Daniel Zamzow’s ad hominem argument, in his Dec. 9 letter, “Self worth is within, not found in others,” is one based on close-mindedness and ignorance.

He asks, “Where is the cry of outrage for the average man who can never live up to these exaggerated standards?” Perhaps if he could step outside his bubble, he would see feminism is also challenging these damaging media images of men.

In the past few years, especially, the media has turned from the majority of its focus on women’s “imperfections” to now drawing men into a web of insecurity and appearance-derived self worth, as well. The media tells men they can achieve better sexual performance with pills and tells them they need to have a total body fat of 6 to 8 percent or they are monstrosities. This is exactly what they’ve been doing to women, except “masculinized.”

Zamzow says his daughters will learn their self-worth comes from inside. While I hope that to be the true, the statistics of teenage girls suffering from eating disorders, depression, self-mutilation and low self-esteem show a dismal picture. While these miserable statistics cannot be blamed solely on the media, Alicia Ebaugh made a solid point that the media contributes to low self-image, and it needs to change.

Blair Polhamus

Sophomore

Women’s Studies