It’s not about the ketchup; it’s about the gendered performance of ineptitude and the harms we perpetuate if we leave weaponized incompetence unchallenged and unquestioned.

Women being held to a higher standard than men is not a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to sports. But that makes it no less frustrating, especially when we’re reminded every day of just how mediocre some men are at their jobs.  

“For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” also called “For Colored Girls”, is a choreopoem written by Ntozake Shange. It premiered in 1976 and tells the story of seven African-American women, identified by separate colors of the rainbow, who struggle with sexism, racism, poverty, mental illness and more. They suffer unspeakable horrors, brave heartbreak and loss and wrestle with their own identities in their communities and the wider world.

It is perfectly fine to be nice to strangers, but what happens when they don’t deserve it?

How dare Professor Jonathan Katz minimize the very real experiences of my nonwhite or nonmale colleagues who have braved incredible obstacles and curmudgeonly old professors—Katz most certainly included—to come to and thrive at Washington University.

This week was a banner one for our favorite sports media game: Professional Sports Man Says Something Dumb About Women. And I’m not just talking about NFL reporter Adam Schefter becoming a sexual assault apologist because the player in question was “adamant” that despite photographic and testimonial evidence to the contrary, he didn’t throw his girlfriend onto a bed covered with guns, strangle her and threaten to kill her.

B.J. Novak’s performance on Wednesday marks the 12th semester in a row that a man has headlined Washington University’s comedy shows. Although Novak’s show was undeniably popular, it’s time to start considering whether picking the first comedian we recognize is the best approach.

Students lined the halls of Crow Hall, home of the physics department at Washington University, in a sit-in to spread awareness of the lack of gender diversity among physics faculty.

My mother taught me a few things about the way a man should treat me. He should hold the door open and always let me go first. If he walks in front of you as the waitress takes you to the table, that’s how you know a relationship is doomed.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I spent two years taking undergraduate upper division classes, several more years studying for my Ph.D. and then almost three years as a post doc researcher in the Washington University physics department. It was a good place to be a woman.