Note: This graphic was added to the compilation page “The Face of Anti-Male Bias in Academia.” Check it out!

The above poster on a door at the University of Queensland reads “This women’s room is a safer space for anyone who is not a cis-man.” And if you’re wondering what cis-men are, the subtext clarifies them as “those who identify as men and were designated male at birth.”

The poster was created by the UQ Women’s Collective, a Feminist campus organization. We learn this from their symbol at the top right, which sports a classic Feminist logo and reads “Feminism, Activism, Community.”

Some questions come to mind when viewing this poster. Most importantly, shouldn’t spaces – especially ones watched over by those who claim to advocate equality – be equally safe for all people? And if a particular place is safer for one demographic, doesn’t that mean that it is less safe – i.e., more dangerous – for another?

What is the moral basis upon making certain places safer some, and more dangerous for others? What are the mechanisms by which these Feminists intend to enforce the unequal protections they wish to afford those who enter this space?

Does this mentality jive with the notion of equality? And if it does not (as indeed it does not in this case), don’t they deserve to be reminded? And if they are recalcitrant, do they truly deserve our recognition and support as a group that advocates gender equality?

This Feminist group will likely defend or rationalize this statement by stating that this isn’t a direct threat of harm per se. And that would be true – in somewhat the same way that it wouldn’t be a direct threat for a white person in the 1960s telling a black person that “something bad may happen to you if you walk down my street after sundown.” Imagine such a person then claiming to say such things in the spirit of racial equality.

This poster at UQ reminds me of the poster at the Women’s Resource Center at Ottawa University which said that men on campus should keep to well-lit areas, wear bells around their necks, and be accompanied by police wherever they go. Here it is:

Posters that list steps to preventing rape. Such steps include confining men to well-lit areas on campus, men wearing bells around their necks at all times, and protection officers accompanying men.

How dehumanizing such a poster is. It is amazing that we would tolerate it. It is amazing that so many men themselves would tolerate it. But in our “enlightened” society in which the discourse on gender equality is dominated by Feminism, and our broader culture is enfeebled by a spirit of political do-nothingism, these things are a natural occurrence.

Those who oppose advocacy for men and boys often argue that men simply do not face sexism. But the warehouse of evidence we have accumulated begs to differ.

Far too often, higher education (and school in general) has become a hostile environment for men and boys. One might think, given the incredible decline in academic achievement among male students, that a wide range of governing bodies interested in closing the gaps would spark a conversation to reassess the well-being of men and boys in all areas of academic life.

Unfortunately, they have yet to pick up the torch and light the way. Third-party organizations have instead taken it upon themselves – and given much of their own resources – to issue a call to action. Much of higher education has yet to answer the call.

The time has come to stop acquiescing to a spirit of sexism on our university campuses. These kinds of attitudes need to be called out in no uncertain terms. People should not be made to feel unwelcome on campus simply because of what group they happen to be born into. The only thing that should be unwelcome in academia should be narrow-mindedness and prejudice.

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Jonathan Taylor is Title IX for All's founder, editor, web designer, and database developer.

Related Posts

9 Comments

  1. Mens Rights Movement 05/26/2015 at 2:59 am

    The name itself is discriminatory. Further they are discriminating between cis-males and cis-females…. they are saying that it is women’s choice to accept her biological gender, the same choice is to be denied to Men. Feminist equality!!

    • Emilio Lizardo 05/26/2015 at 1:16 pm

      I object to the effort to frame gender impairments as some range of normal.

  2. Emilio Lizardo 05/26/2015 at 1:15 pm
  3. NotoriousPAT 05/26/2015 at 6:54 pm

    “By entering this segregated room, I agree not to discriminate against people.”. Real bunch of geniuses they had making that sign.

  4. dreamjoehill 05/27/2015 at 7:47 pm

    These feminists are haters, but it ill come back at them soon enough.
    The don’t realize that they are indoctrinated to blame MEN for societal problems so that they don’t develop a class conscious view and place the blame where it lies, with the capitalist overlords.
    This is part of the general co-option of identity politics by the capitalist elites and there lackeys in academia, 1% foundations and the deep state.

    • Brad Thomas 04/20/2016 at 1:29 am

      ^this

  5. mechasus 05/27/2015 at 11:55 pm

    The bold-faced contradiction right there on the poster is absolutely hilarious.

    Why in hell is it always Canadian colleges that are supporting the spread of this male-hate drivel? Where did they go wrong?

    • Cody Jassman 05/28/2015 at 1:31 pm

      UQ is in Australia.

      • mechasus 05/28/2015 at 2:56 pm

        Forgive the mistake;

        Why is it that colleges in Commonwealth countries seem to do this the most?

Comments are closed.

More from Title IX for All

Title IX Lawsuits Database

Research due process and similar lawsuits by students accused of Title IX violations (sexual assault, harassment, dating violence, stalking, etc.) in higher education.

OCR Resolutions Database

Research resolved Title IX investigations of K-12 and postsecondary institutions by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Attorneys Directory

A basic directory for looking up Title IX attorneys, most of whom have represented parties in litigation by accused students.

Note: This graphic was added to the compilation page “The Face of Anti-Male Bias in Academia.” Check it out!

