“Misogyny is Seeping into Classrooms, and Teachers are Taking Notice”

By Nix Carlson

Black mold in the pipelines to adulthood, oozing

into the brains of young men. Boys. As if a boy

hadn’t pushed me off the monkey bars at seven. Ms.

Lees claimed he liked me. Said a crush was meant

literally. As if it was my fate to pour peroxide

bubbles over scraped knees. Misogyny is snaking

through middle school science classrooms. As if

boys didn’t jeer, they were just stronger than us. It’s

just science. Chromosomal decree. As if I couldn’t

lift more than them. Misogyny is poisoning

classroom debates. As if I didn’t sit in Intro to Law

while red-hat boys argued death penalties for

abortion. While Mr. Hamm moderated decibels over

humanity. A girl who hated me gripped my hand like

a lifeline in a sea of callous vitriol. As if we didn’t

escape to the bathroom. As though I didn’t hold her,

sobbing her rape down the sink. Misogyny is the

sludge between young men and women. As if the

sole lesson from my high school romance wasn’t

love is best felt through a closed fist. As if girls

haven’t been raised in the perfume of mildew.

By Nix Carlson