Mr. Handley,
Periodically, someone points out one of my shortcomings and I am shocked I
could have been so blind as to my faults.  Thank you for doing such
yesterday.  After some very serious discussions over the past week, several
of my fellow Listers blew off a little steam and joked about the job opening
posted for the Museum of Sex.  I laughed hysterically for sometime.  I
needed a good laugh after a week of continuous employment disappointments
and a sick child.

While, I never meant any disrespect, your comments pointed out something
which I had never thought of in regards to sex.  I refuse to laugh when
others make sexist and / or racist jokes because I feel it concedes
acceptance of the underlying prejudice.  I understand that to laugh at the
jokes is to tolerate the unfair practices aimed at women, minorities,
gays/lesbians, and Jews, to name a few.  However, when laughing at the jokes
about the Museum of Sex, it did not occur to me that I was condoning the
ignorant, puritanical views I so despise about my home country (and others).


For years, I have loathed the attempts by a (seemingly majority) segment of
our population to limit birth control options to young /low income to
people, a woman's right to choose, sex education in schools, and to censor
art, books and media because of "sexual" content.  The beliefs that all sex
is dirty, that nudity is profane, and, by extension,  that  our bodies are
dirty (especially women's) and should be hidden, are major underlying
reasons as to why we have unwanted pregnancies, unwanted children, babies in
dumpsters, women and girls with low self-esteem (which contributes to the
afore-mentioned problems) and too many other societal ills to name here.

When society realizes that sex is normal, natural, and healthy and that
education, rather than limits to choice and information, is the solution to
the problem,  many of the situations so highly despised by the "religious
right" will disappear.  I once read where a statement that went something
like this: "100% of women who prevent pregnancy don't get abortions".
Funny, but sad that something so obvious must be pointed out.

So now I will no longer laugh at jokes such as those yesterday.  I apologize
for my ignorance and to anyone who was offended.  I have long saluted the
attitudes held by the Scandinavian countries and there openness towards
human sexuality which seem to result in low abortion rates, low unwanted
pregnancy rates and general acceptance of the human body in its many shapes
and forms.  Such issues and attitudes have become even more important to me
since the birth of my daughter, so thank you again for making me realize my
shortcomings.

Sincerely,
Lori Allen,
Graduate Student, UMSL

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