“A Woman out of Control”: Deconstructing Sexism and Racism in the University

Equity measures and attempts at inclusivity in the university, such as harassment policies and prejudice reduction workshops, tend to treat sexism, racism, and other forms of marginalization and exclusion as attitudinal and individualistic properties. Through discussion of a critical incident in which I was involved, I argue that sexism and racism are systemic; they are power relations that have become normalized courses of action within the university. To make the university more inclusive in fact, and not merely in policy, therefore, I propose an anti-sexist/racist approach explicitly taking into account the inequalities members of the university embody in their gender, racial, and other historically and ideologically constructed differences.