Sexism is a problem that seems to go un-dealt with in schools. It's inevitable - with so many hormonal teens in one place, obnoxious, crude behaviour may be unavoidable. But it's the acceptance of this, the way in which the behaviour is dealt with that is an issue. It's the 'boys will be boys' attitude that allows objectification of women to go unchecked and leads teenaged girls to believe that they have to accept such behaviour as 'just one of those things'.
The real problem is that sexist comments and low level harassment are dealt with as though they're no worse than the usual immature or disruptive behaviour. It has to be made clear to pupils from a young age that harassment, however trivial it may seem, is a serious offense and will be punished accordingly, and it's vital that this is enforced.
I see it everywhere. Last term, two female musicians came in to give us an assembly and they were subjected to wolf-whistling and inappropriate comments, and the offenders were simply reprimanded for 'being disruptive'. For the rest of the day, boys argued about which was 'hotter'. I hear terms like 'feminazi' thrown around the moment sexism is challenged and those who are openly feminist are mocked, or told that they 'go on about women's rights too much'. When I was in year seven, older boys would shout horrible things at me as I walked past. I hear boys criticizing girls' bodies, calling them 'whales' or 'twigs', going so far as to discuss female teachers' figures. It's sickening, and yet it's still not being addressed by staff.
If sexism is not treated as the serious offense that it is then the thirteen year olds who call my sister 'sexy' and then make crude comments to her about their penises will become the sixteen year olds who joke about spiking girls' drinks and the men who harass women on the streets. Perhaps it's obvious to most, but school has a duty to expressly teach us what consensual sex is and why any form of sexism is unacceptable. In PHSCE the girls were told to watch their drinks, or not drink at all in case someone tried to slip them date rape drugs, but at no point was is stated that date rape drugs are wrong.
Maybe taking the time to teach about the importance of consent, what constitutes rape and why objectification is wrong wouldn't push the school any higher in the league tables or earn any favours with OFSTED, but education should reach further than exams and target grades. It plays a huge part in shaping the next generation and our schools have a duty to stamp out sexism, because the wolf-whistlers and 'hormonal' teens of today will be the rapist and harassers of tomorrow.
