Tucker Max is the poster boy for everything that is wrong with Duke's campus culture.
Don't get me wrong, I've got as much of a sense of humor as the next gal. I've read his blog, skimmed his book and even laughed along with a few anecdotes related by the bawdier of my male friends. But seriously? Seriously?
Max, Law '01, could be amusing-as a satirical hyperbole of sketchy men-if he didn't so clearly believe his own hype. What a terrible role model for Duke men. And what a disturbing choice of speakers for the Duke University Union to sponsor.
On a campus where we blather on about "creating dialogue" and "implementing change" for Duke women, even going so far as to assemble a "Women's Initiative" and a "President's Commission on the Status of Women," there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between discussion and action. Even Rolling Stone magazine caught wind of the dysfunctional interaction between the sexes in a below-the-belt expose published in the midst of the lacrosse scandal media explosion.
It's true. We do have parties with girls wrestling in baby oil for male voyeurs. There's also the annual greek-sponsored lip sync contest in which new sorority pledges compete for a panel of male judges for the honor of Sleaziest Choreography.
The fact that there are no readily apparent parallel traditions for Duke men shows that 51 percent has already figured out how ridiculous it would be to publicly exploit themselves for the benefit of the opposite sex; they have their own ways of maintaining the distorted sexual hierarchy.
How have we become a school full of smart, accomplished, driven women and men who think nothing of participating in-and perpetuating-this astonishing demonstration of negative gender roles?
The administration constructs Official Capitalized Committees to address a problem so casually, socially ingrained that nothing but a student-fueled movement could start to solve it. A couple of conferences and an "Executive Summary" really aren't going to make a dent. The earthquake of the lacrosse scandal showed us the sharp fault lines of community division on gender issues. Are we so steeped in this culture that we can't even see the value of rising above it?
So here's my plea: Come on, Duke women! Come on, Duke men! Put your energy into something other than your resume and take on this worthy cause.
Stop waiting in line for Tucker Max to sign your bra strap (or your jock strap) and pay attention to the messages you're sending to the rest of your gender-when you skankify your Halloween costume to the point of vulgarity or brag about your 14 consecutive hookups last weekend with girls whose names you failed to catch.
If you don't like Duke/gender stereotypes, then stop exemplifying their worst aspects. There's no room for a Campus Culture Anything if we don't face this problem together.
Allison Gianino is a Trinity senior and contributor to recess.
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