Letters to the Editor
monkeychick
Published Letters: 3
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Anorexic Girl
[Read the article: Newsweek's anorexic cover girl]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Inside the anorexia issue of Newsweek, somewhere in the first two or three pages is a picture of the cover girl before she began to recover. I think the before and after comparison shows how much better she looks now. Perhaps her before photo could have been used on the cover but this is a child we are talking about and maybe putting her emaciated photo on the cover could be construed as cruel. Also, the article discusses many of the so-called myths of anorexia, for example, that it is primarily an intense, upper middle-class white girl affliction whose parents insist on perfection. The article involves kids who are solidly middle class with loving and terribly concerned parents and even cites the cases of two boys. If one takes the info in the article as fact it would not matter whose face was on the cover. The article holds that this is not a cultural problem but a psycological and even physical disease. Cultural pressures only bolster these already messed up psyches. These kids have no appetite so in a way they aren't starving...they always feel full! So many kids have body image problems but a face on a magazine cover is not going to turn that problem into anorexia.
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Pit Bulls
[Read the article: Pit bulls are innocent]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All the pit bulls I have known are smart and sweet. Bella, a little chocolate brown pit bull who lives down the street, never fails to greet me enthusiastically when I am walking to my friend's house. She has a happy little face and a huge smile that makes the day seem brighter.
To this day I am haunted by the image of a sweet and seemingly lost pit bull who wandered the downtown streets of my college town looking for his owner or simply for some help. He came right up to me and sat down in front of me and stared into my face. I was unable to take him home so I simply gave him some kind words and some petting then called the Humane Society to come pick him up. I hope I did the right thing and that he found his home.
As for the knee jerk solution of euthanizing all pit bulls because of their breed, I will quote my mother who said, "People will some day pay for the horrible things they do to animals."
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Working Moms
[Read the article: The whole "working mother" thing actually works]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am sick to death of the mommy wars. I am fed up with sanctimonious stay at home moms who claim that their choices are ideal. I have had it with women who look down upon women who do stay at home with their children, for whatever reason.
Why must women always judge each other, putting political, cultural and societal spins on that judgement? Why can we not make choices for ourselves without suffering the scorn from our peers, no matter what those choices are? I am speaking in generalities here...of course some choices are just plain wrong.
But neither the decision to stay home nor the decision to go back to work is "wrong" or "harmful" as such. I agree that for some (including myself) the need for a life outside the home is essential to one's well being. But I did stay home with my son for seven years,for many reasons,and I am glad I did. My free-spirited choices during my twenties made it difficult to find a fulfilling job after I re-entered the work force so I am now back in college and loving it. I would not change the way I raised my son, I am happy I was able to stay home with him while he was little. But I do NOT judge any woman for making different choices than my own, I simply respect anyone who rises above this bullshit and makes her own decisions based on what is best for her and her family, whether that is working part time, full time or staying at home. Can we cut the crap or do we really need this conlict to make ourselves feel superior to our fellow females?