To the Editor:
Debbie Carbonaro '97 seems to think that Playboy "is contributing to an industry whose sole purpose is the sale of women's bodies," ("The Importance of Rejecting Playboy," April 12, 1995.) She fails to see other points, firstly, that every woman that has been a centerfold in the recent past has received large amounts of cash and has had many doors opened [to] the fashion and entertainment industries.
She states that "it seems extremely difficult to view a woman as a commodity one day and then go to work or school the next day and treat her as an equal." Perhaps she might not see this as good because these women are relying on their bodies as opposed to their intellects in such situations to succeed. But how is this any different from the men and women participating in professional sports that place heavy requirements on physical endowment?
Also, think of the male and female college athletes who are treated far more drastically as commodities by their respective institutions. Professional athletes seen on television each weekend objectify themselves and their bodies for cash incentives, and in similar ways, collegiate athletes receive scholarships and other cash rewards for "excellence" in their respective sports that require more physical than intellectual abilities.
She makes a point of the "inherently harmful" nature of pornography to women. Yet we have all heard stories of athletes at all levels, male and female, who have received substantial injuries including many cases of death or crippling. Yet these are calculated risks that each member accepts when deciding to participate in these activities.
Perhaps it is important to view the women who choose to pose naked as individuals capable of considering these risks and calculating what is in their own best interests. Ought we use scare tactics such as describing posing naked as "a display which glorifies the rape and abuse of women" when so many women have clearly benefited from this industry?
Granted, many illegal pornographic publications are dangerous to women and children and do lead to exploitation. However ... there is a distinct difference between Playboy and these tasteless magazines. Carbonaro ends her argument with a call for a real equality of the sexes. The true equality resides in our acknowledgment of a woman's ability to make her own decisions about how to lead her life, not in having a battle as [Carbonaro] stated.
