Never mind we are mourning the horrible act of terror that occurred on our soil 14 years ago. Never mind that human trafficking happens in the United States. Never mind that women are being sold as sex slaves worldwide. Never mind the fact that some women in the world are not offered the opportunity for higher education. The real sexual oppression of women is on our college campuses. Between a course offered that spotlights poetry written by the 9/11 detainees at GITMO and a recent op-ed written by UNC Chapel Hill student, Blake Dodge this past week, I will solemnly swear right now that my child will not be attending this school when he is college-bound.

Blake Dodge is a student athlete at UNC Chapel Hill. Last week, she took to the News Observer with an op-ed that would make any person with any ounce of common sense shake his or her head. But, given the political climate of the school and the college environment in general, I was not the least bit surprised at all. I have actually written this up days ago, but felt that Ms. Dodge was not worthy of being on the pages of Victory Girls as we paid tribute to survivors and those who made the ultimate sacrifices on 9/11.

Miss Dodge feels as if she is oppressed. In fact, oppression is all around her, every day of the week, everywhere:

“I identify as female. I am apparently a conventionally attractive student-athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill. I grew into my ears a few years back. I have lighter eyes and darker skin, and with the exception of a bit of an eyebrow discrepancy, my face is generally symmetrical.

Writing this now, I feel my stomach drop. In a culture that regularly exploits sexuality, it’s ironically unacceptable when women openly acknowledge it themselves. But hear me. The following is a string of subtle and routine occurrences that make me feel less human and should take their rightful place among the larger narrative of sexism in contemporary America.

She “identifies as female”! I was hoping that she would maybe change it up a bit. You know, like, perhaps identifying as a space alien? Oh, wait. I said “alien.” Am I trouble? Are the PC Police going to come after me? She then goes into describing herself as “conventionally attractive” and that “she grew into her ears”. She (who “identifies as female”) goes on to discuss that she goes running in the morning with her teammates (who all “identify as female” though she calls them “women”) and discusses her post-run chafing, calorie counting and how she feels the burning gaze of eyes on her body parts at the gym:

“I head to the gym to cross-train. I mount a sweaty elliptical. I’ve forgotten my headphones and can’t manage to tune out all the curious pairs of eyes: some looking at my butt (big for a white girl, I know), some looking at my chest (small, given my butt), and some daring to meet my own. I cannot help but feel a sting of guilt because I know I just sent them daggers.”

And who is objectifying herself here? Gasp! Yes, Blake. They’re all looking at you! Because nobody else has anything else to do but look at how disproportionate your butt is to your chest!

On that note, let’s talk about her brain, shall we?

“I go to class. We are discussing Islam in modern society. I chime in. A neighbor, who identifies as male, leans over from across the aisle: “You can’t be pretty and smart.” He thinks he’s giving me a compliment. There is an awkward pause as he waits for me to meekly deny my sexuality. I do not comply. He turns away. I’m not sure he actually listened to anything I said.”

Discussing Islam. Of course they are. Well, it’s refreshing to know that the neighbor in class doesn’t identify with being a space alien either. But he (who “identifies as male”) does have a point and maybe it struck a bit of a nerve with Ms. Dodge. Maybe she can’t be pretty and ummmmm, “smart”!

We move along to a discussion with her dad:

“I call home. I tell my dad I’m starting a nonprofit that redistributes collegiate athletic shoes. ‘Is that so?” he asks with a confused inflection. ‘Isn’t that a bit much?'”

Oh! The patronizing tone of caring fathers. Of course, her dad is trying to keep her down with a “there, there, dear.” In Ms. Dodge’s brain, she is thinking that her father thinks she can’t hack it. From a parental side of things, I would be willing to venture that Dear Ol’ Dad (who “identifies as male”) is spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on his daughter’s education and, as a parent should, he probably expects her to 1) get decent grades in school, 2) focus on a potential career path and 3) get a job when she gets out! I may be spit balling here but perhaps her dad has some foresight here and does not see the viability in a nonprofit for redistributed collegiate athletic shoes!

“I have the utmost empathy for my male peers. But for every ‘pretty and smart’ comment I get (and for the ones that aren’t even that flattering), for every patronizing inflection and for every inadvertent power grab at my expense, you add a grain of sand to the increasingly heavy load we women carry. You perpetuate sexism in environments where it absolutely cannot belong.”

I’m going to sound a bit like my grandparents and my mom and dad when I say this. The thing about “these kids today” is that they DO think they’re smart. They think that they have figured every thing there is to know about life out and they really do think they have serious problems. Dodge, in my opinion, is a very insecure girl who wants to claim that she is pretty and smart and call attention to her attributes (or lack thereof) in an op-ed that claims that she doesn’t like people looking at or commenting on her attributes! This is the true plight of a college girl. You know, real problems? The only problem I can see here is an affliction of being glaringly self-centered, delusional and narcissistic. Sadly, Ms. Dodge is one of many. So to her I say, get out of your “safe space”, put on some chafe-proof big girl pants, get over yourself and buck up, buttercup!