To the Editor:
Iden Sinai '07's column ("Where Feminism Went Too Far," August 4) drew to your readers' attention data suggesting a larger number of women than men complete their high school degrees, and alludes to similar data for higher degrees as well. What is rather bewildering about Sinai's column is what any of these statistics have to do with feminists in America or the feminist movement. After a number of close readings, the only actual cause for the disproportionate numbers offered by Sinai is a soberly instructional t-shirt slogan.
The truth is, Sinai makes no actual connection between feminism -- which has been a critical movement in both the ethical and cultural development of our society -- and the educational statistics he provides. One wonders if Sinai might also blame feminism for the radically disproportionate rate of men in prison (over 1.2 million in 2000 vs. under 100,000 women) and the military (over 1.2 million in 2003 vs. just over 200,000), which are much more likely causes for the disproportionate educational statistics he provides.
One hopes that the editors of the Dartmouth can be more discriminating in the future before allowing important civil rights movements to become the raison d'etre of statistics that are far from surprising. The statistics that Sinai cites seem to me a hallmark of modern society, not a nasty side-effect of bra-burning feminists.
