One of the greatest pleasures in writing an editorial column is contributing to a forum for discussion. Due to certain paper policies, I am normally unable to actively participate in the discussion. My role is to state my opinions, sit back, and let the discussion flow outward. This position has allowed me to observe actions that might have gone unnoticed, had I been more involved.
While observing these discussions, I was struck by the power of gender socialization once again. The focus of my column has always been a feminist one, and by doing this, I had a number of goals: to present ideas and issues that are deemed important in feminist circles, to facilitate discussion on these same ideas and issues, and to break down stereotypes of feminists. I hoped to accomplish this by expressing my beliefs as a "real-life feminist," to exemplify the approachability and necessity of feminism. I hoped that when hearing my views, a reader would realize that my views were not so foreign and that feminism could relate to her/his life.
With these goals at the back of my mind, I was surprised to see that the overwhelming majority of feedback I received from my column was from males. I sat down the other night to do some calculations. I started with my e-mail account and tallied the number of all the letters I had received (yes, to all of you who have sent hateful letters, I have saved them all). This was fairly even; I received only one more e-mail by a male than by female. But then I counted the postings from the Daily News online forum and found that there were five times as many postings by males than by females. I also thought of all the individuals who had approached me, on the shuttle, on my way to class, at a party, about my column. Many were strangers to me, and only one of those strangers was female.
Does this seem ironic to anyone else? Here is a feminist column, encouraging women to use their voice, and yet the majority of response is male. I am tempted to ask why, but then, we have all taken Sociology 101. We know that women are repeatedly socialized to keep silent in the political arena. So why discuss this? Because it keeps happening, even in an environment intended to be woman-focused.
Attempting to draw some conclusions from my little study, I believe that the number of e-mail responses was fairly balanced because e-mail is a fairly unobtrusive medium for discussion or commentary. Posting online is a very public proclamation of one's views, a one-on-one encounter can seem confrontational, and both require much self-confidence. Because gender socialization does not teach women to voice their political beliefs, especially in a public sphere, then these two methods for discussion may not even exist for many women.
I do not mean to sound exclusive. I believe feminism will advance all of humanity, and males need to have an active role in the process. But it is women who need to take control of this situation. You must use your voice to promote your beliefs, your ideas, your needs. If women are forever told to remain quiet about their political views, and more importantly, if they accept this, then they will forever be forced into a subservient role. Gender socialization may teach women to remain silent, but it is up to us to claim our voice and use it actively. Our socially constructed script must no longer hinder our voices. We must actively demand to be heard.
Write to Linda at
001srabadi@bsu.edu
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