Monday, April 24, 2006
The Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center is now accepting nominations for the 2006-2007 KU Women of Distinction Calendar.
Anyone who knows a “KU woman who has distinguished herself through outstanding achievement and/or contributions to KU” — a student, faculty member or alumna — can submit a nomination for the calendar.
Perhaps you know a woman who fits these conditions, maybe someone who contributed to a celebrated research project, someone who headed an honorable student organization or someone who was a leader in advancing women’s rights.
Certainly, people who did these and other illustrious things would deserve to be called “Women of Distinction.”
But I’ve got a better idea.
I think we all know who the real “women of distinction” are here at KU.
I am speaking, of course, of the progressive, courageous women who auditioned for the Playboy “Girls of the Big 12” issue two weeks ago.
These women could very well be the most well-known at KU by the time the issue is released in the fall, so shouldn’t they be considered “women of distinction?”
In fact, let’s make these women the only subjects of the calendar. Their achievements, their contributions to KU and their advancement of the status of women everywhere are all immeasurable.
We’re all told that so-called “women of distinction” belong in leadership positions in classrooms, on athletic teams and in the workplace. But, instead of taking one of these routes, these women did what people said they couldn’t: They proved that women can also take off their clothes for money.
Along with these women, Playboy and its readers should be commended for what a great thing they have done. By traveling to college campuses across the nation, Playboy shows young women that they have the power to be exploited. And what a power that is.
One could say these young women are patriots. Exploiting women is an American tradition. For example, aboutface.org documents all the ways that American advertisers have exploited women and their bodies for sexual appeal.
Now, though nearly everyone acknowledges that women who pose in Playboy or similar publications have a right to do so, some people find the idea of women selling images of their nude bodies a bit objectionable and not just because many find such publications to be immoral.
They might make claims that Playboy, its readers and the women who pose in it are contributing to a culture that suggests women can be most successful if they are sexually appealing, that a woman’s greatest asset is her ability to sexually excite men.
They might say this obsession with sex and appearance contributes to body image problems, self-esteem issues and eating disorders for millions of girls and women around the world, as well as continued discrimination against women in all walks of life.
Well, that’s just too bad, because these women have the right to pose naked if they want to, and Playboy has the right to show them. And, what’s more, Playboy models often go on to have success in acting, modeling and other fields.
That’s much more important than the welfare of millions of women across the globe.
Erickson is an Olathe freshman in journalism and political science.
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