Playboy did not deserve so much coverage

I am embarrassed to say that I go to a school that focuses more on a Playboy photo shoot than topics of actual importance.

I am also outraged that this article (spanning an entire page and a half in a paper that is only eight pages) was so one sided.

Who are you to tell women what they can and cannot do? You focused so much on female empowerment, yet you are telling us what we should be doing instead of letting us decide for ourselves.

Although I myself would not pose for Playboy, I support any female who feels comfortable enough in her own skin to do so.

The interview was NOT held on campus nor did it directly harm anyone. Participation was obviously voluntary, and those who chose not to take part should mind their own business.

Also, your undercover article was a failed attempt at being humorous. While I’m sure the writer thought she was being very clever, she only made herself sound ridiculous. Focus on what’s important, even the Daily Tar Heel can do that.

Reema Patel

senior, biochemistry

Playboy impedes female sexual liberation

Playboy completely undermines female sexual liberation which Hugh Hefner as well as others including Ricci Kearney (in his March 27 campus forum letter) claim it promotes. Women who appear in Playboy will never be seen as themselves.

Instead, they will be merely viewed as sexual objects that are to be consumed by men. If women were truly liberated, wouldn’t it be possible for us to feel sexy without being commodified?

Sexuality is inherent and we should all be able to define it for ourselves. However, female sexuality is defined in terms of the mainstream male sexuality and is promoted through magazines such as Playboy. Frankly, I find this sexuality which is confined by silicon breasts and airbrushed bodies to be quite boring — not liberating.

Kearney obviously is also ignorant of the fact that although some people felt Playboy aided in female sexual liberation, the majority of those involved in the feminist movement opposed Playboy from the very beginning. Kearney’s claim that “Playboy was an instrumental part of … the Female Civil Rights Movement” is utterly farcical.

In fact, in 1963, the renown feminist Gloria Steinem wrote “A Bunny’s Tale” which revealed the misogynistic and exploitative industry of Playboy. Playboy is not an “artful expression” of female sexuality as Kearney claims, but rather, it defies the core values of feminism. Hefner, himself, is a sexual opportunist but demands that ‘his bunnies’ remain loyal to him by refusing dates and having a bridled sexuality unlike his own.

This double standard sounds more like sexual control than sexual liberation to me.

Because our society has been affected by the feminist movement, everything we do is believed to be imbued with its agenda. However, if this is true, shouldn’t the salacious world of Playboy reflect how far we all have come?

Or, Mr. Kearney, does the normalization of sexual objectification and exploitation of women as well as the delusive belief of female sexual liberation reflect how far we have yet to go?

Haley M. Raimondi

senior, French

Brent Metcalf’s apology not accepted

As an alumnus of the University, I proudly watched the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships with my family.

Congratulations to Darrion Caldwell and University of Iowa for their individual and team championships respectively.

To Brent Metcalf — apology not accepted.

Thomas Duke

alumnus, class of ‘74

President Barack Obama overstepped his boundaries

Did you know that President Barack Obama was the Chairman and CEO of General Motors? I didn’t until he announced that he had fired Rick Wagoner from his position at GM. With this action, the President has overstepped a boundary that must not be ignored. By reaching into the boardroom of GM he has set a radical precedent that ignores the rule of law and replaces it with the will of the government.

Where in the constitution is the power to manage our private lives given to the government? To decide how much someone is paid? To decide what type of vehicles should be manufactured? To fire executives? I have searched and cannot find it.

It seems like our lives are slipping to the control of the government and no one seems to care. Our government is using the same tactics that are used to recruit cult members with smart rhetoric and that “he makes me feel good” vibe.

Our freedoms are under attack. These abuses of power must be brought to a halt, the rule of law must be reestablished, and the President must be impeached before we find our union in a state that cannot be undone.

P.S. — Before you make your next big decision you may want to call the President at 202-456-1414 just to make sure it’s OK with him.

Jonathan Callahan

sophomore, business management