Personal change imperative to end sexism

Sunday, July 7, 1996

Misogynistic ideas so pervasive, reform rests with
individual

Here’s a trivia question: What do NWA, IFC, UCLA and CCRI have
in common? Each of these acronyms have to do with sexism,
oppression of women, and misogyny. There is a serious climate of
hate against people of color and women in this country, and it’s
not limited to right-wingers. It’s right here at home in my
community and yours.

Recently, I was appalled and naively surprised to learn that the
rap group Niggaz With Attitude (NWA) has a song on their latest
album that talks about killing women. For those of you that don’t
know, NWA arrived at the top of the rap kingdom with the infamous
cuts "Fuck the Police" and "Straight Out of Compton." I grooved to
each of these songs throughout high school and college but I had no
idea that this particular song existed.

The song begins with a scene where some men pull up to a
prostitute on the corner and ask her to approach their car in NWA
language: "Bitch, come here." The prostitute and the men discuss
making a deal. The men become angry at her flippant attitude and
one friend urges another not to take this "shit" and to "kill the
bitch." So, he shoots her and then they proceed to argue about what
they should do with the body. And that’s just the beginning.

As I listened to the most misogynous piece of shit I’ve ever
heard in my life, my stomach began to twist into tense knots of
fear and rage. How can stuff like this be produced, sold and
bought? How did NWA rise to success in the black (and probably
white) community? How come I didn’t know about this song sooner?
And why doesn’t anyone seem to give a damn?

For anyone that may be thinking, "it’s just a song," let me
provide you with a related example of misogyny in action.

In June, a sorority woman was allegedly raped by three members
of the fraternity ZBT. Now to be honest, I don’t give a damn about
fraternities and I don’t feel threatened by their existence. But in
order to appreciate the totality of this situation, you must
understand the irony of how history repeats itself. Just four or so
years ago, another UCLA fraternity had been "outed" by their
extremely misogynistic and racist songbooks. The songs included
lyrics about things like cutting up breasts and eating them.

At the end of my sophomore year, I argued against the
responsorship of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) before USAC. I
listened as Greek representatives cried about how misrepresented
they were, how they were making changes, how we shouldn’t hold the
whole system accountable for one or two groups’ songbooks. They
tried to downplay the power of the songbooks in much the same way
that many members of the African-American community downplay the
power of misogynous music.

In both instances, the music reflects the culture of the
creator. If you really think about it, music defines an era: the
’60s for peace and love, the ’70s for disco and sex. In other
words, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that NWA really has
murdered prostitutes nor am I surprised when I learn about an
alleged fraternity gang rape. Even if the actions were never
carried out, the violence against women is still glorified.

A culture (in the collective sense) that sweeps "little
examples" of sexism under the rug is bound to have all of their
dirt eventually hit the air. Just last week, I attended a press
conference on the steps of Murphy Hall where a doctoral candidate
was alleging how she had been harassed by her faculty advisor for
over two years. The university’s response, according to her, had
been non-existent.

The whole point of all of these examples is that women’s rights
are being violated daily and that affirmative action for women is
needed. Affirmative action isn’t going to stop rapes or rap songs,
but it does force some of the people in power to admit, hire and
promote women. I in no way believe that affirmative action is the
savior of women’s rights, but I do believe that the right wing is
consciously trying to push us backwards.

I recently read Patricia Ireland’s book "What Women Want." Her
book cites some frightening facts. This country never ratified the
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which simply stated that, "equality of
rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any state on account of sex." As recently as the ’70s,
a law text book read "Land, like a woman, is meant to be
possessed."

In 1980, Ronald Reagan not only tried to kill affirmative
action, he also attacked women’s reproductive freedom. The Human
Life Bill would have given fertilized human eggs full citizenship.
This would have meant that any woman, including victims of rape,
who had an abortion could have been prosecuted for murder. Some
states are currently challenging the requirement that they provide
funded abortions for women who are pregnant as a result of rape or
incest.

Women still can’t participate in all aspects of the military
because, according to Newt Gingrich, we have "monthly infections."
We still get paid about 75 percent of what men get paid.
Ninety-five percent to 97 percent of the senior managers are still
men. The Congress is 90 percent male.

Before I end my tirade, I want to urge everyone to do something
in their own life to make sure that they aren’t contributing to the
sexist environment. Women didn’t receive the right to vote until
1920. That was only 76 years ago. In November, we have to use it.
But voting will only get us so far. Real change comes from an
internal change in attitudes and community-based action. We can all
contribute to this process. Quite simply, don’t buy NWA tapes. If
you believe that fraternities abuse women, don’t go to their
parties. Write a letter to your representative. If you see a man
hit a woman, have him arrested and, of course, vote "No" on
CCRI.

Just do something to reverse this climate of hate before it’s
too late.

Shauna Robinson will graduate this summer with a degree in
Afro-American studies.