n Now, of course injustice should always be combated, and I commend Olena Ripnick for writing about it (“Theory doesn’t pan out, women’s equality needs legal action,” Nov. 15 p. 5). The majority of us usually do not speak out against inequalities that we see.

However, I feel that with regard to women’s rights, there is one inconsistency that I have never seen addressed, and that is the protesting of gender inequalities, which favor women, both legally and socially.

As to the inequality that women suffer under the law, this does not hold water with regard to divorce laws, in which women are routinely favored. One case that can briefly be mentioned is that of Stephen Fagan, who decided to kidnap his two young daughters from his soon-to-be ex-wife, as the court was close to awarding custody to their neglectful, alcoholic mother. The fact that this would even be considered is preposterous, but after all, she’s the mother and automatically deserves custody.

One may also look at sexual harassment cases, such as 1976 Williams v. Saxbe, in which the court recognized sexual harassment as a female being harassed by a male. Since 1976, the law now includes men as potential victims, but let’s be honest: In today’s society, a woman could claim that because her male boss once accidentally brushed her shoulder while walking by, she no longer feels comfortable and deserves financial compensation.

Socially, if everything should be equal, then educational departments that focus on women’s studies should not exist. After all, the idea of a “men’s studies” department would never be tolerated.

Further, consider TV commercials. How many times have we all seen the bumbling father who doesn’t really know what to do? The family just laughs at old dad, who just can’t seem to get anything right. Now consider the national outrage that would occur at an ad which portrays a mother as incompetent, with the dad saying, “Well kids, guess we’ll have to help out Mom. She needs it.”

Another point can be seen in modern dating practices. It has been my experience, as well as the experience of others whom I talk to, that few women ever offer to pay for meals, movies, etc., because, as a female friend of mine puts it, “I expect the man to pay.” Fine, but then you have no right to complain about women’s inequality.

This response is not meant as an attack on Ripnick, but it is simply a few points that I feel the majority of people overlook when discussing women’s rights. If one wishes to address inequality, then this must also include the inequalities which benefit him or her.

Eric Yanovsky

COM ’08