Every girl is a feminist, label or no, writes Kirsty Gordge.
With all the unreachable talk of feminism at the moment - Emma Watson's speech, Jennifer Lawrence's stand against nude photos - it seems Dunedin has brought it right home for us to participate in.
The scandal about the Facebook page called ''Rack Appreciation Society'' has sparked much feminist debate in Dunedin, but not among your usual feminist preachers - among students themselves.
The page was set up, supposedly meant as a laugh for the boys (sharing leaked nude photos of girls), however the fact that no consent was given by the girls in question makes it quite atrocious.
There is also a ''Dunners Babe of the Day'' Facebook page in which people post sexy pictures of their friends or themselves with a short description that makes them sound very desirable. I wonder how, exactly, this differs from the Rack Ap' society page.
Yes, the girls have sent the photos in themselves with their consent, but it is still objectification of women, and encouraging men to pass judgement purely on the look of a body.
The higher the amount of likes a photo gets, the sexier the public thinks the girl is. This is not acceptable behaviour, is not an ''achievement'' to be on the page, and definitely not something of which young girls should be proud.
However, this is apparently not the issue, the Rack Appreciation Society page is, which has screamed out of control, causing the talk among the country to be that Otago University has a ''rape culture''.
As a young girl at this university, this claim is very unsettling. We are all loath to believe that Otago has a rape culture, but we need to consider why this is a rumour in the first place, and begin to accept that maybe there is some kind of sex addiction problem here.
Separate from this Facebook issue, but worth mentioning, there has been a recent campaign by students to stop the blocking of porn at halls of residence. The boys claim that ''every guy watches porn'' and that blocking certain internet sites is a breach of their rights.
I ask you, is watching females be roughly assaulted by males in the pornography not a breach of female rights? There is a huge rape culture in pornography, one which is inevitably a bad influence over these young male adults.
Parents wish to send their children off to university residential colleges knowing that they are taking the vast step to adulthood whist remaining protected in a safe haven. They do not want to know that their boys have come out of home, where watching porn was not an option, to go into a residential hall that lets them have free rein of the internet.
How can we even begin to try to desexualise women as objects in our society and around the world if we let it happen right at home?
The fact Otago University students have these Facebook pages that are continually objectifying women as sexual objects is disgusting. The fact that many students - both male and female - are signing the anti-porn-ban petition is immature, superficial, and nonsensical. You see it as an ''attack on student freedom'' just because you want something to complain about. Well, open your eyes and see the bigger picture.
Recognise pornography for what it really is: cruel, demoralising, and shameful. Don't jump on any bandwagon involving this disgusting sexism just because your friends are doing it. Stand up for what you think is right.
If you wouldn't treat your girlfriend like that, don't dare treat other members of the public like that. I have never called myself a feminist before and I'm sure that there are lots of girls out there who are the same.
But for every girl recoiling from the horror of these boys' idea of a joke at our expense, think about your reaction. Realise that deep down every girl is a feminist - striving for equality between sexes - they just may not have labelled themselves as one.
Use this. Make this dreadful, unfair segregation between boys and girls at our university disappear, and stand united when we are sexualised, objectified, and devalued.
Kirsty Gordge is a second-year English student in Dunedin.
