At my high school, the newly formed “Young Feminists Society” has become the latest joke in the hallways. The level of social acceptance for sexism, girl hate, and anti feminism blows my mind. A freshman boy labeled it “Young Dyke’s Club.” A freshman had the nerve to cross a senior girl with a self-declared superiority and sense of male entitlement.

The Black Students’ Association doesn’t hear slurs about being niggers, nor are the kids in our LGBT group called faggots. I know that these words are used in high schools around the country. But, what I also know is that when they are heard, there are problems. Big problems. Principles are called and people recognize this as hateful language.

There is a huge lack of awareness and, in a certain sense, denial of the seriousness of sexism amongst teens and young people, in the media and in homes. People don’t report being called slut or bitch or jokes about “going back to the kitchen.” Guys claim that because more women go to college than men, that since there are successful and accomplished female leaders, the problem is solved. The logic here is quite flawed. Sexism is a tone. It is the acceptance and accumulation of small, but offensive comments. It is the classification of these comments as small. It is guys who make all the jokes at parties and girls who feel the need to hold back and just laugh. It is the lack of attendance to girls’ sports events and full stadiums for the guys’.