Letter to the Editor 10/19

To the Editor,

I am appalled by Leah Trimble’s Oct. 14 column titled “Too bold to get into… To the Editor,

I am appalled by Leah Trimble’s Oct. 14 column titled “Too bold to get into the bedroom?”

For Trimble to call open and honest communication between two adults “an egregious failure” undermines the organized effort to reduce sexual assault and rape incidents on college campuses. Trimble advises women not to “just kiss someone for two hours, grope him a few times, agree to go back to his place and then cry to him about your ex-boyfriend.”

Perhaps lack of open communication and honesty causes this letdown. Exactly what kind of confidence is Trimble promoting?

It’s certainly not sexual confidence. Otherwise, Trimble would not have said, “Most guys aren’t desperate enough to get with a girl who’s already been with two other people that night.”

No, we would never want to encourage women to safely, confidently and assertively confront their sexuality if it means appearing to be tarnished in the eyes of the coveted male gaze.

It is precisely the coy ambiguity of “the chase” which Trimble advocates that leads people to falsely assume the extent of their partners’ personal and sexual boundaries.

Tamar Toledano

School of Arts and Sciences