Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Forum

V-Week not man-bashing

The feminist movement has long moved from incipient male bashing to an emphasis upon affirming female identity. Despite all of the progress made by the feminist movement in the past few decades, Chelsea Thompson's Letter to the Editor ("V-Week demeaning to women, not empowering," March 4) exemplifies the progress that has yet to be made on behalf of women, by women.

The rhetorical force of the audience participation in "Reclaiming C*nt" which Thompson deemed as "counter-intuitive" belies the history of the word cunt itself, which Inga Mascio posits as an ancient title of respect for women. Female bodies have been commodified and objectified by a multiplicity of patriarchal industries. The act of reclaiming cunt is metaphorical for a greater reclamation. At the very least, Thompson latently misunderstands the processes by which derogatory words can be neutralized by increasing usage, not by censoring them - albeit a counter intuitive process - it's one which is observable nonetheless.

Ms. Thompson's critique of the presence of only abusive, adulterous men in Vagina Monologues misses the point. Sure, "normal" male types could have been written into the play, but these aren't the perpetrators who the play is attempting to depict. The harsh reality of our non-perfect existence is that women (and men!) do encounter unpleasant situations such as adultery, rape and abuse in various forms. Her critique of the male characters in Vagina Monologues fails to comprehend that the purpose of the play is to empower women to overcome these very men. The themes in the Vagina Monologues come from interviews with a diverse group of women, including Republicans. This production gives a forum for women to discuss their bodies, their emotions and their experiences. Their stories are, more than often, neglected by the general public; thus, the Vagina Monologues gives women a platform for their otherwise untold tales. To be sure, the Vagina Monologues is a uniquely provocative vehicle for expression of the female body and experience, not for the faint of heart (reads: repressed), but it is certainly not demeaning to women.

- Alexandria Gutierrez
Weinberg senior
College Feminists President


Parents Fund extensive

I'm writing in response to Meredith Laitos' Feb. 27 column ("When $6.5 billion isn't enough"). I was that "perky voice" who spoke with her father regarding Northwestern's Parents Fund. I'm happy to say that he was extremely pleasant and polite, and had no problem talking to me for a while about NU, journalism, and even his daughter's column. Even when I asked him for a small donation and explained to him what the Parents Fund is, he was cordial. Ironically enough, her father actually donated to the exact same fund Laitos is now condemning.

I wish Laitos had the same courtesy as her father. While I have absolutely no problem with her criticizing the Parents Fund itself (she is a Daily columnist, after all), I do have an issue with how little effort she put into getting her facts straight. A simple call to NU's development office or visit to its Web site would have shown her that, just as I explained to her father, the Parents Fund encompasses more than just "campus security."

Part of it does go toward paying for those snazzy new security cameras, yes, but it also goes toward funding SafeRide, the Frostbite Express and even certain student groups. While the fund can't completely finance any of these initiatives on its own, it did raise $1.5 million last year to supplement the basic funding. I can't help but think that perhaps if Laitos had done a bit more research, she wouldn't have had to devote two whole paragraphs to the completely unrelated topic of parking violations. Hopefully, Laitos's next column will be a little better researched and organized. One needn't look any further than her fellow columnist David Spett's now famous and meticulously researched Daily column to see how far good, solid journalistic investigation can take you.

- Elaine Williams
Medill sophomore
Phonathon Caller

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools