In her commentary in the Jan. 23rd issue of The Dartmouth ["Weekend Update: Just a Joke?"], Michelle Kraemer denounced the joke appearing in an issue of Weekend Update involving the exchange between a koala bear and a prostitute. According to Kraemer, the joke was "symptomatic of our apparent collective willingness to tolerate the degradation of women," and was "the crystallization of the ghosts of sexism which have haunted the College for 25 years."
I would like to take the opportunity to point out another party ruthlessly victimized by this joke: The koala bear.
To begin with, the entire premise of the joke is biased toward the sexual behaviors of the koala bear. After extensive research into the subject and consultation with Australian law officials, I have discovered that there has never been one known instance of a koala bear soliciting the employment of a prostitute. Yes, that's right, not one instance. There are rumors that a kangaroo once attempted to enter a brothel in Sydney, but absolutely no evidence to indicate that any koala has ever been involved in such an act. It is exactly this sort of degradation of our marsupial brethren that threatens to tear apart the fabric that holds our society together.
Furthermore, the joke's punchline which states that the definition of a koala bear is an animal that "eats bush and leaves" neglects the vast majority of what comprises the behavioral patterns of koalas. Is there any mention of the koala's loving attention to its family or intricate mating practices with other koalas? No. By proposing such a narrow definition, the joke fails to do justice to the great breadth of activities which comprise the behavior patterns of the koala. This gross misrepresentation of koala bears, undoubtedly perpetuated by the Greek system and the Conservative Union at Dartmouth, threatens to smash the Dartmouth Community to mere rubble.
If there are any of you who still think that I am being serious, you may stop reading now. You will find no nuggets of enlightenment in the following paragraphs.
If in the course of daily behavior a man treats a woman with disrespect or in a degrading manner solely because she is female, his behavior should be condemned by whatever resources society can muster. This is a legitimate response to the genuine manifestation of sexism.
However, to furiously attack perceived sexism in a world so absurd that it has koala bears shacking up with hookers accomplishes nothing but help convince the mainstream that feminism is a movement confined to self-righteous zealots. This does a grave disservice to every woman and man who has ever fought sexism in a responsible and effective manner, for it erodes the legitimacy of their efforts in the eyes of the public.
I make no false claims that our world is free of sexist behavior, and champion any and all struggles against such behavior whenever and wherever it may surface. However, to all the Michelle Kraemers of the world, may I suggest that our efforts be limited to, as I say, "our world." If society begins to feel that feminist efforts have become so militant as to decry any reference to a body part in a dirty joke, the inevitable result will be a gradual disillusionment with the efforts toward feminine equality. This should frighten us all.
I will leave you with a bit of advice. If you are a man and read a raunchy joke, laugh if it's funny, and then take a second to think of your mother, your sister or any woman who has made your world a better place to live. If you are a woman, again, laugh if you think it warrants it. Then go out and achieve something great. It is through your accomplishments, not absurd complaints, that sexism will ultimately face its demise.
