Women in College: Why I Hate Men
by Tasche Bryant

Originally published Sept. 14, 2000 on studentadvantage.com.

This is the sixth in a series of articles and columns on the lives of women in college today.

I've been called many things: dyke, man-hater and — my favorite — feminazi. Yet I don't spell women "womyn," I don't shave my head, I wear skirts, and I'm heterosexual. So why are these terms being tossed at me?

It could be because I took women's studies courses in college. I also belonged to Boston University's Women's Center, marched at Take Back the Night rallies on campus and at young feminist rallies in Washington, D.C. and volunteered with a women's lobbyist group. I believe women and men are equal, and should be treated as such.

Surely, that means I hate men. It's a common notion that feminists are weenie-whacking wackos, and that women's studies classes are cult-like gatherings where women learn to regulate their menstrual cycles with that of the moon. Whatever.

Women's studies classes changed my life — for the better — and were perhaps the most useful classes I took in college. They didn't prepare me for any sort of career and they didn't make me a man hater. They just made me realize I'm a feminist, and that feminism wasn't what I thought it was.

I had to take my first WS class to fulfill an extracurricular requirement. On our first day the professor, Dianne Balser — one of the leaders of the women's movement in Boston — asked who among us considered ourselves feminists. Maybe five girls raised their hands; I was not one of them. I thought feminism had to do with being "anti-male." But, as I quickly learned, feminism is not about one gender being better than the other. It's about believing that women and men should be equal.

In my life I never felt hindered by my gender, so I never understood the I'm-not-going-to-shave-my-
armpits-until-our-wages-are-equal mentality. But I did know that I learned history from a white, male perspective. And I knew a lot of things about our society made me angry: not being able to walk home by myself after dark, Cosmo magazine, a government filled with old, white men. Only I never really knew how to express my anger, how to support my arguments so I didn't sound like an obnoxious freak when I complained.

Women's studies classes made me realize how politics actually affected my life — and they made me want to get involved. My professors inspired me to look at how I viewed my place in society with regards to my gender and showed me how to stick up for myself. WS classes were a place where women — and yes, sometimes men — gathered who had the same ultimate agenda: achieving equality. But that doesn't mean we were all hardcore socialists ready to violently overthrow the government. It just meant we were thoughtful people.

Before WS, I felt that anyone who thought men and women should be treated unequally were stupid. And I still feel that way — only now I have proof to back it up. I can hold my own in any argument on women's issues. I have facts, statistics, anecdotes and legislative proof that women have been systematically oppressed by society. I always said I was a liberal, but I now I really know why.

All women's studies classes do is ask you to look at how our society works, and to pay attention to the role that gender plays within it. Classes that focus on women — and women's experiences — give you a chance to learn something from a different perspective than mainstream education allows.

Why is this important? It teaches you about the world and the way it works, about the inequities present in our day-to-day lives. Why is it that women can't walk safely across campus at night? Why is it that a man can rape you and still remain in school playing football, but if your school has enough guts to take a tough stance against sexual harassment it's deemed "anti-male" by Men's Health Magazine? Why is it that my alma mater, Boston University, still doesn't have a rape crisis hotline? Why is it that so many women hate their thighs (or butts, or arms, or stomachs?) Why is it that so many women are insecure? Women's studies classes help you understand these issues.

The biggest argument I hear against women's studies programs usually comes in the form of a question: "What the hell are you going to do with that?" No, you're not going to find many classified ads looking for women's studies majors to take up high-ranking positions in major corporations. But there are a lot of companies looking for intelligent people who know about the world and can hold their own in a conversation.

Face it, most of the classes you take in college are not going to directly help you get a job. The point of college isn't to learn a trade, it's to become a more intelligent, well-rounded person. And, of course, to learn that men are the root of all evil.

Tasche Bryant graduated from Boston University in 1999, and was most recently the Health and Campus News editor for studentadvantage.com.

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The Long Road to Equality
The New Century's Student Body (on undergrad enrollment trends)
Blatant Lack of Faculty Equality, Female Profs Say
We, the Teachers (column on female profs)
Freshwoman Primer
Why I Hate Men
How Women's Studies Was Born
Mourning the Death of Radcliffe
Where Boys Need Not Apply
Life as a ROTC Woman
The Gender Gap Grows (on trends in specific majors)