During this past semester, I took a course in the school of Social Work called the Fraternity Action Coalition which predominantly dealt with attitudes within the fraternity system towards the treatment of women. The class consisted of twelve students who were all members of either my house or Sigma Phi Epsilon and was facilitated by one member from each house."Playboy" has pictures of women? Gosh I never got past the challenging and thought provoking articles.
In the beginning of the course, nearly all of the participants held rather similar opinions on what was and was not harmful to women. Most of the group concurred that Playboy was in no way harmful and that societal expectations that imposed upon women a similar position or demeanor held relatively little reason for concern.
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A main idea of the class was that as a “well-meaning man,” one cannot be a passive participant when noticing actions that contribute to this dynamic. Instead, one should strive to create an acknowledgement of the shared role of men in modifying the attitudes that lead to the objectification of women.
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Playboy finds a niche in this dilemma as well. Women who appear in the magazine do so willingly and many with the expectation that it will lead to bigger and better things. Yet, the magazine reinforces the idea that in order for a woman to advance in life, she must do so not by the strength of her own character or ideas, but through the appeal to men through sexuality.
The Badger Herald - University of Wisconsin-Madison
