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:
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.
