Laugh or Cry? Student’s Op-Ed Details Day Ruined by ‘Subtle Sexism’

ByEIC

This might just be the read of 2015: “The struggle to be taken seriously in the age of subtle sexism”, an op-ed by UNC-Chapel Hill student Blake Dodge published in the campus newspaper, The News & Observer.

Upon first read, you might think Ms. Dodge’s epic rant is an exercise in satire, much like the hilarious and infamous “Do the Left Thing” published by The Michigan Review last year.

But it’s not. It’s 100% genuine, and it’s completely disturbing, in both funny and serious ways.

Dodge starts off with a strong, affirmative, useless statement notifying all readers of a description that, just a few years ago would seem utterly bizarre (it still is outside college campuses): “I self-identity as a female.” Nonchalantly, but in an almost braggadocios manner, she then declares, for no discernible purpose, her “apparently” conventional attractiveness. Dodge then moves in the bulk of her op-ed by describing her typical day and how nearly every activity, interaction, and experience is a source of insufferable sexist oppression.

All together, this onslaught of “subtle sexism” makes her feel “less human”–quite a claim, but shouldn’t she have first self-identified as human before using the term?

Dodge’s op-ed is littered with Oscar-worthy moments, and I urge all to read it in its entirety at the link above. Still, here are some best-of-the-best highlights:

  • A fixation on her “thigh gap” or lack thereof.
  • An affinity for clarifying that all males she interacts with self-identify as such.
  • A bizarre, subtle animosity towards her fellow student government members for using the pronoun “I” in an email chain and for others thanking the self-identified male co-director for accomplishing some task.
  • More gloating about her physical features: this time about her self-described large derriere.
  • Ruminating, before bed, about her struggle to be taken seriously
  • This closing sentence: “I’m sorry if I’m wrong.”

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    Maybe, just maybe, Ms. Dodge would be taken more seriously if she focused on expressing sensible opinions and rational criticisms of aspects of campus culture and society at large she doesn’t like—not this deranged paranoia and narcissism.

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