This month, Lisa Belkin, a writer for The New York Times’ Motherlode blog, wrote about her own disbelief and utter shock towards the following message sent by the Sigma Nu fraternity of Duke University: “Hey Ladies, Whether your dressing up as a slutty nurse, a slutty doctor, a slutty schoolgirl or just a slut, we invite you…” Lisa Belkin admitted to being stunned by the message.  Adding it to her already established education of college relations, she concluded that “in social settings and in relationships men set the pace, the rules, and act as they had in the days when women were still “less than.”  It might as well [be] the 1950s, but with skimpier clothing, fewer inhibitions and better birth control.”

My initial reaction: Now, I am in no way going to defend this obviously sexist Facebook message, but I am also not going to say I was as shocked as Lisa Belkin when reading it. Being the recipient of several variations of the same message, I felt indifferent — if not completely unmoved — by the evident sexist remarks. If anything, the message was just some boys being immature…

Lisa Belkin provides several other examples of “after-class sexism” that exist at other universities. From the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at Yale, chanting, “No means yes, and yes means anal,” to Kappa Sigma fraternity of Southern California who refer to women as “targets” who “aren’t actual people like us men,” there were many examples to pick from. Princeton junior Jared Griffin adds to this general feeling by correctly observing: “When the guys go [out] they are laid-back, casual, like they are going to class. But the women come in, in short cocktail dresses, makeup, high heels…” Read More »

So I don’t know if you ladies have heard yet but a couple of frat boys didn’t heed CollegeCandy’s expert advice about being careful of what you post on the internet. And now we all get to read just what one member of USC’s Kappa Sigma chapter thinks about women, while being simultaneously insulted and disgusted by the rating system, code names, and vocabulary lesson he gives his brothers on what it takes to be an effective “cocksman” (read: someone who it taught to live by the two most applicable principles I know: The Pie [the vagina] and the Gullet [the mouth]).

Annoyed already? But oh, it get’s so much better…

I will refer to females as “targets”. They aren’t actual people like us men. Consequently, giving them a certain name or distinction is pointless.

I have to give these guys some credit. They make no attempt to hide what misogynistic, sexist, racist, horrible human beings they actually are from the very beginning, when they tilt the world backwards on its axis with this comment. I mean, really? Was there ever even a time when women weren’t at least viewed as human beings? Read More »

Women are responsible for 2/3 of the work done worldwide but earn only 10% of the income and 1% of the property.

Each year 70 million girls are deprived of a basic education and 60 million girls are assaulted on their way to school.

1 in 4 women are victims are domestic violence. And every week 2 women in the UK are killed by a current or former partner.

I know this now. But I didn’t know it before Daniel Craig dressed up as a woman and stood in front of a black backdrop and was told this information.

Are we equal, he was asked.

But I have a different question for CollegeCandy readers. Why did it take Daniel Craig dressing up like a woman to get people to notice this? March 8 is International Women’s Day and I didn’t know that, either. And I know it’s Women’s History month because CollegeCandy told me it is. But what about the rest of the world? What about every other day? Why are we not more aware of the fact that women have yet to be able to hear the question “are we equals?” and answer “yes”?

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Note: As of Wednesday, December 8th, the MPAA overturned its decision, giving Blue Valentine an R rating. I think the subject is still an important one, because it originally DID give the film an NC-17 rating before realizing that it was wrong. Weinstein himself appeared at the hearing to state his beliefs.

Blue Valentine (in theaters December 31^st) stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a married couple with an imperfect relationship. You may not know that, but you probably know that the film has received an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (aka the MPAA) for a scene in which Gosling’s character performs oral sex on William’s character. If that is all you know about the film, I would highly recommend that you check out the trailer. This is a film that is getting a lot of Academy Award buzz, and yet this controversy may block it from reaching a large audience.

NC-17 is a bad rating for a film to have. Of course, at face value it means that only people seventeen and older can see the film in theaters. And yes, the rating itself may prevent a few wary people from seeing the film, but the problem goes beyond that. Many theaters have policies against showing NC-17 rated films, which makes it so much harder for these films to make money.

Harvey Weinstein, co-head of The Weinstein Company, which is the studio releasing Blue Valentine has been quoted saying that they will not be removing the scene from the film, but will be appealing the MPAA’s chosen rating. I loved his choice to compare the film to Piranha 3D, a much more over-the-top and raunchy film, which got an R rating without any problems.

The way that I see it, one force that may be at work here should really be looked into: sexism. Read More »

To all of you ladies who are ready to stomp sidewalks this weekend in lingerie and some form of animal ears, good luck with the Halloween hookups and hangovers. But keep in mind, it apparently only takes one anonymous guy’s cocky locker room talk to contaminate a woman’s career path, and there’s nothing any of us can do to prevent it from happening to us in the future.

Earlier this week, a man came forward to Gawker and revealed an encounter (of the hookup variety) with Christine O’Donnell, the female Republican candidate running for Delaware senator against Democrat Chris Coons. O’Donnell’s Communications Director Doug Sachtleben has classified the publicized morning-after-story as “just another example of the sexism and slander that female candidates are forced to deal with.” And we here at CollegeCandy, who have been collecting the best morning after stories for years, couldn’t agree more.

