Choices about sexuality don't determine worth
Chelsea Thompson ("Pro-life advocacy doesn't require shock treatment," April 11), is right; feminism is more than liberation via sexuality. However, the act of embracing femininity is relative. She might find Elizabeth Arden, pedicures, and getting your hair done to be an expression of femininity. Some women find that motherhood demonstrates femininity; others believe embracing femininity involves something more along the lines of a Destiny's Child song; many women find being comfortable with their bodies and sexuality to be an act of femininity; and some women choose not to be conventionally feminine at all. And to this I say, to each her own!
To answer your questions on your Facebook Web site, Chelsea, you don't "have to go to a sex toy party to be a real woman." Nor do you have to learn how to put on make-up, get your eyebrows done, or get a facial to be a real woman.
Being a woman is no more about aesthetics than it is about sex toys. I'm not sure if you came to "Fire Eyes," but it was a documentary on female genital mutilation. While this is a cultural tradition that I do not fully understand, I know that in many cases this practice was upheld to prevent masturbation or sexual promiscuity. For so long, women have been stripped of sexuality while men are allowed and, at times, encouraged to express and act on it as they wish. Women have been taught throughout history to be ashamed of their bodies and to associate sexual activity with immorality.
For women, the ability to enjoy sex is just as important as the ability to abstain from sex. I think it's great that you embrace your womanhood by objecting to a pleasure party, but at the same time you cannot say that offering sexual objects (whether it be a condom or a sex toy) is an act of "degradation."
Oh yes, while I'm on the topic, handing out condoms is a good thing. Giving a woman a condom does not encourage her to go have sex any more than putting a seat belt in her car will encourage her to get into a car accident. Women should be encouraged to take a proactive approach to safe sex.
I applaud you for starting a group on campus. I am always impressed with driven women who undertake endeavors such as yours. Speaking of such endeavors, I have been extremely happy with the activities on campus during Sex Week. The events have been both empowering and fun! Stella Fayman and the Sex Week Committee have impressed me beyond belief with a week full of activities, which made the Red Eye and attracted attention from Kiss FM 103.5. Sex Week was brought to Northwestern's campus for the first time ever and has been very successful and informational. I don't think that it was brought to campus to say that feminism and hypersexuality go hand in hand.
What makes a woman "of worth?" In creating a group with such a name as "Woman of Worth," I hope you are not implying that women who embrace sexuality are not of worth. As a self-proclaimed feminist, the founding member of Women of Worth should realize that all women are of worth, regardless of their personal choices regarding sex or lack thereof.
- Alexandria Gutierrez Weinberg junior Co-director of College Feminists
(the views expressed are her own)
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