The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Honor Bound

4.15.02 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 4)

As a woman and mother of 3 grown sons my question for Carrie Sue Casey is, "Is she nuts?" Feminism may have started out asking that women be respected and thought of as people with brains and certainly more than chattel. But when Bill Clinton is forgiven by these same feminists for all his philandering ways because he is the "alpha male" the fight for respect and mentality of women has just gone down the drain. As does the respect for women in the eyes of men.

She writes of the bad and bawdy jokes of women. She should be a man -- there are at least 3 or 4 moron jokes of men for every bad one of women. As for the Playboy models -- I have a sneaky thought that she could never have made it onto their pages. Neither could I, but I don't either condemn nor praise them -- it's just flat out their business. As for the men who buy these magazines (and if my sons do, I'm not aware of it), so what?

And men only "gravitate toward the largest breasts" before they mature. If Mr. Dufour disagrees with that -- my question is with him -- not all men. Mature men look for the deeper and more meaningful aspects of a woman when they seek a mate. As for the rest -- I think of it as all as growing up.

I think Ms. Casey and Mr. Dufour have not reached that point yet.

For the record, I read the classics.

Thank you.
-- Marilyn Jameson
Pittsburgh, PA

"Pandering to the fundamental ideal of typical masculinity"?? As defined by whom, a feminist?

Men used to think that it is important to have a career to support a woman (as opposed to assuming "dual" income) that he wanted to marry (as opposed to live with) and the family he wished to have with her (as opposed to deciding who will pay for the abortion because "we" are not ready yet).

Carrie Sue Casey laments the content of these magazines and men's minds in general, yet feminism and its zeal for sexual freedom for women with birth control, and abortion on demand, has created a society where many women do not have a sense of self-respect; so why should men?
-- M. Heisler
Columbus, OH

CIRCUMCISION CONSERVATISM
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s No More Hooded Look:

As a devout conservative, I wish to debate the assertion that the "anti-circumcision movement" is liberal-driven.

Okay, I'll admit that groups like NoCirc and ACM are radical -- I am unable to say "radical liberal" because I don't know enough about their roots, but they are, indeed, radical. But I would argue that the basic surgical philosophy of advising against circumcision is completely conservative at its core.

Circumcision is a cosmetic procedure with little or no significant medical advantage (hygiene is the only claimed benefit, and that is subject to some disagreement based on interpretation of data). Your citation of the New England Journal is old news, and, again, reflects issues related to hygiene. Culturally in this country, men who are not circumcised (because of their age or ethnicity) have typically been raised in ways that fail to emphasize proper hygiene. Circumcised men can also get papilloma virus and can also pass it on, increasing the partner's risk of cancer.

Circumcision is often performed on newborn infants who have no say in the decision whether to have his appearance altered in this way.

I suggest that any reasonable conservative should attempt to hold the line against cosmetic surgery being imposed upon the unwitting.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Bill Clinton, Business, Abortion, Conservatism