Once upon a time (last week), in a land far away where sexism was totally still a thing (it's Perth), a student magazine at a leading Perth university published screenshots proving that a few students had created, and subsequently commented in, a private men's rights Facebook group. This group basically existed as a safe place for sexist comments and photographs to be shared. Some of these men were presidents of societies at said university, and some of them were running in the upcoming student elections. However, these screenshots were a little bit old - not old enough to be rendered redundant, but old enough that they, perhaps, should have been shared a little bit earlier, and not around the time of some elections. As per usual, I decided that something like this needed my comment on it, and so here we are.
Now, I've been biding my little blogging tongue because I didn't want to publish anything that could be accused of being for a political purpose. Enough accusations have been made around this issue and it's time we stop sidestepping around what really needs to be talked about. I'm not going to name names because that's been done. I don't need to point fingers, I don't need to throw [too much] shade. I want to talk about why this whole chain of events bothered me.
I often write about situations like this that I have come across, and while they always upset me, I have never been as rattled as I have been about this. Perhaps it's because, while I try to put myself in the shoes of other women when I write about particular issues of oppression, it has never been my peers who think rapes jokes are funny/ think safe spaces to share sexism are necessary/ pretend to be super for women while they are doing this. When I saw these screenshots, my heart broke a little. Suddenly, I don't feel quite as safe at university.
Firstly, to the ladies at this magazine: I want to say well done for providing an article that would have been very hard to write - you knew that you would be criticised, yet you wrote it anyway. When I write about how I am disappointed in who leaked the screenshots, it's not you I'm talking about - it's the anonymous source. It's not easy to share what you did, and I honestly believe that you did the right thing. You have done an absolute ripper of a job - you've remained impartial, you've let both sides speak, and I really admire your integrity. I only hope that soon, the article that started all of this will be visible. It's a shame that a university such as the one I am writing about values its image more than it does the issue of sexism on campus. Perhaps, instead of covering it up, this is an issue that needs to be discussed and shared around.
This entire issue has definitely been a little reminder for all of those avid social media users out there (myself included) - nothing you post on the internet is a secret. If it's there, it's there for all eyes to see. Completely beside the point, but still a notable heads up that in this age of everything being so public, literally everything can be seen, even if you think that it is secret.
And now, onto the big issues.
I am a female (surprise). And usually; in fact, far, far more often that not, this is not an issue. It shouldn't be, but, like we all know, it can be. After not liking university for years, I now love it; I go about my daily business and basically just do my thing. And then, sometimes, something like this happens to remind me that sexism on campus, while it may not be overt, is still showing its ugly face - quite often when we least expect it.
I was very, very disappointed that the screenshots were shared to the student magazine when they were - that is, around the time of the student elections, with (probably), the end aim of tarnishing the reputation of some students running for positions. Sexism at universities isn't something that should be used as political fodder. In my opinion, whoever shared these screenshots is a pretty damn average human. Perhaps not as average as the people who created and posted in the group, but still pretty average. This person knew that sharing these screenshots with The Pelican magazine would get tongues wagging.
My oppression is not your playing card. Your final slam down, your draw four, if you will (#throwback to when Uno would ruin families). To whoever released these screenshots when they did, I say this: be ashamed. Perhaps this sexist group made you super happy, maybe you thought "wow, I know exactly when this should be released".
Know this. Know that it's not a game to me, it's not a game to any of the women I know, and it's not a game at our university. Sexism is real, and these screenshots prove it. However, what also proves it is the fact that you used these screenshots as a trap to attempt to make a party in our student elections look bad. You've used sexism as a little bit of a political manoeuvre, and that's not cool.
Now, let's talk about who we're (probably) all here for - those who were members of that Facebook group. These are men who walk around my university as mature, responsible leaders. They are people who have been through high school, and had at least some tertiary education under their belts at the time these screenshots were produced. They were voted into positions of leadership by a variety of people, women falling into that category. And yet, they still found it to be appropriate to start a Facebook group to harbour sexism. If these educated men think that this is acceptable, then god, what hope is there for the rest of us?
It's ironic that the very Facebook group that belittled our Women's Collective showed exactly why it is necessary. The Collective is there to support women. Guys, there is nothing wrong with checking your privilege and admitting that, in this department, you have a leg up. I recognise that there is privilege associated with being white and straight, which is a shame, but there is. There is also privilege associated with being male, and that is why the Collective exists: to support women, draw attention to unfairness as a result of our gender, and give women a helping hand if they need it.
No one in this world needs a safe space to harbour anything sexist, racist, ableist, transphobic, or homophobic.
To those who are worried that those affected won't be able to get jobs after/ will get in trouble at university/ will have their lives implicated, I have a few things to say. Firstly, I don't feel bad because those people didn't feel bad when they were writing in that group. Secondly, these people hold/ held the attitudes that make it hard for women to get jobs. And finally, don't worry because the world is full of sexist leaders - and I think our university has made it pretty obvious who they will be protecting in all of this.
People can harp on about how those who created, joined and wrote in this group have changed, but think about this. These men didn't share their views with the world - they put them in a closed page. They knew that what they were saying was wrong. While the page description may have read 'invite whoever', this was a closed Facebook group, where only people who, I presume, shared the group's values, could be invited. This also includes whoever was able to screenshot these images, and then use them for political fodder later on.
They posted these things and then continued to walk around my university - a place where I come to learn, socialise, and be accepted as who I am - as accepting human beings who strove for equality. They supported women - to their faces. They were adults then, they are adults now. They were university students then, they're university students now. They were leaders then, they are leaders now. Do the maths, and don't be naive.
The only thing that has changed is that now we all know.
I know that there are bigger issues in the world than this. I know that there are bigger issues in feminism than this. But when a few, supposedly educated, privileged men seemingly mock my oppression, it takes away some of the hope that I have for the rest of the world.
Equality? Acceptance? Fairness? Pursing the impossibility of a society where your gender doesn't matter?
Please. Give me a break.
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