By Heather Sieve
While playing a pick-up game of volleyball the other night, I experienced a rude awakening: A friend of mine —who typically has a mild, friendly disposition — casually shouted, “Backhand that bitch!” after a team member spiked the ball with the back of his hand. I froze. “Did that really just happen?” I thought to myself. “Could someone drop such a sexually violent phrase without any apparent implications?” After the initial shock of the incident wore off, I realized just how influential those words were.