The above poster on a door at the University of Queensland reads “This women’s room is a safer space for anyone who is not a cis-man.” And if you’re wondering what cis-men are, the subtext clarifies them as “those who identify as men and were designated male at birth.”

The poster was created by the UQ Women’s Collective, a Feminist campus organization. We learn this from their symbol at the top right, which sports a classic Feminist logo and reads “Feminism, Activism, Community.”

Some questions come to mind when viewing this poster. Most importantly, shouldn’t spaces – especially ones watched over by those who claim to advocate equality – be equally safe for all people? And if a particular place is safer for one demographic, doesn’t that mean that it is less safe – i.e., more dangerous – for another?

What is the moral basis upon making certain places safer some, and more dangerous for others? What are the mechanisms by which these Feminists intend to enforce the unequal protections they wish to afford those who enter this space?

Does this mentality jive with the notion of equality? And if it does not (as indeed it does not in this case), don’t they deserve to be reminded? And if they are recalcitrant, do they truly deserve our recognition and support as a group that advocates gender equality?

This Feminist group will likely defend or rationalize this statement by stating that this isn’t a direct threat of harm per se. And that would be true – in somewhat the same way that it wouldn’t be a direct threat for a white person in the 1960s telling a black person that “something bad may happen to you if you walk down my street after sundown.” Imagine such a person then claiming to say such things in the spirit of racial equality.

This poster at UQ reminds me of the poster at the Women’s Resource Center at Ottawa University which said that men on campus should keep to well-lit areas, wear bells around their necks, and be accompanied by police wherever they go. Here it is:

Posters that list steps to preventing rape. Such steps include confining men to well-lit areas on campus, men wearing bells around their necks at all times, and protection officers accompanying men.

How dehumanizing such a poster is. It is amazing that we would tolerate it. It is amazing that so many men themselves would tolerate it. But in our “enlightened” society in which the discourse on gender equality is dominated by Feminism, and our broader culture is enfeebled by a spirit of political do-nothingism, these things are a natural occurrence.

Those who oppose advocacy for men and boys often argue that men simply do not face sexism. But the warehouse of evidence we have accumulated begs to differ.

Far too often, higher education (and school in general) has become a hostile environment for men and boys. One might think, given the incredible decline in academic achievement among male students, that a wide range of governing bodies interested in closing the gaps would spark a conversation to reassess the well-being of men and boys in all areas of academic life.

Unfortunately, they have yet to pick up the torch and light the way. Third-party organizations have instead taken it upon themselves – and given much of their own resources – to issue a call to action. Much of higher education has yet to answer the call.

The time has come to stop acquiescing to a spirit of sexism on our university campuses. These kinds of attitudes need to be called out in no uncertain terms. People should not be made to feel unwelcome on campus simply because of what group they happen to be born into. The only thing that should be unwelcome in academia should be narrow-mindedness and prejudice.

Thank You for Reading

If you like what you have read, feel free to sign up for our newsletter here:

Support Our Work

If you like our work, consider supporting it via a donation or signing up for a database.

About the Author

Jonathan Taylor is Title IX for All's founder, editor, web designer, and database developer.

Related Posts

9 Comments

  1. Mens Rights Movement 05/26/2015 at 2:59 am

    The name itself is discriminatory. Further they are discriminating between cis-males and cis-females…. they are saying that it is women’s choice to accept her biological gender, the same choice is to be denied to Men. Feminist equality!!

    • Emilio Lizardo 05/26/2015 at 1:16 pm

      I object to the effort to frame gender impairments as some range of normal.

  2. Emilio Lizardo 05/26/2015 at 1:15 pm
  3. NotoriousPAT 05/26/2015 at 6:54 pm

    “By entering this segregated room, I agree not to discriminate against people.”. Real bunch of geniuses they had making that sign.

  4. dreamjoehill 05/27/2015 at 7:47 pm

    These feminists are haters, but it ill come back at them soon enough.
    The don’t realize that they are indoctrinated to blame MEN for societal problems so that they don’t develop a class conscious view and place the blame where it lies, with the capitalist overlords.
    This is part of the general co-option of identity politics by the capitalist elites and there lackeys in academia, 1% foundations and the deep state.

    • Brad Thomas 04/20/2016 at 1:29 am

      ^this

  5. mechasus 05/27/2015 at 11:55 pm

    The bold-faced contradiction right there on the poster is absolutely hilarious.

    Why in hell is it always Canadian colleges that are supporting the spread of this male-hate drivel? Where did they go wrong?

    • Cody Jassman 05/28/2015 at 1:31 pm

      UQ is in Australia.

      • mechasus 05/28/2015 at 2:56 pm

        Forgive the mistake;

        Why is it that colleges in Commonwealth countries seem to do this the most?

Comments are closed.

More from Title IX for All

Title IX Lawsuits Database

Research due process and similar lawsuits by students accused of Title IX violations (sexual assault, harassment, dating violence, stalking, etc.) in higher education.

OCR Resolutions Database

Research resolved Title IX investigations of K-12 and postsecondary institutions by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Attorneys Directory

A basic directory for looking up Title IX attorneys, most of whom have represented parties in litigation by accused students.