Tired

One of the courses I'm teaching this semester is Women and Communication. Throughout the semester we examine the gendered inequities entrenched in our society. While there are numerous joys that come from teaching this class, there is one major frustration. I am SO tired of hearing people say, "Gendered inequities? What? Men and women are totally equal." Oh, really? Take a look at what one of my students wrote recently in her journal.

Tonight I went to the liquor store and immediately got whistled and hollered at about five times. I was dressed in jeans, a tank top, and flip-flops. So it definitely wasn't anything that should have drawn attention. When men do this it makes me feel just like a piece of ass. It sucks. Maybe I will just start wearing sweats everyday!

Equality my ass. As my student's experience points out, women are still treated as sexual objects. How often are men subjected to this kind of objectification? Not very often.