Shit Men in Philosophy Say

I am finishing my MA in Philosophy at Stonybrook University and am extremely grateful for the friendships I have in this department. Not only have I seen myself and classmates grow as thinkers, writers, and philosophers, I am also happy for their successful entry into PhD programs all over the country (of those who applied this year, 100% got into at least one of their top 5 choices). And in these past years I have enjoyed the hours spent after class at Desmond’s continuing academic conversations, and talking about jobs, relationships, insanity, art, and Foucault
(somewhere and always in the background).

So I want to start out this blog by stating that the male female relationships here at Stonybrook have been exceptional, compared to the experiences some women have to go through in philosophy ( for further highlights, go here: http://beingawomaninphilosophy.wordpress.com/page/2/)
My male classmates ask me what I think, they usually back me up when I speak up, and they identify with me as philosophers, in both formal and informal settings. It’s pretty awesome.

But, there is also the reality of being a woman in Philosophy, and the comments I sometimes have to hear from males in the field. Kelsey and I talked about this over some sake last week, and I came up with a list of some of the shit guys in philosophy say, specifically referring to my experience sitting in classes at Stonybrook or later, at the bar. It is in my biggest hope to think that they were either drunk or stoned when they said this, although some of these comments are by professors…So it goes.


1) “I know I am being intentionally confliatory with this but…”


2) “Sounds like a straw man argument”


3) “Oh, don’t get me started on assimilation....”


4) “Don’t get me started on feminism...”


5) "Don't get me started on Race..."


6) “I think your argument would prove more fruitful if you changed it, and focused on this Heideggerian concept instead, just saying.”


7) “Transgendered people are only 2% of the population, why can’t we just focus on the fact that we are all human beings, I’m a humanist man.”


8) “I know a guy friend who got raped too. So men can also get raped.”


9) “So, when you realize you are oppressed as a woman, does it feel like you are “coming out” as a feminist, like when you tell people you are gay?


10) “You don’t talk enough in class. You should just talk more.”


11) “S is dating D! And you are seeing K? and M is gay too? I knew you were all lesbians.”



12) “I know I’m just a TA, but I don’t think the professor is leading her class right. She doesn’t lecture enough!”


13) “What Carolina just said supports my argument well.”

14) "Wait. You didn't say that? Well, what Carolina meant to say supports my argument well."

15) From a male professor to a female student who walks into class late: “Hello K. Did you get a haircut?”


16) From a male professor to a female student who walks into class late: “D! Did you lose weight over the summer?”


17) From a male professor explaining Marx in class: “ Objectivization is specific in Marx, for example, I may objectify my girlfriend because she is hot, so she is alienated from her self, but reification is a different form of objectivization.”

Shit Students Say

I have been working as a foreign language teacher in different independent schools for 2 years, ever since I moved to NYC. This means I have experience teaching grades 4-11 by now and can deal with lots of different ages and maturity levels. Interestingly enough, I come to find that maturity is not what we make it to be. While 5th and 6th graders still act responsible and considerate, and can still look at the world with wonder, I witness how motivation decreases a lot after 7th grade, and interest is lost as students hit puberty. For example, while my last job at a small middle school gave me the opportunity to work with really motivated children who performed exceptionally well in their first year (giving me hope about being an educator) my new job is not quite the same.

To give you some examples, these are some of the statements I collected ever since I started working at an Upper School, 2 months ago:

1) Ms. Drake can we just watch a movie today?

2) Can watch this movie all week?


3) This vocabulary quiz is IMPOSSIBLE! Nobody can do it!

4) Ms. Drake, Dimash just called me Hitler! Can you tell him to stop!


5) Ms. Drake do you have a boyfriend?


6) Ms. Drake, you just gave me a yellow marker, and I am Asian. That’s so racist!


7) Ms. Drake I forgot my homework, can I give it to you at the end of the day?

8) Can I give you my homework at the end of the month?

9) Can I just give you my late homework assignments at the end of the semester?

10) Ms. Drake how can you go to grad school and also teach here? Do you even have a life?

11) I know I got an F Ms. Drake, but I’m just going to buy Rossetta Stone and learn Spanish by myself this summer.

12) Ms. Drake, what does CULO mean?

13) What does HUEVOS mean?

14) What does MIERDA mean?


15) Ms. Drake, quizzing us with ten vocabulary words every Wednesday is so UNFAIR! This is so hard nobody can do this! We already have so much to do!

16) Ms. Drake Dimash is poking me with a marker can you tell him to stop!

17) What do you mean this character in the story is “hiding something”? Is he, like, hiding a tattoo?



I still love what I do, and am really enjoying these kids. But I have to say that whenever I am not at work, and see a crowd of teenagers walking down the street, I cross to the other side. All of this to tell you journal, that I am ready for Spring break, and that I will be going to Mexico with Jasmine for vacation. Hopefully, my worst nightmare will not come true, and Mexico will not be full of drunken teenagers...the very people I am attempting to take a vacation from.

Hi Ho to that.