Editor’s note: the word restriction on forum letters has been waived.

Don’t blame Playboy for continued sexism

I am a beautiful young woman (inside and out), but I also know I do not fit the traditional standard of beauty portrayed in magazines like Playboy. If I want to go let someone take photos of me in a bikini, I have every right to do so. It does not make me any less of a woman.  It does not mean I am going to lead a life of prostitution or become a victim of abuse.  It does not mean I am objectifying or disrespecting myself.  What it means is I am comfortable in my skin and happy with my body.

Some people are not happy with the portrayal of the University in an outlet such as Playboy. Colleges and universities are ranked and judged by  different criteria and different outlets. Having NCSU on Playboy’s “Best of the ACC” is no different from JMU being on a list of top party schools or Elon being touted as having the most attractive female students. Furthermore, the women who auditioned were not required to pose topless. It was an option. I hope potential students will look toward N.C. State’s academic credibility, as well as the achievements of its students, not judge our University on where we stand on lists like these.

People can’t sit and blame Playboy for the objectification of women. This objectification comes from TV, movies, the adult industry — hundreds of sources! While Playboy might add to this, asking them not to represent N.C. State in the “Best of the ACC” won’t reverse this. It is a cultural problem that needs to be corrected with education and support.

Please rethink your opinion of Playboy being on campus. The young women who chose to participate do not need to feel like outcasts on campus.  They should still feel like welcome members of the campus community and the rest of us need to become more accepting of their decision.

Lindsey Barr

senior, aerospace engineering

NCSU women’s basketball objectifies women

I’m writing in regard to the women’s basketball team objectification of women. How many times have you flipped on the television to see game after game played by fictional women with unattainable proportions? I’m not the only person who feels this way. In today’s society, women are constantly pressured to fit a certain mold. Those who don’t fit this description don’t receive the title of skilled. Sports such as basketball only encourage this sense of shallow acceptance and rejection.

I heard a rumor that one of the women in charge of basketball tryouts said they were thankful that there were no “fat girls” that came out. Most students arenÕt aware that nearly everyone on the team is at or above 5’9″; it seems as though NCSU is suggesting that if your measurements don’t add up just right you aren’t considered skillful, desirable, or worthy. This leads us to believe that women are objects, valued only for their bodies and the way that they preform. This basketball culture promotes the thought that women are meant only for our viewing pleasure.

So, as a reputable college newspaper, help fight this. Don’t put up any pictures of basketball players like you have in the past. To openly disrespect our desires of wanting to break away from oppressive jobs for which countless numbers of women sell their bodies is a direct insult to us as individuals and as human beings. Let’s try to value women for more than just the way run up and down a court.

Cameron Gower

junior, nuclear engineering

Playboy ad gives newspapers a bad image

The Playboy advertisement in March 23 newspaper is a harmful and disgraceful attack against N.C. State’s young women. Many of our young ladies are emotionally affected by the openly pornographic messages of lewdness portrayed by Playboy.  Not only harmful to the women, Playboy desensitizes men to women’s needs and rights.  To many men, Playboy is the pinnacle of easy fun, a face on a page that won’t talk back or interact.  It gives men pleasure at women’s expense.  In addition, consider how outsiders who read our newspaper will react when given this slice of N.C. State.  Would they be proud of the University for trampling on its women and encouraging them to give themselves away?  Would they not be remiss to allow their young children read the newspaper for fear that they might stumble upon the pornographic images portrayed in a seemingly harmless news receptacle?  How do we choose to leave our legacy?  How will we care for those around us?  I choose not to disrespect women, and I ask that you do the same by being more careful about your ad choice.

Daniel Cunningham

sophomore, biomedical engineering