Student urges people to speak up when they hear others degrading women.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, I rode my bike to Alden Library to print a paper.
On the way back, I was biking home down Court Street around 8:30 p.m. when a group of guys passed a girl on the sidewalk. She said, “Hey bros,” and they said, “Hey.”
After she was gone, one of them said to her over his shoulder, “Wanna get it on?” Another said, ”I want to f--k her in the a--.” I rode my bike past them. I heard one of them say, “Yeah, and I want to f--k her in the a-- too.”
I stopped at the stoplight some distance ahead of them. One said, “Wait, look,” to his friends as I turned my head to look down at the oncoming traffic at the intersection. They saw my face, guffawed, “Oh! snap," and snapped their fingers, chortling merrily at my chilling glare. They kept walking.
I didn’t say or do anything to acknowledge them directly. I focused on riding my bike home safely. If I hadn’t felt alone and in physical danger after this disorienting random threat (not to mention being in the middle of traffic), I might have said, "That's degrading and gross, stop it. You don't own me." Or, alternately, “Do you really feel that bad about yourself that you have to make yourself feel better by dominating random women you pass on the street in your imagination?”
Yes, this absurdity is real life. This is common. This kind of thing happens in my life about once a month on campus. Many, many women could tell you similar stories about sexual harassment, some of them much worse. I’m completely over it. I'm tired of writing and talking about this. Plenty of men do not do this kind of thing.
Yet, an unacceptable amount do. Hey OU, beloved “Bobcat Family,” when will this moronic sexist bullying end? It’s time to do a better job at holding each other accountable for harmful words and actions. To put it lightly, the administration could play a much more powerful role in this. The good news is, everyone can. If you hear someone saying degrading things about women, tell them not to in your own way. This is not a "sensitive" or a high standard, it's a logical and reasonable one if you believe that all people are created equal.
It’s simple: Don't be a jerk. Stop hyper-sexualizing women. Treat us with respect. Let us live without the threat of sexual violence hanging in the air around us. Speak up when you hear other people say stupid things. Believe that your effort makes a difference. You’ll be helping OU move toward being a safer community. We all deserve that. You’ll get the reward of actually getting to know women as people.
Ellie Andrews is a senior studying plant biology.