The entire situation is all “he said, she said” at this point (well, more like “some anonymous guy says and she refuses to say”), but who seriously cares? They (allegedly) hooked up three years ago, long before Ms. O’Donnell was a candidate in this very race. Does this encounter say something about O’Donnell’s ability to lead? Is this story pertinent to the election at all or is it only “news” because it bashes a female candidate in a sexually explicit way? Read More »

I’ve never been a big fan of theme parties. Just like perfectly matched outfits, to me they seem contrived, cliché, outdated. But college freshmen (and many of my CollegeCandy peers) seem to love the experience of a costume party. I too have to give props to the really creative ideas that people have come up with (although I can’t seem to recall any at the time; that’s how rare they are), but for the most part, the only theme parties that exist and thrive in college are characterized by sexism. I mean, CEOs and corporate hoes? Is there anyone that sees that and thinks, “hey, girls can dress up as CEOs too!”

Even when it’s not implicitly stated (and it usually is, on the Facebook invite: “girls who don’t dress sexy aren’t allowed in”), why do guys get to slap on a button-down and be the cool, prestigious things – CEOs, rock stars, golf pros – while girls just have to dress like “hoes”?

With Halloween looming, this is an incredibly relevant issue. In the immortal words of Cady Heron: “Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” It’s true. Halloween seems to be the one night when the cattiness and judgments that surround one girl’s wardrobe choice seem to fall away, and girls take full advantage of this. For most girls, finding a sexy costume takes priority over creating a clever one; to say that most girls don’t aspire to be praised for their minds on Halloween night is to put it mildly.

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As much as I dislike Miley Cyrus and all her bimbo-ish ways (like when she said she’s never listened to Jay-Z but he’s mentioned in her hit, “Party in the U.S.A”), this girl really speaks her mind and sometimes, she’s spot on. Like her recent comments on the painstakingly obvious double standard that young, female entertainers have to live up to in the entertainment industry.

Lately, Miley’s received a lot of flack for her onstage antics, from her revealing bondage-like costumes to her pseudo-lesbian kiss. Although, yes, she’s only 17-years-old and is still part of the controlling Disney family which has dictated her persona and image in the past, I think all the controversy surrounding Miley is unwarranted and, most of all, a double standard in an industry that expects their male pop stars to be lusted after (i.e. The Jonas Brothers) while the females remain prim and proper.

I agree with critics who comment that Miley should be a role model for the young girls who have looked up to her since her Hannah Montana days, but to be honest, what Miley is doing now is no different than what other male pop stars have done in the past. Many of them are provocative, crude and most of all, they speak their mind. What makes Miley so different from this other group is the fact she has boobs and a nice body, which automatically puts her in the “slut” category. Because she decides to dress and act to her own liking, people are getting all riled up because she’s no longer the doe-eyed, naive girl she once was.

What’s more, it frustrates me to no end to think about all the young male celebrities out there who have naked pictures of themselves on the internet or are caught doing doing drugs, but the public rarely scolds them for their mishaps. Why? Because guys don’t get the controversy. Read More »

It was a day like any other. I woke up, slothed around, and then decided to take advantage of a free morning and trek to a bookstore. I immediately found a book that appealed to my inner political science junkie, found a fairly secluded section of the store, and started devouring geopolitical predictions for the next 100 years.

Out of nowhere, a gentleman sat down next to me, and immediately started his lame flirting game. I tried to blow him off with talk of a boyfriend, but he persisted in trying to engage me in conversation. I buried my head in my book. Rather than walking away, I had made a conscious decision to assert my autonomy and stay where I was. After all, I was there first. I felt I had an inalienable right to read wherever I wanted to.

While talking to me, the man laid his hand on my knee and I flinched and glared at him. This didn’t deter him. He then asked me if I wear thongs (hello, flashback to AOL chatrooms in the ’90s), and proceeded to elaborate on his freaky sexual proclivities. During this, he slid his hand up and down my leg, and I completely froze. I was shellshocked. I knew that I was being violated, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. He then asked me for a handjob – “it would only be quick,” he sleazed. I died inside. He touched my thigh for what felt like an eternity, though it could have only been a few seconds, and then he left me.

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As a female film/TV major, I’ve been noticing lately that although we’ve come a long way for women’s rights, there are still some of us who have to fight sexism on a daily basis just because of what we chose to study in college. Even though almost 60% of college students today are women, there are still many majors that are dominated by the boys.

And my major, film and television, is one of them.

I decided to major in film and TV because I want to work in that industry one day (duh). I have always dreamed of being a screenwriter, producer, or, my ultimate goal, a movie director. When I tell people I that they look at me in shock. “Are there female directors??”

Uh, thanks, dude.
OF COURSE THERE ARE!

When I’m not in the male-dominated classroom, I work (with only 2 other women) for a show on a local TV station. The rest of the staff makes jokes about women constantly, and while it’s all in good fun and I know they’re good guys, I’m getting a bit sick of it. They never listen to me or the other two girls, and we’re kind of ignored when it comes to creative content. The only time they do listen to the women on staff is when it is coming from the size 4, blonde girl I work with. And that only upsets me even more.  Read More »

Here’s the official SNL sketch that featured Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. We finally found something that wouldn’t get taken down by NBC bigwigs.

The rest of last nights episode? Eh.  But the opening sketch?  Yup. Funny.