Weighing in
The following is a reaction I wrote to a little issue we're having on this campus regarding a certain "Gentlemen's publication." Read on if you feel like hearing me get up on the soap box...
“It’s disgusting.” “It’s free expression.” “It’s exploitative.” “It’s their choice.”
It’s hard to be moderate in every conceivable way when an issue like this presents itself. Both sides have good points, believe it or not. On the one hand, I’d rather be viewed as a person with feelings. On the other, I’d rather not be told what to do.
A couple of weeks ago, Playboy magazine ran an ad in our school paper advertising auditions for their “Girls of the SEC” pictorial. Yeah, lovely, I know. The irony in this happening at a top 20 school is palpable. Since then, said paper has been the main battleground for throwdowns on either side of the issue, some of which have been generalized above. The campus feminists, of course, vehemently object to anything they can construe as misogynistic and backward (neither of which, in my opinion, is much of a stretch in the given scenario), whereas some of the frat guys will write in saying that it’s our choice whether or not we want to pose scantily clad for creepy middle-aged men and adolescent boys to gawk at for a month before moving on to the next piece of visual meat. They, too, make a good point.
The controversy in this issue, believe it or not, doesn’t lie in whether or not Playboy has the right to “solicit” (and here I’m using the term with some breadth) the women of this campus to pose for their “pornographic” publication (again, using someone else’s word for the situation). Maybe the problem isn’t so much that they were here…just that there are some of us who don’t want to accept that anyone would actually choose to participate.
The feminist-types want to make a huge issue out of it. They can’t help it. It’s how they operate. They’re so certain that because, collectively, they have a host of hours of Women’s Studies courses, they’re fully equipped to take on the anti-female status quo and protect women everywhere from the “evils” of male domination by (OH, the IRONY) telling us what to do! What they fail to realize is that they don’t give women in general credit. Ladies, I’m sure Gloria Steinem is a really nice person, but we can think for ourselves--you said it yourself! There's no need to tell us that we’re being submissive, thanks.
And to the guys (yes, table of five guys sitting directly across from me in Rand, I’m talking to you.) You need to listen to yourselves. I know it’s fun to call the girls who wrote into the paper condemning the whole nasty deal “dykes” and mock them for having the balls to express their opinions in full view of such eloquent critics who I’m sure are well-versed in the nuances of the issue at hand (if said nuances fall into the category of “boobs”), but need I remind you that those girls, as well as the women who did opt to go to those auditions, and the girl whose ass you grabbed at the party last Saturday, and that girl from downstairs who you and your friends have pegged as a “slut”…those girls are all someone’s daughter, sister, or best friend. Just think about it for a minute.
And finally, to any woman on this campus who’s caught on either side of the issue, baffled at the rampant paradoxes and double-standards…don’t worry about it. The only way to beat it is to be better than that, and you already are. If you need any further proof, look no further than your mom, your dad, your little sister. They think the world of you, and their opinions are the ones that count. Everyone else, well, they’ll figure it out eventually. It’s your choice what you do, ultimately, but if I can give any friendly advice, let it be this: you’ve come so far already. We’re never going to change the world until people take us seriously and look up to us. So take this to heart, and do whatever you think is best. After all, it is your decision.
“It’s disgusting.” “It’s free expression.” “It’s exploitative.” “It’s their choice.”
It’s hard to be moderate in every conceivable way when an issue like this presents itself. Both sides have good points, believe it or not. On the one hand, I’d rather be viewed as a person with feelings. On the other, I’d rather not be told what to do.
A couple of weeks ago, Playboy magazine ran an ad in our school paper advertising auditions for their “Girls of the SEC” pictorial. Yeah, lovely, I know. The irony in this happening at a top 20 school is palpable. Since then, said paper has been the main battleground for throwdowns on either side of the issue, some of which have been generalized above. The campus feminists, of course, vehemently object to anything they can construe as misogynistic and backward (neither of which, in my opinion, is much of a stretch in the given scenario), whereas some of the frat guys will write in saying that it’s our choice whether or not we want to pose scantily clad for creepy middle-aged men and adolescent boys to gawk at for a month before moving on to the next piece of visual meat. They, too, make a good point.
The controversy in this issue, believe it or not, doesn’t lie in whether or not Playboy has the right to “solicit” (and here I’m using the term with some breadth) the women of this campus to pose for their “pornographic” publication (again, using someone else’s word for the situation). Maybe the problem isn’t so much that they were here…just that there are some of us who don’t want to accept that anyone would actually choose to participate.
The feminist-types want to make a huge issue out of it. They can’t help it. It’s how they operate. They’re so certain that because, collectively, they have a host of hours of Women’s Studies courses, they’re fully equipped to take on the anti-female status quo and protect women everywhere from the “evils” of male domination by (OH, the IRONY) telling us what to do! What they fail to realize is that they don’t give women in general credit. Ladies, I’m sure Gloria Steinem is a really nice person, but we can think for ourselves--you said it yourself! There's no need to tell us that we’re being submissive, thanks.
And to the guys (yes, table of five guys sitting directly across from me in Rand, I’m talking to you.) You need to listen to yourselves. I know it’s fun to call the girls who wrote into the paper condemning the whole nasty deal “dykes” and mock them for having the balls to express their opinions in full view of such eloquent critics who I’m sure are well-versed in the nuances of the issue at hand (if said nuances fall into the category of “boobs”), but need I remind you that those girls, as well as the women who did opt to go to those auditions, and the girl whose ass you grabbed at the party last Saturday, and that girl from downstairs who you and your friends have pegged as a “slut”…those girls are all someone’s daughter, sister, or best friend. Just think about it for a minute.
And finally, to any woman on this campus who’s caught on either side of the issue, baffled at the rampant paradoxes and double-standards…don’t worry about it. The only way to beat it is to be better than that, and you already are. If you need any further proof, look no further than your mom, your dad, your little sister. They think the world of you, and their opinions are the ones that count. Everyone else, well, they’ll figure it out eventually. It’s your choice what you do, ultimately, but if I can give any friendly advice, let it be this: you’ve come so far already. We’re never going to change the world until people take us seriously and look up to us. So take this to heart, and do whatever you think is best. After all, it is your decision.