Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Get a grip! Margaret Wente says we're overreacting about the Dalhousie Dentistry students


I’m not biased against Margaret Wente. I just happen to find all of her writing equally disturbing.

It was mid December when news first broke about the Dalhousie dentistry Facebook group and misogynistic, hateful, rape fantasy jokes contained within (see my previous blog post here). Yesterday, news broke that 13 male, fourth-year dentistry students have been indefinitely suspended from clinical activities (ostensibly fairly crucial to their program and ultimate graduation).

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the oracle herself weighed in on the situation. Margaret Wente has spoken, and it turns out we all need to get a grip.

Normally I might contextualize Wente’s latest column in relation to her larger body of work, but Wente needs no introduction (least of all to Newfoundlanders). Most people are fairly familiar with her views from dismissing the legitimacy of rape culture on campus to intimating that student debt is a myth and all in our imaginations. As such, I didn’t expect to be enlightened by her contribution to the Dalhousie discussion. I also didn’t expect it to be quite so regressive. To call Wente a rape culture apologist is not an exaggeration.

First of all, her column’s title is “Dalhousie’s dental hysteria,” which elicited an “I can’t even” moment from me. OK, I will: The deliberate and calculated use of hysteria over, say, “uproar,” “furor,” “fuss,” is so Wente. Choose hysteria, a word with long and persistent associations with female (sexual) dysfunction, volatility, and emotional excess, to further belittle and invalidate the reactions of people (including women) who have been calling for action on these students.

You only need to read that title to know where the column is going, but here are some choice quotes.

Quote #1

“Stupid, juvenile and way out of line? Undoubtedly. Should there be serious consequences? Yes. But let’s get a grip. Such coarse talk is not atypical of young male group behaviour. It does not mean that they actually wanted to assault chloroformed women.”

This is an extremely disconcerting normalization of male sexual aggression. Because it is not atypical does not make it OK. In fact, it makes it more urgently a problem that needs to be addressed. I imagine Wente, the ethnographer, peering at a group of male students with binoculars through the bushes: “on the university campus, the dentistry students form a pack and butt heads to display dominance, as is typical of young male group behaviour.” 

The fact that young men (ones nearing completion of professional degrees, no less) talking to each other about women this way is considered typical, rather than outrageous, is a symptom of a much larger problem. Wente seems to have a lot of sympathy for the “poor saps” whose careers may be ruined and very little sympathy for the women who may have been the target (directly or indirectly) of their gentlemanly banter.

Quote #2


“So now they are the latest villains in the ‘rape culture’ witch hunt that has gripped universities across North America.”

1 – “Villains.” Deliberate word choice to show you think they’ve been unfairly vilified, and a whimsical word to show your lack of conviction in portraying them as having committed actual transgressions.
1 – Rape culture in scare quotes because it’s not real (see previous Wente treatises).
2 – Witch hunt. Yes. Equate rapists and sexual violence perpetrators (which are real) with the victims of the witch hunts (which we know was insane because witches weren’t real). Tell all the rape victims that persecuting rapists is akin to witch hunting.

In that one short sentence she has packed in so much flagrant disrespect for victims of sexual violence.

Quote #3

“[Joan Rush, professor of health law and ethics] blames white men, who still run most dental schools and professional associations, for the “culture of hatred and chauvinism.” Personally, I doubt dentistry is quite that bad. Besides, the men are in decline. Like pharmacy and veterinary medicine, the profession is experiencing a huge influx of women.”

Everyone – relax. Rape culture isn’t real, systemic misogyny isn’t a problem, and women have nothing to worry about, because Margaret Wente doubts dentistry is that bad. Of all the disciplines and faculties across the country, I’d say we have some fairly reliable evidence that dentistry is, or at least can be, that bad. 

Not that all male dental students are chauvinists or that Dalhousie is worse than any other school, not at all. But we know this gentlemen club existed, and run by Dalhousie dentistry students. 

Sadly, it could be a tiny glimpse into just how bad it is.

Also, womenfolk – fear not! Because we’ve made so many strides in the post-secondary system generally and professional schools, specifically, chauvinism is dead! We don’t need men to change and think and behave better, we don’t need them to respect us – we’ll just bulldoze them with our sheer numbers! We’ll fight harder for opportunities while they don’t have to face the burden of changing!

Wente thinks everyone has overreacted. I think they reacted – just the right amount.

6 comments:

  1. An excellent post. Your close-reading of Wente's article is both spot-on (bravo!) and a very effective form of criticism.

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  2. Cheers! I'm interested in this case, too, but I guess my thoughts fall somewhere between Wente's and your own.

    I don't dispute the gross misogyny inherent to the "gentlemen's" online discussions, but I do feel the public, and maybe even the university and the profession, has reacted (is reacting) too harshly. I mean, beyond expressing stupidity online, what crime has been committed here? How slippery is this slope? Are we approaching thought crimes or preventive arrest? There are all sorts of KKK and racial-supremacist forums online that no one seems to be up-in-arms about, and they straight up disseminate hate, as deliberate, to-be-put-into-practice doctrine. As much as we hate their messages, our notions of freedom of speech have always been their fallback. The Klan can even get police protection for their hate parades. I don't like it, but they get to say their piece.

