Editor:

Each time I hear comments like those made by Ryan Dark (“Feminism is hypocritical,” Feb. 14), I feel compelled to make my voice heard.

It is simply untrue that feminists are hypocrites for not denouncing female-only universities. The benefits of single-sex education include enhanced self-esteem and confidence. Perhaps the reason many men are outraged by women-only schools is because they fear it will be harder to control women when they have high self-esteem and high confidence.

Dark, like many oblivious men, incorrectly views gender as dichotomous. He blasts women because of their unwillingness to perform manual labor. I’m more interested in men’s unwillingness to perform housework and child-care tasks. A woman’s obligation to take on a large share of these tasks is what really prevents females from entering the workforce.

Males and females are both oppressed by patriarchy. Males face an overwhelming workload leading to high stress and poor health. In turn, this can lead to spousal abuse and a decline in contribution to housework and child-care tasks.

Unfortunately, Dark has been conditioned to incorrectly assert that feminism is the cause of this oppression.

I urge pro-feminist males to help give voice to the deconstruction of anti-feminist sentiment by exposing the fallacies of such arguments.

Tyler Black Graduate Student, Family Ecology