Despite the university rules and regulations that prevent discrimination, students at George Washington University who wish to participate in debate tournaments hosted by the Parliamentary Debate Society will be excluded from the April 19-20 tournament unless they identify as a gender minority.
According to minutes from the American Parliamentary Debate Association, both GWU and Wellesley College were approved to host gender-minority tournaments, enabling them to exclude men.
While some are celebrating the removal of men from a scholastic endeavor that was historically male-dominated, others are complaining that the removal of men from a debating contest to create gender-separate institutions ultimately fails to hold them accountable for toxic masculinity.
“The new tournaments were created with the goal of empowering women and transgender individuals by giving them a safe space to debate,” wrote Galen Ekimov, a freshman at GWU, in an op-ed. “While the premise of the tournament is admirable, creating gender-separate institutions to combat gender inequality takes men out of debates without actually holding them responsible for their toxic actions.”
In addition to actively promoting discrimination against male students at GWU who may wish to debate, barring male members from tournaments also advances the idea that women and gender minority debaters require special treatment in the form of a debate environment that has been purged of all male members to ensure that gender minority groups are not forced to interact or compete with male members.
While the gender-specific tournament is only one of many tournaments that will be hosted by the GWU Parliamentary Debate Society, it is still problematic in that it reinforces the idea that women and gender minorities require special treatment in order for them to have the same achievements as men. According to Ekimov, this actually helps to reinforce gender stereotypes that exist regarding women, which ultimately limits their experiences and achievements.
“Gender-separate tournaments are contrary to empowerment because they reinforce the negative stereotypes that women and gender minorities cannot compete against men,” writes Ekimov. “The separate tournaments reinforce false stereotypes and confine their experiences, struggles and achievements to a different category.”
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
