The Fights of Women

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I wish to respond to a recent article in the Crimson (April 16, 1981) which reported that members of the Radcliffe Union of Students were unhappy with Biology Department "attitudes" and were drafting a letter to the Department to that effect.

I have spent three years as a teaching fellow in Biology 7b, and have worked over that period of time with Professor Liem. I am not going to defend him; he has done or said nothing which I think is necessary to defend. Professor Liem is extremely interested in providing undergraduates at Harvard with an outstanding introductory biology course as well as advanced courses. He is an energetic lecturer and, in my opinion, does an excellent job of making biology interesting. This past fall was the first time any complaints were vigorously made about any of the lecture material, most of which was presented similarly in past years. This response puzzled Professor Liem, and we discussed it at some length.

I consider myself an ardent teminist, and at no time this past fall was I appalled or embarassed by the material in Biology 7b. I sometimes think that women who consider themselves activist feminists feel it a solemn duty to eradicate from their surroundings all things which they view as sexist. Jokes about sex are forbidden, especially in lecture, and even straight physiological information about the functioning of sexual organs is subject to criticism. It was very clear that some of the negative comments made about lecturers in Biology 7b were motivated out of prudery, under the guise of feminism.

Let's face it: Sex is one of the fundamental phenomena in biology and no introductory course is going to eliminate reference to it. Perhaps professors should be more careful in what they say, but students should not lose their sense of humor. If references to erections or vaginal mucosal membranes bother you, maybe you ought to consider a different course of study.

I see the goal of feminism as the encouragement of the discovery and pursuit of the enormous opportunities for employment and lifestyle for women and men. Our time can be better spent in other pursuits than these criticisms of truly inoffensive situations. We women students must stop hiding our insecurities about our minds and bodies and develop our unlimited capacities to learn and to work and to enjoy our Lives. Ann Bublitx