We fundamentally disagree with what was stated in last week’s Wespeak entitled “Misogyny and its True Effects.” This is not to suggest that we are misogynists or that we are trying to downplay its consequences. We are not. Rather, we want to address a number of problems I had with the piece.
The article claims that “disempowering” is a word that is uttered often at Wesleyan; but so is “misogynistic,” and yet neither one is associated with the occurrences of the rap battle. For the record, misogyny means “hatred of women” and nothing more. The comment about how opposing rapper’s girlfriend “had more seeds in her mouth than a watermelon,” was not by definition misogynistic. Sure, it implied she was a frequent performer of oral sex on males, or perhaps just one male, many times fellated, but it in no way exuded hatred for her. There is a problem with people throwing around words to add more weight to their claims and scare others into apology, especially when those words are not applicable to a situation.
On the topic of preciseness of language, the piece was rife with very strong words, and at one point implied that the line affected people deeply and devastatingly. I recall there being plenty of females at the party, nearly all of whom bobbed their heads during your rap, smiled, and in fact enjoyed the final, witty line. Some females even went as far as to seek the winner out and compliment him for his lyrical prowess. If only one person approached him to complain, it is a gross exaggeration to say the lines affected people negatively. In fact, they affected most people positively. The registered complaint was an exception to the general feeling of appreciation felt by the entire crowd.
Furthermore, students should familiarize themselves with the purpose of a rap battle. As in any other type of battle, its purpose is to have one contender defeat the other. The typical methods in which to do this are to satirize and mock your opponent and everything about his persona, including the people he associates with most frequently. The line about the opponent’s girlfriend was well within those theatrical bounds. In an attempt to support a noble cause, the discontent observer blurred the distinction between art and reality. In doing so, she ended up supporting self-censorship and the curtailment of artistic expression. Both of these attributes negatively impact everyone.
In this case, the true effects of these bogus allegations led to the winning rapper’s feeling of unnecessary guilt, as evidenced by the fact that he wrote a Wespeak in which he confessed that his line was “a signal of deeply rooted issues.” No. The Wespeak was the result of someone trying to prove the existence of a character flaw where there was none. The people who make baseless accusations of one’s supposed hatred of another group, be they women, men, homosexuals, Jews, etc., are well aware that those words will almost always result in some sort of apology from the alleged offender. As for the line in question, it was a signal of deeply rooted word association and metaphorical skills characteristic of the rapper’s intellect. He should not apologize for that.
But he did. And as of this writing, no one at Wesleyan has written a Wespeak correcting his and his friend’s erroneous definition of misogyny. The general acceptance of these misguided characterizations deviates from the true meaning of these words and the true spirit of fighting hatred in our community.
If this continues, students will not be able to say anything for fear that what they say might be construed as offensive. This is otherwise known as self-censorship, a word that, although not mentioned often at Wesleyan, is manifested in many students’ political correctness. Some students at Wesleyan need to understand that false accusations of hatred made under the guise of political correctness hurt not only the individuals involved but also resonate throughout the community. In the case above, in one night, with one comment, a student: unjustly expanded the definition of misogyny, encouraged self-censorship, limited artistic expression, and disillusioned another student. As a community, we would do well to consider the true effects of our actions.
Leave a Reply