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Karen Owen 'Duke University F*ck List' Goes from Private to Viral
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by Jordan Yerman | September 30, 2010 at 02:37 pm
142952 views | 3 Recommendations | 46 comments
Karen F. Owen's 'Duke University Fuck List' Leaks, Humiliating Everyone Involved
When Karen Owen graduated from Duke University, she made a Powerpoint presentation documenting the guys with whom she had sex, rating them on a scale of 1 to 10. The "Duke University Fuck List" is laid out as a mock thesis, complete with pseudo-academic language. That's when 2010 grad Karen Owen made a crucial mistake: she actually sent the hookup list to some friends.
As night follows day, Karen Owen's hookup list was leaked, spreading like wildfire across the web. Duke University is furious, but presumably not as furious as the guys on the list (Karen Owen had a thing for college athletes, as millions of people are finding out as we speak- the Duke Lacrosse team really didn't need the extra publicity). Owen has gone into social-media hiding.
Photos
Jezebel has a redacted version of the "Fuck List", though Deadspin is far less kind (or far more impartial, depending on whom you ask), posting the entire Duke University Fuck List, complete with names and pictures. Proving that the web is a double-edged sword, it did not take Deadspin's viewers too long to find a picture of the writer.
Both blogs are owned by Gawker, but have clearly made different editorial decisions on how to handle this. I don't think it makes that much of a difference, because the list is out in the open: that's a fact. Whoever wants to find it in its uncensored form can do so with great ease.
Jezebel actually spoke with Karen Owen, who asserted that the list was never meant to go public, and only did so because one of her friends forwarded it:
She pointed out, as did our original tipster, that frats make lists like this all the time. Still, she said repeatedly, "I regret it with all my heart. I would never intentionally hurt the people that are mentioned on that."
The comment thread on Jezebel focuses on whether or not Karen Owen is being unfairly castigated because she is a woman, presuming that, had a man posted such a list, the fallout would not be as great. It is true, though, that such lists are found in frat houses.
Deadspin's thread calls Owen "Tigress Woods".
We're not so sure that the writer's gender is as relevant as the lack of common sense displayed by someone who graduated univerity in the Web 2.0 era: once something is digitized, it lives forever and can be replicated infinitely. This is not really a gender power-dynamics issue, but one of discretion, and a brutal object lesson in trust.
Again, digital information is toxic waste.
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Jordan Yerman
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at 11:48 on October 1st, 2010
This is the most intelligent article I've read on this whole issue. Let's ignore the gender aspect for the moment, because men are known for such lists and I'm sure women are known for them too. The real issue here is privacy in the digital age, namely that there is none. I hope everyone will be more careful with what they share with others, especially any intimate experiences. I could care less how many college students are hooking up with each other, but I don't necessarily want all these details.
at 16:55 on October 7th, 2010
she's a slut
at 22:24 on October 9th, 2010
Please, you hypocrite. If she was a guy you would find it okay but a woman isn't allowed to have more than one partner in a lifetime or have pre-marital sex? We're not property; we women are human beings with the same equal rights as men. If you're going to call her a "slut" then you're equally obligated to call every guy who lost his virginity a "slut" as well otherwise you're just being sexist. Women are just as equal and entitled to having sex just as much as guys are. So who are you to act all "Taliban" on someone having a sex life?
at 17:42 on October 10th, 2010
You are only saying that because we have birth control nowadays. Otherwise, your gender type is biologically engineered to be less promiscuous because you are supposed to be pickier in assessing your most fit mate. Slutting around with the biggest 'dicks' only makes for more crying and babies. Sexual vigor does not amount to opening your legs like a damn taco buffet for everyone to sample.
at 08:49 on October 28th, 2010
But it's perfectly reasonable for men to stuff those tacos whenever they feel like it, without any concern for future consequences? Sex has always been in part, recreational, like it or not. This isn't the dark ages. Men are no longer the only sexual conquerors in the land. Deal with it.
