Ignoring the Issue

As punch season comes to a close, the debate over whether Final Clubs are sexist institutions that should be condemned by the Harvard community emerges once again. However, focusing solely on the Clubs overlooks and oversimplifies the issue. The sad reality is that Final Clubs are only representative of a general attitude that exists at Harvard and throughout America. It is this attitude that is the real problem—not the Clubs themselves.

One of the main criticisms leveled at the Clubs is they are exclusively male organizations. To make matters worse, they throw parties that are open to women but not to men.

But this scenario remains true for nearly every other party at Harvard. As early as “Camp Harvard”—the orientation week for incoming freshmen and transfer students—there were parties on campus (completely independent of the Final Clubs) where girls could get in, but guys could not. It wasn’t a rarity to find out about a party from a guy friend, who then couldn’t get inside.

Yet women at Harvard can feel relatively secure in the fact that if they find a party, they can probably get inside—no questions asked. After simply walking through the door, they will be welcomed by the (male) hosts, who will then introduce themselves. And they will be directed towards the alcohol.

Attempts to increase female attendance at parties abound all over campus, even extending as far as parties where the theme is, quite literally, “Bring Girls!” These practices encourage the myth that the number of girls a guy can convince to accompany him to a party is an indicator of his worth. Some organizations even go to extreme lengths to increase the girl to guy ratio. In order to attempt to decrease the number of (male) party crashers, these groups inform their members of parties via last second phone calls. This situation is not exclusive to Final Clubs. It is the state of college parties as a whole.

Harvard appears to recognize this attitude. Every freshman has been required to attend three rape sessions. And it is clear that although there are men who are raped, the vast majority of rape victims are women. As a result of these figures, the talks were slanted to focus on women as the potential victims of sexual assault and rape. They focused on empowering women to feel comfortable saying “No!” and setting limits when it comes to sex. Ideally, these “empowered” women will then feel confident enough to stand up for themselves at the parties—at Final Clubs and elsewhere—they will attend while at Harvard.

Some women are uncomfortable with this approach, arguing that it’s unfair to assume women are the ones who are going to be placed in this inferior position. But at the same time, the attitude of these dissenters is self-defeating. The “She’s a smart, confident woman. She’ll tell him exactly what she wants and have no problem setting limits” approach can and does hurt the very people it’s trying to help because it does not take into account the social pressures facing women in America today.

The women at Harvard are an incredibly accomplished group of individuals. They are extending themselves above and beyond the traditional gender norms. But this does not negate the fact that American society is still patriarchal.

It would be nice if men and women were equal, and society should aspire to that goal, but the fact of the matter is that we have a long way to go. It is still assumed by many Americans—the Harvard community included—that in social situations even strong, confident women should occupy a position inferior and subservient to that of their male counterparts. Countering the vulnerable position women are placed in at parties is an issue that extends far beyond feminism and gender equality.

The fact that Final Clubs do not admit women is not the issue. Nor is the fact that the Club parties are often open to women without being open to men. Women being placed in an inferior, vulnerable position within the male-dominated party scene remains a problem regardless of the existence of the Final Club system.

By criticizing the Final Clubs and accusing their members of oppressing women, we are accusing them of engaging in a system that is merely representative of America’s values. Without the Clubs, the system would still exist. Women would still be able to get into the majority of Harvard parties, while their male friends would not. Women would still remain the vast majority of the victims of sexual assault and rape.

So the Final Clubs have instead become the scapegoat for a much larger issue. Groups at Harvard tend to target a small aspect of the Harvard community that they can reform. But in this case rather than making scapegoats out of groups that are merely representative of a larger, more troublesome reality, the focus should be on changing the system as a whole.

Reva P. Minkoff ’08 lives in Canaday.