This letter is a response to a submission made by Felicia Blake Loaiza last Thursday. In her letter, Miss Loaiza expresses her discontent with males who make inappropriate or immature comments toward scantily clad women along the crowded streets of Athens on the weekends.
While I concur with Miss Loaiza that these comments that men make are both disrespectful and pathetic, she fails to acknowledge the role that females play in this exchange. Miss Loaiza admits that she goes to bars dressed in less than conservative outfits, but feels that she should be able to show a little leg or shoulder without being gawked at like a fresh piece of meat. If Miss Loaiza ' or any female ' is willing to put her body on display, then she should not be surprised when males ' intoxicated or not ' stare or make comments regarding her appearance; if a girl did not want to be stared at or hit on, then she would not wear revealing clothing. But staring is one thing; disrespecting women in words or actions is another, and it is never permissible under any circumstance for a male to do that. Miss Loaiza is right ' the guys who make these comments are not the guys that girls should want to take home to their parents. But by the same token, are the girls who dress in less than conservative attire the girls that guys want to bring home to their parents? No, they are not.
It is unlikely that women have much regard or respect for the men who make these inappropriate comments. Conversely, it is unlikely that men have much regard or respect for women who dress inappropriately. Women often complain that they are objectified, but do men objectify women or do women objectify themselves? Miss Loaiza claims to have a boyfriend who she doesn't need to impress at all. If that is the case, then why does she feel the need to wear suggestive outfits to begin with? All females should be respected, but if women want to be treated with the respect that they deserve, then they should act ' and dress ' like they deserve it.
Anthony Michael Meale is a journalism graduate student.
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Letter to the Editor
