FRONT PAGE
LOCAL NEWS:
AIDS WALK
ESPN VISIT
RUGBY
FEATURES:
DREW
DEREK
MIKE
NATIONAL:
DRUGS
RELATED
BLOGS:
ANGIE
JENN
HISTORY:
THE 60'S
PROFS
AS PEOPLE
READERS' RIDES
CALENDAR
INTERACTIVE
NARRATIVES
ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
SLUT! - an editorial on the double standard
by Mandy DiMauro
Staff Writer
The citizens of America,
even today, in the year 2006, have a double standard when it comes to men
and women and the world of sex. How prevalent is the double standard?
Well, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "double standard" as "a set of
principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group
of people or circumstances than to another; especially : a
code of morals that applies more severe standards of sexual behavior to
women than to men." There it is, in black and white, straight from your
average dictionary.
Many would like to believe the double standard no longer exists.
However, Professor Phyllis Zrzavy, who teaches a "Women in Media
Representation" course at Franklin Pierce College, disagrees.
"There clearly still is a double standard that can be seen as
stereotypes of women as overly sexual are more prevalent then men," said
Zrzavy.
Men can sleep around and they are "the man" or "a player" and that is
okay. However, when it comes to a woman, if she is sexual in any way, shape
or form, she is labeled as "skanky", a "whore" or a "slut". This fact does
not go unnoticed by Professor Zrzavy.
"There is not as many negative words for overly sexual males," Zrzavy
said.
There is a huge difference between being called a "player" and a
"slut". A "player" is something your friends call you as they slap you on
the back and tease you. The word "player" calls up images of all those cool
rappers, like "pimpin'" Snoop Dogg or the like. Hell, who wouldn’t want to
be a player?
In contrast, who wants to be a slut?
A slut has no respect for herself. She is a dirty girl who sleeps
around and only good for one thing: sex. Once one is a "slut", every single
other positive aspect vanishes. Sluts aren’t smart. Sluts don’t have
"real" friends. A steady boyfriend is out of the question. Becoming a CEO
of a major company or graduating at the top of your class? Nope, not if
that girl is a slut.
"Basically the double standard is applied to one "group" of
people, but is not to another. Women are not supposed to go out and get laid
whereas it is almost expected of men," said Senior Melissa Gynan. " It
seems that double standards are applied in a way that makes them seem like
they are based off of innate qualities that don't actually exist."
Colleges of course are a prime fodder for examples of the double
standard’s existence. After all, everyone lives close to one another and
with many campuses being such closed off, exclusive places, gossip can
spread quickly. A 1999 study conducted by Milhausen & Herold of
one-hundred-sixty-five female undergraduates and found that 95% believed
that a double standard exists in which it is more acceptable for a man to
have many sexual partners than for a woman. More recently, In their 2001
book, The Myth of Monogamy, David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton
write "a man who is successful
with many women is likely to be seen as just that--successful ... [whereas]
a woman known to have 'success' with many men is ... likely to be known as a
'slut'."
So what is the bottom line of all
this? Ladies, lock up your libidos. While progress is being made, equality
when it comes to sex (both as gender and as an act) has a long way to go.
|
|
|
|