By now, I’m sure you’ve at least heard of the scandal that has pervaded campus, centering on the topic of gender equity and sexuality. While the source is important, I think what everyone should be focusing on more is the reason why people are so polarized in their viewpoints of this subject. While I agree that the forum for this discussion needs to be willing and appropriate, the topic of gender equity, shown through ideals of female sexuality, exposes why it needs to be discussed.

Throughout history, male sexuality has been almost completely normalized, if not expected (of course, this is only if it’s heterosexuality we’re talking about). We’re shown countless television shows, movies, books, magazines, etc. where the man is allowed to openly talk about sex and pursue it. Conversely, if a woman is shown doing the same thing, she is ‘slut-shamed’ or perhaps presented as hypersexualized. There are never discussions about what is expected in the bedroom, and if there is, it typically relates to either safe practices or a male’s pleasure. While safety is an important topic, there is rarely talk of how women’s pleasure should be treated the same as men’s.

It’s my opinion that sexuality should not be a taboo topic, especially in the case of equity. However, in the United States culture, it’s tended to be just the opposite. While there are many reasons for this, including religious and moral beliefs, it’s also centered on the idea that women should be regarded as the pious or virtuous ones when sex is concerned. This unequal balance allows blame to be placed more frequently on the woman when things such as pregnancy happen. It also encourages ideas of inequality, easily shown as having become manifested into many public school dress codes. These dress codes normalize shaming women for showing “provocative” parts of their bodies, like shoulders, kneecaps and thighs. Newsflash! These body parts aren’t part of women’s genital anatomy and any attempt to sexualize them is classified as a fetish. And yes, you read that correctly. Additionally, by ordering a female to change clothing so as not to distract her male counterparts, you’re essentially telling her that her education is not as important as a male’s. Trust me, this lesson will stick, even if you don’t realize it.

This problem we have with gender equity doesn’t just hurt women, either. It negatively effects men by attempting to strip them of sensitivity as well as showing them as constantly in need of sexual satisfaction. I know that there are many men who would not want to be perceived this way.

So why is gender equity such a problem to discuss? You’d think that in 2015, we’d have conquered this problem. However, it’s clear that we aren’t even ready to openly discuss it. Shouldn’t women be allowed the same rights as men? For that matter, shouldn’t everyone be allowed to control their own life, as long as it is consensual, legal and doesn’t hurt others? I think so. Do you?