Fear of sexuality is more harmful than provocative
images Congratulations to Alicia Ward for her comments on
the nudity in Abercrombie and Fitch quarterlies
(“A&F shouldn’t censor adult content for
kids,” Viewpoint, May 23). She adroitly points out that
the radical right wing wants government control when it suits its
ideology, but no government control when it doesn’t.
Regardless, various states’ attacks on A&F are a misuse
of public money. Many people believe that the A&F quarterlies
are inappropriate for minors. This is a peculiarly North American
point of view. There is no evidence I am aware of that nudity, even
with sexual innuendo, harms children. There are suggestions,
however, that America’s body-phobic and sex-negative culture
does a lot of harm. Sex-related problems such as poor body image
and early-teen pregnancies and sex-related crimes are much more
common in the United States of America than they are in western
Europe, where nudity and sexual representation don’t alarm so
many people.
Dr. Paul Rapoport School of the Arts McMaster
University
Military is based on strict authority for good
reason I’m shocked that Shirin Vossoughi would
attack military recruitment efforts
(“Army targets, misleads U.S. youth,” Viewpoint, May
28). In her column, she attacks the military for recruiting
youthful minorities, a puzzling stance considering that it is
liberals who often are supportive of targeting specific groups for
admission to programs. The military is providing opportunities to
these groups through well-paying jobs, for the amount of experience
and education required, and health care
benefits. Additionally, many of the faces of those in military
advertisements may be minorities precisely because many of
those within the military are from minority backgrounds. If
anything, this is simply an accurate pictorial representation of
who enlists and works in the military. Regarding the notion
that the military discourages youth from enrolling in higher
education, the opposite is actually true. The military
provides educational funding through the G.I. Bill of
Rights. Someone in your class may be attending school because
of the opportunities the military provides. These military
classmates are hardly “authoritarian,” an attribute
Vossoughi believes the military inflicts on participants. The
military as a whole, of course, is “authoritarian”
““ but she ignores the reason. In a civilian-controlled
military they are obligated to listen to those above them. It
would be idiotic to ask each member of the military what they think
about some military campaign. The president, the secretary of
defense, all the presidential appointees, and higher ups in the
military are the ones who matter. Each participant is obligated to
listen and obey. As a suggestion, I think Vossoughi should
consider the military’s purpose. It isn’t to play
nice with other countries. It’s to break things ““
and so far they’ve done a good job of it. The
military’s purpose isn’t to train men to be politically
correct, it’s to train aggression ““ and if it means a
video game, so be it. In the meantime, continue your peace rants
““ they will make sense when we have defeated every enemy of
the United States.
Michael Gordon Political science