The controversial urinal screens from three and a half years ago showed up briefly again last week, at least in the men’s bathroom by the EMU Ballroom. The screens are an old issue, and they only popped up briefly, but they’re worth a mention. The screens are printed with a message smiling out at you from the urinal: “You hold the power to stop rape in your hand.”
No one is sure who put the screens in the bathroom last week, as the University stopped using them a couple of years ago when they proved unpopular. The Emerald editorial board can understand why the screens created a ruckus. They were inappropriate, and we’re glad they’re gone.
To begin with, the bathroom is neither the time nor the place for “raising awareness.” When urinating, men are generally zoning off. Post issue messages on bulletin boards — right outside bathrooms, if you wish. But leave the toilet as one place safe from propaganda (except for those graffiti artists who love “grout” so much).
Perhaps the idea of the screens sounded like a cute and clever way to bring attention to a very important issue. Rape and “rape culture” needs more attention, and more men need to be involved in helping to dispel the atmosphere of objectification and sanctioned violence against women.
But honestly, a “cute” or “clever” approach is incredibly insensitive in this case. I can’t imagine that women’s groups want men to be having a little chuckle as they contemplate rape. And if all men need to be involved in stopping rape, they’ll have to be involved with more than just their penises. We imagine they’ll have to use their brains, too.
Further, we agree that all men need to be involved in the effort to eliminate society’s negligent acceptance of belittling images and stereotypes of women. But the message on the urinal screens doesn’t address men’s role in stopping sexist comments in the workplace or deconstructing violent imagery involving women. The message is quite clearly saying that all men may be rapists. If that’s the not the case, then explain this: How does a non-rapist man have the power to stop society’s mistreatment of women with his penis?
As a final note, with a nod to grammarians everywhere, we would like to point out that the message on the screens contains a ridiculous misplaced prepositional phrase. “Rape in your hand” is an impossible scenario. The sentence should have read, “You hold in your hand the power to stop rape.” This is a college, after all.