As women, we want to be taken seriously and respected by both men and other women.

There are many issues facing women today that need to be acknowledged, and many problems (such as rape and sexual assault) that must be solved.

I believe that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about the process of having our concerns heard and our needs met. At the heart of solving these problems is the simple task of developing basic respect for all human beings, women and men alike.

Upon reading about the recent activities in Pollock Commons regarding the Sex Faire, I was extremely discouraged. How can we, as women, ask other people to respect both our persons and our sexuality if we objectify ourselves by encouraging pornography and other sexually explicit materials?

Where is the logic in attempting to foster greater concern for women by creating revolting games with representations of our anatomy? I find this disturbing. I find it even more disturbing that the people promoting this event think that they are representing women in some way.

They've set us back about a few thousand years and reduced the female form to so much less than it is.

True "liberation" comes from self-respect. We, as women, need to care about ourselves and never allow men — or in this case other women — to use words or images that degrade our bodies and our spirits.

Sexuality is a gift that each and every person has to give. Some people choose to wrap it up and save it for someone whom they love and trust. Others choose to splash it across posters and unleash it in "tents." To each his or her own, I only ask that this latter group not publicize their offensive actions in the name of "women's concerns."