We know the Amusement Editor Anna Turner's "Sidewalk etiquette 101" article in the Sept. 21 edition of The Miami Student is meant to be funny. Some humor offends, but it is not necessarily the case that all humor that offends is automatically unethical. Satire, for example, often pokes fun at the foibles and hypocrisies of those in power, as is the case with the canonical example of satire, Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, which in a tongue-in-cheek manner suggested the British Empire solve the problem of poverty in Ireland (then under British colonial rule) by selling and eating Irish babies. Certainly this humor offended many English people, but the offense was made deliberately for an important ethical and political point about the British apathy and complacency about the poverty caused by British colonial policy.
We mention this because when The Miami Student prints something blatantly offensive and receives criticism, "It was just satire" is often proffered as a response (and, we think, excuse) for whatever ill-conceived joke directed at racial minorities, gay people, women, and — in the latest instance — pregnant women, the paper happens to print that week. Enough is enough. Surely you are all clever enough to come up with satirical prose that doesn't resort to the tired old formulas of racism, sexism or homophobia in order to fill column inches. Yes, we do appreciate the first amendment, and you have the right to a free press. You could print potty humor of the second-grader variety, or knock-knock jokes that are the favorites of toddlers, but presumable you choose not to print them because they are not appropriate for your audience. That is, you do already exercise some judgment about the material you print. This begs the question … what possible reason could you have to print such derogatory comments about pregnant women in your latest issue? The "satire" excuse doesn't cut it, because the presence of pregnant women on campus is hardly hegemonic. What political or ethical message are you truing to further with your critique? To refer to pregnant women as "bloated sex maniacs" is simply in bad taste. All of us are here on this earth because someone was pregnant with us at some time. Keeping that in mind, it behooves us all to make space for those who are bearing he next generation. If you are incapable of offering pregnant women respect, at least refrain from going out of your way — as Anna Turner did — to disrespect them for no conceivable purpose. Such poor taste reflects badly on The Miami Student in particular, and on the campus in general. Surely we can do better than that at Miami University.
Madelyn Detloff, Director, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
detlofmm@muohio.edu
Rene McKinstry
mckinsdr@muohio.edu
Cathie F. Isaacs
shermacf@muohio.edu
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