March 7, 2008

Harvard Gym Spin

It is curious how Christianity is so ridiculed by our society for its prudish and oppressive beliefs regarding sexuality and gender roles - an assessment I wholeheartedly disagree with, by the way. So it amazes me that Harvard would choose to accomodate the request to ban men from a workout area to accomodate the modesty of Muslim women. I'm really not bothered by the request for an environment that supports their need for privacy, it would be nice if Christian women were as concerned about modesty. What is most shocking about this story is Harvard's ease in embracing a worldview that is truly oppressive of women, one that treats them as property and denies their human dignity. Islam is apparently in vogue, the fashion statement of the elite.
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1 comment:

Tim Murray said...

Enlightened Westerners properly decry the widespread mistreatment of women in the Islamic world. It is, therefore, especially disappointing that an institution such as Harvard is asking its student population to be respectful of Islamic women’s, frankly, medieval notions about men, especially when such notions deprive students of access to a University resource based solely on their gender.

Would a fair-minded person sense a double standard here? The question scarcely survives its statement.

Denying individuals equal access to a University resource based solely on the gender or race into which they were born cannot be justified by invoking terms such as “balancing interests” or de minimis harm. Harvard is heading down a slippery slope when it seeks to validate ANY gender discrimination under the guise of accommodation of one cultural interest or another.