To the Editor:
I am writing in response to M. Penn Dodson's letter "Dartmouth Women: Act More Like Men?" [Feb. 14, 1997, The Dartmouth] I feel her letter was very well thought-out and intelligently written. However, while her argument is quite valid, it does not address the question about which Amanda de la Rosa ["Dartmouth Women: Say it Like You Mean it!" Feb. 12, 1997, The Dartmouth] was writing. I believe Dodson may have misread de la Rosa's point.
When she wrote, "stop asking questions when you talk," I don't believe de la Rosa meant it quite as literally as Dodson seemed to have interpreted it.
I believe de la Rosa was writing about women making a statement (i.e. a sentence that ends with a period, such as a stated opinion). Instead of making the sentence sound like a statement, the woman (whether consciously or not) raises the pitch of her voice at the end, making what she said sound indecisive and indefinite -- more like a question than the statement that it was intended to be. Doing this could possibly make it sound to others as if she is unsure of whether it is okay to clearly say her opinion. (Where, in most cases, it is perfectly okay to do so.) This is the so-called "submissiveness" and "fear of being too assertive" of which de la Rosa was writing.
de la Rosa wasn't condemning the asking of questions -- that is an entirely different issue. In fact, I would venture to say that de la Rosa, judging by the opinion she expressed in her letter, would tend to encourage women to ask as many questions as they might have (such as in a classroom situation) and not be afraid to speak up. I think de la Rosa's main point is that women shouldn't voice their statements as if they were questions.
Dodson wrote, "her [de la Rosa's] charge ... is that women's questions constitute 'wishy-washy submissive nonsense.'" I believe Dodson misinterpreted de la Rosa's words, and hope I have been of some help in clarifying the situation.
