The University community reacted sharply to the bias incident that took place on Thursday, April 15, when two female fourth-year University students became the victims of repeated racial slurs by a drunk, white male student. Although the University's response was admirable, it is only the beginning of what is needed to combat the bias that permeates our University community and larger society. Everyday in Charlottesville and around the country, minorities become the direct victims of racial or sexual bias. Unfortunately, these incidents often go unreported but still harm our society in more ways than one. Bias attitudes and practices are normalized and excused at the expense of equality. Future University dialogue must encompass all forms of discrimination, including those more subtly ingrained into our culture.
Every woman in America has, most likely, experienced an incident of catcalling or street harassment at some point in her life. Typically involving lewd remarks, whistling, leering, honks or disparaging sexual comments yelled from those passing by, street harassment is an insidious form of sexual violence and bias. For many women, this harassment is a daily occurrence. It makes most women uncomfortable and unsafe; it reminds women that they live in a community that allows individuals to be devalued simply because of their gender. More often than not, this bias goes unacknowledged and unchecked. It persists, is condoned and even sometimes encouraged by our community. Catcalling and sexual commentary is a form of sexual intimidation used to objectify and reduce women. The danger with such "free speech" is that it can and often does escalate to other forms of violence. Most women ignore catcalls and sexual intimidation, chalking it up to ignorance and stupidity. Other women are striking back. For example, in New York City, some women have begun photographing their harassers and posting their photos to the online blog-spot HollaBackNYC.blogspot.com. Our University community needs to take action against this form of discrimination. Studies have shown that some men do not recognize catcalling and sexual commentary as negative or demeaning to women. "Hey sweetheart," or "What's up beautiful?" is not the same as physically harming a woman. Instead, these men see it as a form of flattery. Even some women don't view street harassment as a form of sexism. Unfortunately, sexist slurs contribute to what sociologists term "rape culture," a culture with values and norms that perpetuate sexual violence. In America, rape and sexual violence are a fact of life. Every two minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Our attitudes and beliefs about gender have contributed to this reality and account for the staggering number of assaults and rapes on college campuses every year. College age women are four times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault. One in four college women has been the victim of rape or attempted rape. One in six women and one in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. As these statistics indicate, the rate of violence against women is much more staggering than that against men. By condoning subtle forms of sexism, we contribute to the American rape culture. Making lewd remarks to a woman may not be the same as directly physically harming her, but it is damaging and perpetuates sexual violence. While the University engages in an important discourse about discrimination, we must acknowledge that the incident that occurred on April 15 happens daily across the nation.
While recognizing the prevalence of violence in our culture, we must evaluate the way we speak and the consequences of our words and actions. Even comments not directed at any particular individual can still be hurtful and damaging to the community. "That test raped me!" "That is so gay." These sorts of off-hand statements perpetuate a culture of hate and allow discrimination and violence to continue. Even so, we hear this type of language everyday in the classrooms and at our residences, from our friends and among our peers. Often when we hear these ignorant statements, we do not speak out against them. Perhaps this is because students do not feel comfortable confronting their friends; or, perhaps, it would mean evaluating our own biases. Whatever our reasons, it is our silence that leads to events such as the bias incident on April 15. On this occasion, the victims came together to speak out against their attacker. In reality, this sort of incident happens every day and the perpetrators are not acknowledged or punished. Hate speech stems from a lack of education and understanding. It is not a University phenomenon. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, hate speech directed at minorities has been on the rise across college campuses since the 1990s. People of different races, women and homosexuals have all been the targets of hate speech and expressions of discrimination. It should not take an event like the April 15 incident to realize that this form of intolerance is a daily occurrence. We must direct our attentions to educating the community about the more subtle forms of exclusionary bias which permeate our language and actions.
The two women who came forth to report their attack should be commended for their unbelievable courage. To open oneself up to community scrutiny cannot be easy, but is an essential step to ending the silence that divides us. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the more subtle forms of discrimination that pervade our community. Biased speech does not only affect the victims, but harms the entire community. If we want to begin a necessary dialogue about discrimination within our community, we must focus our attention on the subtle forms of discrimination that occur everyday in our attitudes and practices.
Ashley Chappo's column appears on Fridays. She can be reached at a.chappo@cavalierdaily.com.
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