`Wellesley Girls' Stereotype Perpetuates Inequality

To the editors:

Re "Just a Squirrel Tryin' to Get a Nut" (Fifteen Minutes, Nov. 5): It frightens me to think that two intelligent and well-educated women would rather accentuate issues of gender inequality than fight them. The writers continually refer to the women of Wellesley as "girls" as opposed to Harvard men, suggesting the subservience of women. These authors are only helping to strengthen the part of our society which hopes to make women subservient to men.

Harvard should be at the forefront of forcing society to recognize that women and men are equally important and that men needn't dominate women and women needn't be dominated.

I would like the University community to take note of these problems rather than sitting idly by. It is our job to stop perpetuating the stereotypes and classic roles of women in our society. It is time to realize the equality we share. As the future leaders of our country, isn't this the least we can do? JERRY C. ISAACSON '01   Nov. 9, 1998

To the editors:

Aside from being an offensive and unjust characterization of Wellesley students, "Just a Squirrel Tryin' to Get a Nut" is a painful example of the sexism that exists in our society. Young women (consistently referred to as "girls") who have made the intelligent, informed decision to attend an all-female college are portrayed as desperate to catch men (never called "boys"), and willing to trade sexual favors for any sort of recognition. The "girls" depicted clearly have little sense of their self-worth except in relation to men, and feel that wearing revealing clothing and having indiscriminate sex are the ways to succeed in life.

What disappoints me most is that this article was written by two Harvard women. If some of the most educated, intelligent women in our country condone these stereotypes, is it any wonder that they continue to exist and influence society? If the authors are representative of those who are looked to as leaders in the next century, I am truly frightened for the future of women in our nation.

I understand the article was an attempt at satire. However, I hold humor to a higher standard, one which insightfully mocks and challenges the arbitrary or outdated constructs of our culture.   JULIA ROSENSTOCK   Wellesley, Nov. 10, 1998

The writer is junior at Wellesley College.