Protecting patriarchy: a symptom of internalized sexism

On April 6, 2009 the CPJ chose to run an opinion piece by Erica Hayes, a self-proclaimed “feminist,” called “Dear Evergreen Feminists.” The opinion piece was published in response to “Women Targeted during Political Actions” by myself and featured the story of Shelbi Chew. Both Chew and Iwanted an opportunity to respond to Hayes’ article, but because the Cooper Point Journal editorial policy doesn’t allow for direct responses, clarifications, corrections, or fact checking, the below article would not have been published by the CPJ.

The article “Women Targeted during Political Actions” (Cooper Point Journal, March 12, 2009) revealed the stories of women harassed on the Evergreen campus and in the Olympia community. The article specified three incidents where women were being targeted: while participating in the Gaza solidarity die in, handing out pamphlets about the rifles on campus, and incarcerated following the Women’s Action at the Port of Olympia in Nov. 2007. The women spoke out without shame about the harassment and abuse they have endured for being politically involved.

This kind of public witness can be upsetting, as it was to the author of the opinion piece “Dear Evergreen Feminists” (CPJ, April 9, 2009) published in response to the article.

In “Dear Evergreen Feminists” the author, Erica Hayes, decides to take the side of her “mild mannered” male-bodied friend who called one of the women handing out pamphlets for Alive! an “anarchist idiot cunt,” instead of supporting the women who come forward with their stories of sexualized harassment. Shelbi Chew, the woman who was verbally attacked by the “mild mannered” friend, was talking with a group of three other men who were interrupting and talking over her before Hayes’ friend approached. He had no context for what was happening before he approached Chew, told her, “Shut up! You’re talking way too much,” and called her by the sexist slur, “anarchist idiot cunt,” which defined Chew by her anatomy in the most degrading terms. His hands were clenched; he was shaking and behaved in a physically intimidating manner by leaning into Chew as he screamed at her. How can this not be considered silencing?

Incidents such as these are considered bias incidents. The Evergreen State College defines a bias incident as “conduct, speech or expression that is motivated by bias based on perceived race, color, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender expression, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation identities.” The college states it has “zero tolerance” for bias incidents such as the one Chew was subjected to.
Hayes thinks that Greener feminists should expect to be called cunts and degraded as long as they don’t act nice. She continues her rant by blaming feminists for their own oppression, focusing on Chew, and says they are “stupid,” “raving lunatic[s],” “immature,” and “irrational.” All these words reaffirm stereotypes about women.

Another story from “Women Targeted for Political Actions” occurred in November 2007 following the Olympia Port Protest’s Women’s Action, in which female inmates were stripped in front of male guards. In Hayes’ response, she assumes the women are guilty of a crime, without trial or jury, and deserve having their breasts exposed in front of male guards. No acknowledgment is made that the City of Olympia violated its own procedures when they forced the women to strip. The law clearly states that inmates are allowed to wear one layer and undergarments, but some of the women arrested for the Women’s Action during the Port Protests in November of 2007 were forced to wear transparent undershirts which exposed their breasts. In the same way she blames Chew for her harassment, the author disassociates herself from victims of the criminal justice system by assuming that she would never be arrested for her convictions or a crime she did not commit.

Whether man or woman, genderqueer, trans of intersexed, people do not deserve the abuse that occurs within the prison industrial complex. When target genders or non-gendered people are imprisoned, they suffer greater incidents of sexualized assault, harassment and abuse at the hands of guards, including the abuse that occurred at the City of Olympia Jail. Currently, the Washington State Department of Corrections is dealing with rape and assault of women in epidemic proportions at three prisons – the Washington State Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, Pine Lodge Prison, and Mission Creek Prison.

In “Dear Evergreen Feminists” Hayes claims that women who bring up abuse and harassment are “whining.” Rather, it is courageous to come forward despite the risk of being subjected to further trauma, as are rape survivors when their stories are not believed or when they are told they deserve what they get and need to toughen up and act like men. Claims of women whining reaffirm the patriarchal values of blaming the victim, silencing of women, genderqueer, trans and intersexed people when they complain about abuse and harassment, and supporting a male-centered normative culture. It is Hayes’ expectation that women should act macho when faced with oppression, but when people take up the space normally occupied by men, they are punished for it. Once again the survivor is blamed for speaking out against patriarchy’s manifestation in their lives. “Feminine” qualities are dismissed as less valuable, and Hayes tells women to act like real feminists who can take the shit shoveled on them.

Are we to believe that women deserve what they get, whether it is being stripped in front of male guards in jail or called a cunt for supposedly talking too much? By repeating this myth, Hayes is able to blame the victim for their own victimhood and distance herself from the realities of what it means to be a woman in this society. Being a target means you are vulnerable to sexual harassment and attack, that language is frequently used to sexually degrade you, and the decisions you make are inevitably influenced by your lack of power in the society. It also means that when you survive this reality – instead of denying it – and turn to your community for support, you become stronger.

In the article, Hayes also states that it is the self-assumed job of a feminist to appeal to men’s sensibilities. But a feminist’s job is not to make equality soft and cozy for those who oppress them. Men with power never gave up oppressing because we were well behaved. Niceness didn’t end slavery, give us the right to vote, or pass sexual harassment laws. The job of a feminist is to stand up for your fellow feminists, despite what your male-bodied friends will think about you – even if he was a ‘feminist’ who then decided he preferred his privilege and power to being held accountable.

In her article, Hayes distances herself from other feminists because she is embarrassed by their behavior. For Hayes, their behavior gives feminists on campus a bad name. The assumption is that there is only one kind of feminism. But sexism and patriarchy oppresses all people who are not male identified and male-bodied, such as genderqueer, intersexed, trans, and women. Feminisms take many different forms where oppression intersects – such as race, sexual identity, and class – and some forms of feminism also challenge the concept of gender and hierarchy. But what happens to a person when they internalize the oppression they face instead of resist it?

When women internalize sexism, the oppression from the outside world is turned inward. They can blame themselves for their own subjugation, and blame others for their victimhood and survival. Shelbi Chew, Erica Hayes, and myself all experience sexism in our lives based on our gender. How we choose to respond to patriarchy – the rule of men over other genders and non-gendered people – is to either fight it, build community, and stand by our fellow survivors – or benefit by protecting patriarchy.
For women who go through the process of internalizing the sexism they face in their lives, it is not driven by some deep-seated hatred of other women. It comes from a recognizable denial and reality-based fear of gender-based violence perpetrated by men and perpetuated by those who justify blaming the victim.