I continually find the “He said, she said,” the bottom of the barrel in the Collegiate Times. The articles end up being sexist and stereotypical, and this week’s is no different.
Although they were not quite as rage-inducing those from last week, which were about girl and guy code.
The titular “she” writes about girls looking forward to picking out a “cute” super bowl outfit so they can keep “their man’s” attention during the game. Ugh.
She then goes on to imply that most women only watch sports in an attempt to impress guys. That may be true for some females, but don’t make sweeping generalizations that insult women’s intelligence.
The author then writes, “Also, it is not sexist to say many women just hope the right team wins so their man will remain in a good mood.” Uh, yes it is. If you have to say it’s not sexist, it probably is — illustrated by the author’s use of “her man” to illustrate women’s relationships.
Women’s worlds don’t revolve around men, despite what these authors would have you believe. And the female author is in no way “special” because she enjoys sports. Oh wait, she’s relying on stereotypes to write her column again. You like watching sports? Go for it. But if you’re using it as part of a barometer for attractiveness, you’re doing it wrong. Watch sports for your own sake, not for “your man’s” sake.
And the “he said” side isn’t any better. It proclaims that women with no knowledge of sports are likely to pick team preferences based on the team uniforms and attractiveness level of the quarterbacks. That may happen, and there’s nothing inherently “wrong” with that. But don’t say all women do it, or look down upon such a reason.
In addition, his use of the world “ladies” to address women reeks of sexism, and none of his addresses to us “ladies” is ever anything but condescending.
The comments for “He said, she said” are almost always overwhelmingly negative. Why does this column continue to exist?
It ends up being horrifically stereotypical and sexist. If this is an attempted explanation of gender politics, you’re doing it wrong — horribly, horribly wrong.
So please, you would be doing your paper’s reputation a favor it you stopped running this column. Find something else for these authors to write about because they certainly aren’t doing a good job writing about gender relations.
Beth Cameron, mechanical engineering student