Memo to GOP presidential candidate John Kasich:
Didn't you know that you must never, ever tell a female collegestudent that one way to avoid sexual assault is to stay sober?
But that's what you said! And in New York, the most politically correct city in America (next to San Francisco, of course). You actually said, "Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol."
Dummy! Now, you and I might find the advice not to drink yourself blind or hang around those who do perfectly reasonable, since we both know that alcohol lowers both judgment and inhibitions, especially among young people who might not have a lot of experience with it, so avoiding boozy parties is one way to avoid entangling yourself–or getting entangled against your will–in sexual situations that can range from regrettable to criminal.
But, John, you just can't say that. A generation or two ago, "Don't go to parties where there's a lot of alcohol" was known as "good advice from your mom and dad." Now, it's known as "victim-blaming."
Look what happened to Slate columnist Emily Yoffe a cople of years ago when she advised college women to stop binge-drinking before parties because it's correlated with sexual assault. She was pilloried high and low: "Blaming assault on women's drinking is wrong, dangerous and tired," lectured Salon's Katie McDonough. "Emily Yoffe joins 'Don't Drink and Vagina' campaign," wrote Charles Clymer of the Huffington Post.
So, as the Chronicle of Higher Education reports:
Some observers called Mr. Kasich’s answer victim-shaming. Discussion of alcohol in the context of sexual assault is considered a “third rail” because including it as a cause can lead to the shifting of blame to victims.
Oh, and here's another thing. I know that you're governor of Ohio, and that you're justly proud that your state's flagship Ohio State University admitted women from practically the day it opened its doors, turning out its first woman graduate in 1879. But that doesn't mean that you can get past the political-correctness police when you say this:
“Our coeds know exactly what the rules are, what the opportunities are, what the confidential polices are, so that you are not vulnerable, at risk, and can be preyed upon,” he said.
You called them "coeds"? Horrors! Here's what one feminist college professor thinks of people like you:
The term is still used today, often as an insult, as a reminder that colleges were founded to educate men, and that women were admitted later and perhaps shouldn't really be there. Calling a woman a coed is one way to adhere to an outdated and sexist norm. A few of my students, young as they are, acted surprised that there was a time in history when women barred from most colleges. "Ask your grandparents," I told them. "It wasn't that long ago."
John, John, what are we going to do about you?