Vagina havers and fem-presenting folk of Ohio State, you know what I am talking about. The sexism shuffle. The testosterone tango. The wage gap waltz. Whatever you want to call it, we have all been there.

As we stroll across Seibert Lawn, we all cross our fingers hoping that our shoes may remain on the pavement for the entire duration of our walk. However, we all know this will not be the case. Eventually, four to six men donning some assortment of Greek letters will appear over the horizon, and our hearts will drop. As they get closer and it becomes more and more obvious that they are not going to adjust their collective width, we eventually accept defeat as our feet meet the grass and we veer away from the cloud of axe body spray surrounding them. While they discuss how long a male-on-male hug can be before it’s too gay, a bit of joy is stolen from my day.

As a woman, this routine has become commonplace for me. But what really got me, what reeeeally pissed me off was when I saw how these men interact with the Grubhub robots roaming our campus.

It was Tuesday when I saw a Grubhub robot approaching a group of brothers walking in front of Mirror Lake. As the bot neared the men, the impossible happened. They briefly formed a single file line so that the robot had space to pass. This was an action I’ve seen women and non-binary people perform many times, but watching men carry it out? I was floored. The men watched the robot pass with a sense of joy typically reserved for a can of natty light. I knew that they worshipped Elon Musk, but their infatuation with technology couldn’t possibly run this deep.

Why is it that a robot receives more respect than I, a human being with blood and bones in my body? Why do men only respect things when they bring them sandwiches? Is the solution to gender equality really gears and wheels? If the Grubhub robot puts on a pink bow (as is her god-given right), what happens then? I am left with many questions and not a whole lot of answers. But what I can tell you is the light behind my eyes dims a little with each passing day.

Written by Macayla Childs, human woman

Awarded Article of the Year, 2023-2024