In his Letter to the Editor, ("Eradicate pornography," March 8) freshman Ryan Slaney defines pornography as "images which cause males to lust over the female body." Does this mean that the women's undergarment section in the Sears catalog is pornographic? If so, I'm in trouble. Slaney also states with "clear and resounding" affirmation that the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, the reason us subscribers squirm around our mailboxes like a Christmas tree every February afternoon, is indeed pornographic. If this is the case, then yours truly is not getting his money's worth. In fact, perhaps the greatest perk of living off campus is that I can finally browse porn sites without fear of losing my Internet privileges. Hey, if all those middle school health videos say its normal, then by golly it must be.
Furthermore, do we really still think of women as the innocent "angel in the house" who could never be considered so barbarian as us men as to look at naked photos of guys? I heard that long-haired dude from last year's American Idol was in a Playgirl last month, and that certainly wasn't published for my sake.
Still, Slaney does make a clean split between us hedonistic heathens and the morally sound Catholics such as himself, who "feel that a male should appreciate a woman's mind along with her body." That's why women are allowed to be priests, right? Now don't get me wrong, this letter in no way is intended to insult Slaney or the Catholic Church. Still, I just cannot imagine that Slaney's fellow Vermin, the men of Carroll, who live in the Alcatraz of dorms, would agree that they "feel embarrassed" of "the images of scantily clad women" found above the beds of young men such as myself, who need an extra little push to wake up on these frigid winter mornings. At least that's what my roommate, an apparent ex-Carroll legend who will remain anonymous, believes.
Perhaps one who is truly concerned about the ever prevalent practice of condescending women should spend less time freedom-freedom fighting and presupposing what it would take to make the campus a less-offensive place to live, and should spend a little more time participating in women-organized events that celebrate feminism, like attending the National Women's Day Jamboree, which took place in front of Stonehenge yesterday at noon. Only three males were present.
Joe Geglio
senior
off campus
March 8
