Nov. 23, 2019
by Rylie Frederick
They called it a badge of self-defense, and they only required girls to earn it.
Senior Gracen Patten was in the ninth grade when she first realized women needed self-defense more than men did. As a Senior Cadette in the Girl Scouts, Patten was required to earn a self-defense badge, she said.
“They didn’t make the Boy Scouts do anything like that,” Patten said.
This was the first time she consciously understood that the two sexes had different expectations placed on them by society, she said. Now as a college student, Patten still uses the tactics taught to her all those years ago.
Like many other college women, Patten can describe many times she felt unsafe on or around campus. Most of her stories begin quite similarly: “One time, a boy…”
The social scene at a university is complex. It can be fun, transformative and exciting, but it can also be scary and uncomfortable for many women. While walking down the street to class, Patten has been catcalled and whistled at countless times by male peers, she said. She notes that it all comes down to a power imbalance between the two sexes.
The power imbalance starts small. Work-related emails sent by females are considered unprofessional, and if they do not contain enough exclamation marks the message could be considered passive or rude, according to the Netflix docuseries Explained. When a man sits with his legs spread apart, it is simply called manspreading. For a woman to sit in the same posture, it is unladylike.
While studying abroad at the UofA Rome Center, senior Deja Snyder noticed that a woman is more likely to move out of the way for a man walking down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Once, a man slammed straight into her and continued to try and walk forward, but she refused to sidestep him, she said. Snyder stayed on her path until neither of them could move. He scoffed and eventually walked around her.
These small imbalances create an unspoken idea that women should take up less space than men. When this is embedded in everyday life, it gives men more leeway to behave in whatever way they deem fit. Sometimes, their idea of what’s acceptable makes women feel uncomfortable, minimized or in danger, Snyder said.
Another phrase for that concept is toxic masculinity. Among other things, it is the mindset that men should strive to be the dominant energy in any social situation.
Women are typically taught that this type of behavior is normal, senior Cali Clifton said. When it occurs, it gets brushed off as harmless. Many UofA students even expect it. Clifton grew up thinking that being catcalled while walking alone at night was a man’s way of flirting.
“It is somehow still incomprehensible that catcalling, whistling or approaching women without consent makes them uncomfortable, and is wrong,” Clifton said.
Sophomore Haleigh Hull practices self-defense daily without even realizing it, she said. When getting into her car, she only unlocks the driver side to prevent someone from jumping in the passenger side. The moment she gets behind the wheel, she locks her doors. She doesn’t wait for danger to manifest; she takes proactive measures because she expects it.
“When I’m in the presence of females, my nervousness goes away and my guard is lessened,” Hull said. “In contrast, if I’m surrounded by guys, or if I think a guy is following me, I go into hyper-awareness mode so that way if something does happen to me, I will be able to describe him to the cops.”
Hull’s anxiety isn’t exactly misplaced. College-aged women are at an elevated risk of sexual violence, according to a study by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, “Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics.” A portion of this increased risk can be attributed to toxic party culture, which is something not unlike toxic masculinity. When a social scene is dominated by male energy, it often results in women being treated inappropriately or disrespectfully in the name of flirting. When alcohol, loud music and dark rooms are involved, it suddenly becomes much easier for men to get away with unacceptable behavior.
The way college girls plan on getting home from a party differs substantially from college boys. A lot more thought goes into it because it is a lot more dangerous. The expectations between the two sexes are uneven; most men assume they’ll arrive home safely while many women do not. Because of this, these three girls said they have an arsenal of self-defense methods memorized for various situations.
Patten avoids stairwells, uses the buddy system when going to the restroom, and doesn’t take Ubers alone. Clifton walks with her keys between her knuckles, immediately locks her car doors as soon as she sits down, and keeps constant track of her friends’ locations. Hull only unlocks the driver’s side when getting into her car so that no one can get in the passenger side. Hull keeps pepper spray on hand, has her family track her phone, and never walks with headphones in so she can hear if someone is approaching her. They are all cautious about leaving drinks unattended and try not to use highway rest areas.
Hull, Patten and Clifton listed off all these basic tactics and more. Patten even carries around a weaponized ballpoint pen in her backpack, she said. The most shocking example of self-defense Patten named is to tell a man who’s approached you that you already have a boyfriend, even if it’s untrue. It seems that men are more likely to respect a woman’s wish to be left alone if they believe another man is in the picture. Simple disinterest is not always enough to ward them away.
Self-defense is so prominent in the lives of college women that people have gotten creative about it. Shotz, a bar on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, offers an Angel Shot that, when ordered, signals to the bartender that someone needs help escaping a dangerous situation.
Creative self-defense tactics like the Angel Shot allow the community to assist women in their efforts to stay safe. However, they only tackle one side of the overall issue. While they might deflect some would-be perpetrators, they do not necessarily stop sexual misconduct or violence from occurring in the first place. Having a portable date-rape drug detector on a keychain does not mean a boy cannot drug a girl’s red solo cup at the Halloween function. It can only catch it after the fact.
There is still a long way to go when it comes to ensuring women’s safety on college campuses. In fact, former student Elizabeth Fryberger accused the University of Arkansas in 2016 of intentionally disregarding her Title IX reports, and she filed a federal lawsuit against the university.
Title IX specifies that a single instance of rape is “sufficiently severe to create a hostile environment,” requiring that universities take immediate, thorough action against the perpetrator, according to the court transcript.
The university’s panelists during Fryberger’s case asked her questions that insinuated she did not do a sufficient job defending herself during the attack, which occurred in a campus dorm, according to Fryberger’s original complaint. After a long trial that stretched out many months, the university decided to expel the perpetrator after he received his diploma despite the fact that he had multiple charges against him from previous attacks against women.
This was the basis for Fryberger’s federal lawsuit against the UofA.
The UofA filed a motion to dismiss her case, claiming that the U.S. Constitution provides them protection from being sued for damages over Title IX investigations. The federal court denied the UofA’s motion, but the institution appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, according to Buzzfeed News.
In 2018, the court denied the UofA’s motion to dismiss Fryberger’s claim. In November 2019, U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes officially advanced her case. The next trial is scheduled for March 2020, and if the court sides with Fryberger more responsibility will fall on the UofA when it comes to Title IX cases. Victims of sexual violence will be able to take action against the university if they think their case was mishandled, and the UofA can be held liable for not taking sufficient action on behalf of the victim.
Justice is not always served for women who have fallen victim to toxic masculinity and gender inequality. It is not enough to solely focus on the victims of sexual crimes and what they can do to prevent attacks. Deeper questions must be asked, questions that work toward detoxifying masculinity at the root and close the power imbalance. Responsibility has to be transferred to potential perpetrators. Otherwise, victims are fighting an uphill battle for the justice they deserve.