delaware UNdressed

Dear Readers,

Over the past week, we’ve received an unprecedented amount of feedback from you about Brittany Harmon’s “delaware UNdressed” column. In last week’s column, Harmon wrote about the “crazy” things people in relationships do for their significant other.

In comments on udreview.com and in letters to the editor, many of you have criticized the column. Some of you took offense at generalizations in the column. “The author's archaic, one-sided views have offended and angered many readers,” senior Kris Garrand wrote. Others have questioned whether The Review is the right place for a sex column at all.

We read every comment and letter we receive, and when there is such an outpouring of response about a particular article, we feel that it’s our responsibility to you to respond.

The “delaware UNdressed” column was created in 2006 as part of a redesign of the newspaper. Laura Dlugatch, then a senior at the university and a veteran Review staffer, served as the column’s first author and helped shape its mission. “I didn't plan on it being a sex column,” Dlugatch told The News Journal in November 2006. “I don't even consider it now to be a sex column. It is a sex column, but it also deals with dating and relationships. It's on page 23. ... Let's face it, sex sells.”

At that time, the column was the subject of many letters to the editor and the controversy surrounding it received mentions in The News Journal and Delaware Today magazine. Some of the criticism of the column is similar to that of today, yet the column was popular among students. “We knew going in that reviews would be mixed, and they are,” then-editor in chief Dan Mesure told Delaware Today. “But most kids tell us that Undressed is the first thing they read.”

Since then, the column has always received on-and-off criticism, as would be expected with any column that deals with such a touchy subject as sex. Still, editors throughout the years, ourselves included, have recognized the value of having a sex column in a college newspaper. Let’s face it: sex is a common discussion topic (and experience) for many college students. Not for all college students – that’s an important distinction – but for many. A sex column, if done tastefully and correctly, can be an interesting, educational addition to the paper.

That said, you’ve told us loud and clear that you don’t think Harmon’s column fits that description. We’re willing to admit, with a bit of egg on our faces, that we didn’t anticipate the offense the most recent column would cause some readers or the backlash we would receive. But, we realize now, as does Harmon, that many of you were insulted by generalizations and gender stereotypes in the column. You read Harmon’s list of ways women and men cater to their significant others and thought to yourself that the list doesn’t represent you, even though the column seems to suggest that all women and men fit into those characterizations.

Now, we know that Harmon doesn’t really think that every girl wears 5-inch stilettos to attract men or that every guy pretends to enjoy watching TV with his girlfriend in hopes of receiving sexual favors. We know that Harmon has an uncanny sarcastic wit, and that she often uses over-the-top examples to prove a point. But we should have also known that some people wouldn’t interpret the column that way, or would take offense anyway.

Moving forward, we plan to keep publishing the “delaware UNdressed” column we feel there is a place in a college newspaper for a sex column. We’re also going to continue to have confidence in Brittany Harmon because her humorous, sarcastic style of writing brings an interesting perspective to the subject and because her previous columns prove she is able to use scientific studies and real-life examples to shed light on a topic.

However, we are also going to keep in mind your suggestions and criticisms, and work with Harmon to tweak the direction of the column, with the intent of making it more interesting and enlightening, beginning with this week's “delaware UNdressed,” which takes a more serious look at the responsibilities of being in a relationship. For future weeks, Harmon will get back to citing scientific research to back up her points and start talking to students about her topics again so she can bring in specific examples instead of speaking in general terms. Her columns will continue to be sarcastic and humorous, but, from time to time, she will also delve into some more serious sexual topics that many of you pointed out have been missing from “delaware UNdressed” over the past couple years.

Sometimes newspapers, no matter how good their intentions, need readers to smack them around a little bit every once in a while when they mess up. You certainly did that this week. The “delaware UNdressed” column, even after four years, continues to be a work in process as each year’s author and editors bring a different perspective to it. We’ll keep trying to get it right. And we have no doubt that you’ll keep telling us when we don’t.

Faithfully yours,

Josh Shannon, Editor in Chief

Maddie Thomas, Executive Editor