The biggest threat to American women is American men.
Normally, I’d follow a big statement like that with some sort of disclaimer but not today. In fact, just so you
really understand what I’m implying, I’ll say it again: The biggest threats to the safety and well-being of American women are the cultural mindset and actions of American men.
I came to this conclusion Wednesday morning when I opened my Facebook page and scanned the trending topics, with one specific topic catching my eye: “Feminist blogger cancels speech at Utah State University after school shooting threat.”
Canadian-American author and feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian was scheduled to speak at Utah State this week, until several members of the Utah State Center for Women and Gender received an anonymous email from a student threatening a “Montreal Massacre-style attack” if Sarkeesian spoke.
The Montreal Massacre took place in December 1989, when a student who claimed to have had his life ruined by feminists singled out and killed 14 women before killing himself in Montreal’s École Polytechnique. The day is now commemorated in Canada as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The anonymous email received by Utah State faculty echoed the threat given by the Montreal killer.
“Feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they’ve wronged,” the email read.
Sarkeesian immediately requested that police perform a firearm search of all attending the event, hoping to move forward with the talk. But because of Utah’s loose open-carry laws, the police denied her request. She then made the choice to cancel her appearance.
It’s infuriating to watch headlines like this printed and trend on social media sites for a few days and then fall away for more catchy issues like the iPhone 6 bending or George Clooney getting married — especially when the gendered attacks are becoming more and more frequent.
I’ve found a disclaimer to my opening statement: The greatest threat to women’s safety in America is American men, but it’s not their violent ways or testosterone-fueled rage — it’s their unwillingness to listen to women about the issues affecting us.
At the very heart of the threat to Utah State, you won’t find violence. If the author was destructive and hateful toward women and wanted to target them because he or she saw them as a threat, the author wouldn’t take the time to send an email. They would have shown up to Sarkeesian’s speech and opened fire.
But that didn’t happen. Instead, a threat was used to silence Sarkeesian. The point wasn’t to kill Sarkeesian or punish her fans. The point was to take away Sarkeesian’s chance to talk about female and gender issues.
Somewhere in Utah there is a person (probably male) walking around, smugly celebrating the power of their words over Sarkeesian’s. And all over LSU’s campus, there are men who use their words to put down the females who write for Student Media.
I can’t write a column about female issues or feminism without getting a comment from someone saying I have a pointless hatred of men.
I don’t hate men. In fact, I have the pleasure of knowing several young men who are brilliant feminists. Some were before I met them, others asked question after question until I could see them realize that feminism isn’t just a bunch of women complaining.
These men have the greatest potential to make a change in our country, and they have the responsibility to do so. All anti-feminist men are that way because they don’t understand the idea, don’t see it as necessary or aren’t willing to listen to me or Sarkeesian.
They don’t think we have anything worthwhile to say. Unless the men who have learned about the importance of the feminist movement speak up, our voices will continue to be silenced.
And right now, the greatest danger to women in this country is that silence.
Jana King is 20-year-old communication studies junior from Ponchatoula, Louisiana. You can reach her on Twitter @jking_TDR.