Let’s begin with your first sentence. The “me and women should have equal rights” one. I really hope that this was a typo, and that you did not just say that you, a single male, is equivalent to the entire population of women all over the world. Obviously, that would be incredibly ignorant and oozing with male privilege. You can (somewhat) successively articulate that women have been and continue to be opressed. However, you fail to see that much of this oppression is a result of your privilege as the dominant sex. This isn’t your fault necessarily (but actually, since you wrote a terribly degrading and offensive article that barely conceals your deep hatred of women, it kind of is). Men simply need to acknowledge that because they are males, they are at an advantage, and women are at a disadvantage as a result of this. You’re just not informed enough to understand that your inability to see blatant sexism is not because women are now treated equally, but simply because it’s not pleasant to have to understand that your success hurts others. That women are disadvantaged at your expense. I get it, that sucks. But, you gotta wake up and see that your superiority complex in addition to your lack of knowledge on the subject of sexism should have discouraged you to write an article for everyone at school to read. The prejudice of this article rendered me speechless for a while. How can you, a male, decide what’s oppressive to women? Oh, right! Because you’re a male, who has a right to decide that. Because you’re a male. My bad. Also, for all the girls who aren’t feminists/agree with this article: you are contributing to this discrimination with your internalized misogyny, and disrespecting every woman who fought for you at Seneca Falls so that you can vote for your president. Every woman who was force fed food through a tube so that you can get a job and go to school. Every woman who was jailed, beaten, and degraded so that you can have a “comfortable” existence. But I recommend that you take a closer look at that “comfortable” existence. Progress takes time, nothing is equal, white men are still at an advantage over women, and people of color, and if we pretend that changing the laws changed the mindsets then we’re wrong. Look at the way Sims thinks. That is exactly what is dragging us down, and ignoring the issues because women are legally equal, doesn’t change that women are still treated like they’re lesser. Girls please, look at how you’re treated compared to men, look how you’re disadvantaged because of their male privilege. Alright, now, I realize I’m a bit passionately sassy. I realize i’ll probably be labeled for this letter, BUT imagine if a guy wrote this? He’d be “ballsy” and “brave”.

Hannah Cumming

LHS Student