2008 Woodie Awards
Responses to "The Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Closet"
Issue date: 4/11/06 Section: Opinion
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I'm not usually one for confrontation, but when I read last weeks article titled "The Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Closet" by Sole Whitechurch, I walked to The Cynic office to find out how this article had made it into publication.
I will assume that this article was meant to be tongue and cheek and not to be taken seriously, but it hurt the feelings of friends of mine, and I thought the topic warranted a reply. The message this article sends, whether it was meant or not, is that if you don't have a perfect body you better cover it up because it offends people.
We shouldn't be suggesting that some girls conceal their bodies while others are encouraged to display them. No one should be asked to hide themselves as if the way they look is something to be ashamed of. Popular culture has made it hard enough for girls to feel proud of the way they look by setting unrealistic standards of beauty. All girls should be encouraged to wear whatever they think looks good, regardless of what others may think. If you can look at yourself in the mirror and think "I look good today," then you should trust that. You can't please everyone, so don't even try.
-Calvin Utter
To the Editor,
This is not meant as a personal attack on you the editor-in-chief, but maybe the fact that you are male has you totally oblivious to the offensive article published in your paper on Tuesday.
"The Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Closet" is a display unlike the general ideals that UVM stands for and represents.
"Mini-skirts, on the other hand, should not be worn by anyone over a size four." Guess what, there aren't too many people smaller than a size 4, and fat America or not, we are not all Barbie dolls.
Even if everyone was thin the criticism would never cease, and people like Sole Whitechurch don't help our ever-increasingly self-involved, shallow, narrow-minded society.
Have some respect for your fellow student's body and accept that there are differences between people's body types, morals, ideas and opinions. Everyone is entitled to all of these - including Ms. Whitechurch.
When I read it, I cannot help but think of my little Sister - who is not really "little", as she is sixteen - and I how much I want to save her from reading such garbage and looking into the mirror and questioning her self-worth because she isn't smaller than a size four.