Students respond positively to Wolf's speech, message

The issues of sexual assault and eating disorders provoke intense and personal debates. Wednesday night, Naomi Wolf sparked the emotions and memories of many women. Many who heard her speak said her words armed them against the pressure to be perfect.

Wolf, who has long, dark hair and prominent cheekbones, has been accused of being too beautiful to crusade against social concepts of beauty. In her book, Wolf writes that she doesn't reject ideas of attractiveness, but rather the means by which these ideas are propagated.

Trinity sophomore Susan Lee said she felt empowered by Wolf's message. "She makes everyone feel beautiful," Lee said. "I want to go out and do something outrageous."

Trinity sophomore Catherine Baker, chair of the Educational Support to Eliminate Eating Misconceptions (ESTEEM), introduced Wolf to the audience.

"I, like many of us, know all too well the disappointment of feeling physically inadequate in the shadow of flawless media images," Baker said.

Wolf's appearance precedes eating disorder week, April 5-9, which was postponed from February to accommodate the speech.

Although her audience was predominately female, Wolf did not ignore the men in the audience. "If any of you men are feeling invisible, I beg you to take note," Wolf said. "This is my consciousness-raising gift to you."

Chris Drubs, a University of North Carolina alumnus, said he was not surprised by her speech because he dates a staunch feminist. "If everyone there took what she said to heart, there was a lot of power there," he said.