at 18:13 on October 10th, 2010
You sound stupid. First, no one claimed us women to be property so you can get off of your ultra feminist high horse. Are women held to a higher standard of sexual modesty than men? Duh. But this girl IS NOT a innocent little girl that just so happened to lose her virginity in a drunken stupor...WE'RE TALKING 12 GUYS HERE. And even if thats not enough to get her branded a slut (which i don't think anyone should be called) i don't know what is. But the greatest reason as to why your post is laughable at best is because of the hilarious hypocrisy you display...in an attempt to condemn hypocrisy.If a male had done something like this, this would not have been considered a thesis, let alone something that he could walk away from without repercussions. If a male had done this he would have been a pig, but because the author is a female she is owning her sexuality and is "empowered". B.S. I'm all for freedom, God knows we women needed the liberation, but don't give this absurdity a free pass because a girl did it.
at 06:28 on October 21st, 2010
Thank you, Esoh! Finally, someone gets it. It's not about how many people she slept with (who cares), it's about an extremely public humiliation of guys who did nothing more than have a mutual sexual encounter. This argument about "guys do this all the time." is bogus. Yes, some guys have locker talk with their friends, but women are notorious for dishing the intimate details to their friends. And that's all cool - whether you are a guy or a girl, you know that some talk among your partners friends is part of the risk in sex. This is nothing like that.Try to imagine how *you* would feel if you hooked up with some guy, and later he published your name, photos of you, disparaging and mocking details of parts of your body you weren't confident about, and disparaging remarks of your bedroom performance? Then that list went global -- name, photos as all?Finally "If a guy did this he'd be praised?" If a GUY had done this, there would have already been lawsuits, and he'd be nearly universally condemned as a piece of human filth. Thank you Esoh, for showing that there are women who are decent human beings.
at 15:02 on November 23rd, 2010
“If a key can open many locks, it’s a Master Key…but if a lock is opened by many keys, it’s a crap lock” PERIOD"dot"
at 00:41 on November 4th, 2010
I have never met any guys who have done this much work and annalysis of their sex lives. Honestly guys don't give it this much thought really. This really makes me want to never have sex again.
at 18:59 on October 1st, 2010
She's awesome! I love it! It's about time that women come out of the closet and do what they feel like doing, when they want and have the strength to post it publicly. I'm sure that she didn't invade anyone's privacy being as men brag about their sexual endeavors on a daily basis anyway.
at 22:31 on October 6th, 2010
Yeah, "she's awesome!"??. Like a twister or tsunami. Raging, rapacious swamp sows (or bulls) don't need encouragement, sfb!
at 09:45 on October 7th, 2010
Typical hypocrisy... why am I not surprised...
at 15:03 on October 26th, 2010
What you guys have to realize is that the issue isn't whether she's a slut or not, the issue is of the double standard and the feminist view on things. We both know female sluts exist - just as male sluts exist. There is no debate on this issue. The issue becomes heated when women (leaning towards the feminist spectrum of things), call men who sleep about often "pigs", yet decide to call women who sleep about "pioneers", "liberating", "empowering other females". The hypocrisy that many women (and men, but the comments seem to be structured around the women) project towards this issue is the true problem.I welcome "sluts" (females only, sorry fellas), but I don't have any aspirations of marrying one.
at 22:20 on October 3rd, 2010
Looks like deadspin heard from the lawyers and caved. They have redacted all the names and blurred the pics too. :-(
at 03:44 on October 7th, 2010
Its amazing how a sloppy slut can get something like this on the internet. What's her degree in "How to F*** yourself to the top" Has she gotten her PHD in the horizontal mambo? I heard from 2 students she also did 3 of her professors to get her degree. I guess shes ready to start out on 42nd street on the midnite shift...She might be able to hustle $20 bucks for a blow job!
at 03:53 on October 7th, 2010
Yeah names were blurred out but not the faces so what good does that do ?
at 04:59 on October 7th, 2010
This little bitch, Karen Owen, should have been aborted in her mommy's womb!
at 05:01 on October 7th, 2010
Wonder if Ms. Owen sports pubic hair of shaves/waxes her pussy bare? Babe pubic hair, especially wild ungroomed bush is so 20th Centtury!
at 16:57 on October 7th, 2010
If it was a dude that wrote about 13 women he had slept with then the same women who are praising her for this would be outraged...
at 17:55 on October 7th, 2010
And if it was a guy, you would be supporting him. Don't make these comments when men have proven themselves to be sexist.
