know that I was the first
person so confront Mick Dyer about
the posters jo hecourddoan article of
this issue? 1 think not
Yqu act like I got caught with my
hand in the cookie jar. I do not appre
ciate you calling my opinion on the
matter, and subsequent explanation,
a makeshift rebuttal.
My point was made perfectly clear
on this issue in the article. I censored
the posters against my will, even
though I found them in bad taste. The
reason I did not feel good about cen
soring the posters is because 1 am not
God, or our founding fathers, and do
not feel my opinions come before
freedom of speech and expression.
Lee, if you had been at the show
yourself, and spoken with the band,
and had the journalistic smarts to get
their opinion, I would have not found
your editorial so shallow, sensation
alistic, and unfounded.
It really upsets me when people
who consider themselves journalists
contradict themselves within the
span of an article. If you believe in the
First Amendment, then live and let
live. If you don’t, then move to East
Germany.
It’s obvious that you found it of
fensive. It’s obvious I found it in bad
taste; but perhaps some people went
home and framed one of the posters
and hung it above the mantel.
Lee, I -find the Ku Klux Klan,
death squads in El Salvador, animal
experimentation, and nuclear waste
often si ve,too. But I need to remember
(and so do you) that they all have a
right themselves. (Except for the
poor defenseless animals.)
To end my letter in the same fash
ion as yours: Let's hope unsubstanti
ated, opinionated, and disturbing let
ters are no way for the Daily Nebras
kan to drum up business.
God bless America.
Stephen Schultz
owner of Project Import
musical director for Duffy's Tavern
Jail term unfair
to James Brown
I feel that the present judicial sys
tem is sentencing people to jail terms
without a fair chance.
Just because the courts are backed
up is no reason for pushing a person
through the trial without really hear
ing what they have to say. •
This is really, really, really unjust!
Free James Brown.
Doug Couron
• sophomore
actuarial science
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Reader speaks out on sexism
Some believe stylistic charac
teristics (such as,the way some
body talks or the way he writes)
can bo judged in and of them
selves, without reference to one’s
motives, as “sexist” It is my be
lief that these individuals must be
so dogmatically fettered to what is
mistakenly called “egalitarian
ism,” that they are not realty in
possession of the power to Blink. I
am inclined to conjecture that they
have probably spent the better part
of their education learning what to
think, rather than how to think.
As unfortunate as this is, per
haps the victims of the “educa
tional system” could be directed
' to truly “neutral” language such
as Persian, and away from such
sexist languages as Spanish, Ger
man, French and even English^
A “sexist” language such as
English would not suffer the crude
disfigurement imposed on it by
ideologues wishing to make it
conform to their shallow, jaded
orthodoxies. If such an arrange
ment were made, language would
be safe from "thinking*' which
totally Ignores the aesthetic value
of language. But obviously not
everybody would participate in
such a program. So we are left to
face a potentially dangerous situ
ation.
The egalitarians, following a
sort of totalitarian line of reason
ing, continue to intimidate and
discriminate against those who do
not think precisely as they do.
I tend to blame the public
school system as a major promoter
of absurd totalitarian notions, mud
socialistic philosophies. It is this
system primarily which turns out
graduates with dangerous cookie
cutter mentalities. But what can
one expect from a socialistic insti
tution?
Darin J. Kiiepper
senior
history/German education
Gangs and Drugs
in Lincoln?
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