    I don't want to diminish the severity of what these "gentlemen" were saying online, but the point I'd like to make requires as much (my apologies for this tactic; whether you believe it or not, I'm not a misogynist). Basically, I think people say some stupid things - what was said in their forum was hurtful, disrespectful, and very misogynistic - but I don`t think their names should be published for all the world to hold it against them for the remainder of their lives. People say all sorts of madness that isn`t sincere. It`s entirely possible that none of the interlocutors were planning to act on anything that was said. (The context has as much influence as the statements. This case makes me think of the Mr. Big stings used to pry `confessions` from suspects: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/07/31/supreme_court_narrows_scope_of_evidence_allowed_from_police_stings.html). They may have all felt some sort of peer pressure to fit in with the other`so-called gentlemen. I`m not saying I`d do the same, but some people feel peer pressure like that and they say very stupid things to fit in with the crowd. How genuine it is is questionable, so I guess I`d like to err on the side of reasonable doubt.

    This story has garnered more public and media interest than some brutal gang rapes. Maybe the infamy they`ve garnered already is punishment enough for their lack of judgment when expressing themselves in what was supposedly a private conversation.

    In any case, keep up the good fight! I hope I don`t provoke your rage by disagreeing with your position!

    Cheers!
    Dave

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    Replies
    1. Facebook is a public forum. Uttering threats is illegal, and Facebook threats have been enough to put people in jail in the past. Free speech is free speech, and hate speech is hate speech (and as far as I know, protection of Klan rallies does not extend to most countries, including this one). This is not a thought crime - we haven't hit Orwellian levels yet. This was uttered in a public forum.
      Maybe these young men still deserve a chance to live out their lives without being harassed. But after making threats of drugging and raping women, should any of them be left alone in a room with a woman under anesthesia? I wouldn't get in line to get a tooth pulled by any of them.

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  3. Some issues with your position:
    "I do feel the public, and maybe even the university and the profession, has reacted (is reacting) too harshly."
    The students have been suspended - not even expelled. Harsher punishments have been dealt out for the heinous offense of academic misconduct. The profession is rightly concerned that a potential practitioner could conceive of assaulting his patients, as has happened, and continues to happen.

    "I mean, beyond expressing stupidity online, what crime has been committed here? How slippery is this slope? Are we approaching thought crimes or preventive arrest? There are all sorts of KKK and racial-supremacist forums online that no one seems to be up-in-arms about, and they straight up disseminate hate, as deliberate, to-be-put-into-practice doctrine."
    Likely no crime. It is not slippery. No we are not. No one expects jail time, and few demand it. Academic sanctions, expulsion, or even a ban from medical practice are not criminal punishments. Why is it their right to practice dentistry? Why is their claim to that right stronger than the damage that would come to the profession, the rights of their peers (particularly women) to a safe academic environment, and the potential threat to their patients? Many people are denied entry to professional schools outright. There is no right to professional practice.

    "It`s entirely possible that none of the interlocutors were planning to act on anything that was said."
    It's "possible" that they may not act on their beliefs/statements? Isn't it also possible that one of 13 men could act? Peer pressure-inspired misogyny is real. It is part of the problem. It is integral to rape culture. It must not be tolerated. These men should not be put in jail - few people should. They should not be criminally charged unless one of their targets felt genuinely threatened by their statements. But, they should not be allowed in the privileged and prestigious position to have their own patients or administer anesthesia. As I've already covered, how is that such a harsh punishment?

    "This story has garnered more public and media interest than some brutal gang rapes. Maybe the infamy they`ve garnered already is punishment enough for their lack of judgment when expressing themselves in what was supposedly a private conversation."
    Whose fault is it that worse or more immediate crimes aren't covered? Surely that statement has no place in a discussion of the Dalhousie case. As for infamy, they are, as yet, unnamed. If they remain unnamed, even if they are expelled, this won't follow them into another career. But you may be close in that the fear they feel could the worst part of their "punishment." And it's still not as bad as what many women feel as a result of the views they hold!

    M.

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  4. I don't entirely disagree with any of what's been said here. The comment I posted is clear about how I, too, condemn their words, isn't it?

    To clarify, I feel these individuals are the focus of intense scrutiny and rage right now, and I think that's a bit out of proportion to the deed. For instance, I don't think that Anonymous should out their identities (as reported by VICE here: http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/anonymous-threatens-to-out-members-of-misogynist-dalhousie-dental-student-facebook-group-274?preview&cb=1420562938%3Futm_source%3Dvicefbca ). Otherwise, I'm not trying to defend these people.

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  5. Becoming a personal statements for dental school can surely be a big and one of the major decisions of your life. The job responsibilities can actually be both incredibly rewarding and challenging.

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