at 20:24 on October 7th, 2010
That is simply not true. If a man made a similar list he would be chased across state lines by feminists wielding pitch folks and probably lawyers too. As a man I would not support any guy that did something equivalent and I therefore hope that Karen Owen pays a large price for this when she seeks to enter the work force and finds nobody wants a vindictive slut like her working for them. She could have written the list without mentioning names and just "subject 1" etc. This wouldn't have changed the fact she is a slut however would have at least shown she was not bitter and grinding her axe.
at 16:58 on October 7th, 2010
It's very disapointing everytime you see a woman without class. You can be studying at Duke University, but, still... no class
at 17:14 on October 7th, 2010
Hopefully she will be able to find a guy who will take her seriously. Most of us couldn't handle all of the gossip.
at 18:45 on October 8th, 2010
That's one nasty slut. I wouldn't fuck her with your third cousin's best friend's gardner's long lost pen pal's brother's dick. She needs to take that Duke education and apply it to peace corp work in northern Pakistan/Afghanistan.
at 22:59 on October 8th, 2010
I think her best option is to take a vow of celibacy, join a convent, and become a bride of Jesus.
at 18:09 on October 9th, 2010
I'd be so ashamed if she were my daughter. What a slag. Not only has she ruined her image (beyond being able to save face), but Duke's reputation just dropped again. Brilliant.
at 22:38 on October 9th, 2010
Wow, of course the guys that do respond to this are acting threatened by a woman's sexuality. Seriously, "convents"? Some tool brings up "convents"? It's 2010, not the era of incarcerating women for trying to exert the same civil liberties that men get away with all the time. Magdalene prisons for women are over. Us women being treated as property by either our fathers or husbands is over. We have the right to vote, joint custody, get an education, get a job and pay you guys alimony, own property, pay our own taxes and guess what? We also get to have sex without your permission. So, stop branding us women with a scarlet letter just because you're just bitter that we have the same civil rights as you. And we get paid less than you and our uteruses peel once a month which is a pain in the ass so how about cutting us some slack? When you get paid less than the other gender and you have horrendous cramps and get pregnant then you can go crying about it but stop telling us what we can and can't do as a gender at large. If women want to have premarital sex then we have the right to do so. The Duke Lacrosse team got away with much worse. Tiger woods got away with much worse. Bill Clinton got away with much worse. FDR, Donald Trump, Michael Douglas, professional athletes, every single guy inspired by those insipid "American Pie" movies. Every time you call a woman a "bitch" you're just being obvious in how much of a bitch you are as a guy.
at 18:23 on October 10th, 2010
What is wrong with you? Why do ALL your comments suck. Bill Clinton didn't get away with shit. Impeached and lost the respect of millionsTiger Woods didn't get away with shit. ABSURD---RIDICULOUSLY ABSURD--- divorce settlement and the loss of millions in sponsors.And more importantly, these men didn't publicly vilify the women that they slept with. Stop throwing your feminist spinning bullshit on this. She opened her legs one too many times. PERIOD.But despite the fact that his girl is a sperm dumpster, that is completely beyond the point. SHE MADE A PROFILE OF HER SEXUAL PARTNERS. If a guy had done the same thing, he would not be branded a slut, i'll give you that, but he would be branded a pig by your feminist friends and would face serious consequences for this kind of public vilification. No one cares that we have the same civil rights as men. But if i were a man, i would be pissed as hell if women got paid the same as I did if every woman i met was as ridiculous as you are
at 18:24 on October 10th, 2010
What is wrong with you? Why do ALL your comments suck. Bill Clinton didn't get away with shit. Impeached and lost the respect of millionsTiger Woods didn't get away with shit. ABSURD---RIDICULOUSLY ABSURD--- divorce settlement and the loss of millions in sponsors.And more importantly, these men didn't publicly vilify the women that they slept with. Stop throwing your feminist spinning bullshit on this. She opened her legs one too many times. PERIOD.But despite the fact that his girl is a sperm dumpster, that is completely beyond the point. SHE MADE A PROFILE OF HER SEXUAL PARTNERS. If a guy had done the same thing, he would not be branded a slut, i'll give you that, but he would be branded a pig by your feminist friends and would face serious consequences for this kind of public vilification. No one cares that we have the same civil rights as men. But if i were a man, i would be pissed as hell if women got paid the same as I did if every woman i met was as ridiculous as you are
at 11:30 on October 10th, 2010
Wonderful, now women can be pigs just like men!