Is Fawcett a Victim of Our Culture?

To those who wrote to disparage Farrah Fawcett (Letters, July 11): To blame her for succumbing to the media and cultural messages of our time is to do her a disservice. We live in a culture of lookism and exploitation of females. Fawcett’s path to fame involved cashing in on her beauty and largely ignoring her talents as an actress. As she grows older, is it any surprise that these forces are still at play? Whether we “approve” of Fawcett’s taste in videos is irrelevant.

Those pious individuals who wrote so harshly should take a moment to think about society’s messages to women: You should never grow old, never be a mother who expresses sensuality. And if your insecurities and need to earn a living ever force you to fall for the lies of the media, expect to be scorned. Top all that with the message to not complain publicly about the man who beat you (I don’t care how angry he was) and you’ve got the essence of what it often means to be a woman in America--troubled.

Perhaps we should blame someone other than the victim for a change.

Deborah Montana

Riverside