This is not a feminist rant of man-hating misandry.  This is, admittedly, somewhat of a feminist rant, which will inevitably turn some people off before finishing this sentence, and to those I’d like to say, thanks for trying.   

For those of you who have stuck around (past those first two disclaimer sentences), thank you. Thank you for not fearing the term “feminism.” Thank you for understanding that feminism is not a call for female superiority but a call for gender equality. Thank you for knowing that supporters of the movement are not man-haters but believers in universal respect.  

I am not writing to address the greater issues of male entitlement that exist on the national or global scale; I will not go off any a political tirades against the unequal pay of women, universal gender stereotypes, or the fact that its 2014 and the ERA still isn’t a thing.  

This piece is about the seemingly "small" problems of male entitlement that we, as college women and as women of the Greek community encounter daily.   

Recently, at a party, I was approached by a complete stranger who grabbed me from behind my by hips.  Only after doing so did he ask if I would like to dance.  I politely said no, and, still holding onto me, he demanded a “good” reason. Unsatisfied by my “excuses” the stranger became violently offended and seemed downright confused as to why any woman would not enjoy dancing with some nameless stranger at a frat party, and looked not to me, but to my friend’s boyfriend (the only other male paying attention) for some kind of explanation. Eventually, the man became so offended by my lack of interest that he stormed off, only to later follow us out of the party, approach the boyfriend, and demand an explanation.   

Instances like this, unfortunately, are so commonplace that we often don’t think twice about the reasons behind them. So many men today are unwilling to accept even the slightest rejection from women without feeling entitled to some kind of satisfying explanation. Why does “I have a boyfriend” have to be every woman’s go-to response to a man’s advances? Because more often than not, men are infinitely more likely to respect the sovereignty of some imaginary male over a woman than they are of a woman over her own body. “I’m not just interested” is considered rude and unacceptable.    

Whether it’s your boss getting offended when you ask him not to call you pet names, or a man on the street yelling at you for scowling at his oh-so-flattering catcalls, male entitlement is a serious and uncomfortable problem faced by women in our everyday lives.

This is not some sorority girl complaining about chivalry being dead, nor is this some radical call for a table-turning gender-role reversal; I am asking for respect. I am asking to be treated as an equal, not an object, a toy, not a servant put on this earth to please you. I am sovereign over my own body, and I do not ever have to justify that to you.