Are you a party girl or nonparty? Were you a good girl or bad girl?

      More than 50 years ago I was on the receiving end of those questions—so their recent revival is a punch to my gut. I could hardly believe what I have been reading about Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense. As the CEO of several nonprofit veterans’ organizations, this guy apparently pursued female employees, informally dividing them into “party girls” and “not party girls,” while creating a hostile, predatory environment for women employees.

     I thought as a society we had moved beyond such misogyny. I was wrong. . . .

        The above headline, appeared in the student newspaper at the University of Virginia after the university decided to admit women for the first time. It was a quote from a 4th-year male student, and it encapsulated some of the reaction to that first class of women in September 1970.

I was one of those 350 young women who, as 18-year-olds, did not fully realize obstacles and mindsets we would encounter—and the cultural change we would eventually achieve. 

        In late May this year, I attended the 50th reunion of the class of 1974, along with half of my female classmates. All the women agreed that the university experience molded us to become successful in whatever endeavors we chose. My classmates went on to become judges, prominent doctors, authors, scientists, business leaders and so on. 

        Despite their success, many women in my class have memories of inappropriate comments, outright sexual harassment or worse. . . .