What Women Really Want

So far, we’ve heard from 750 readers about our special issue on women [Fall 1990]. Some of the people who liked it weren’t pleased with the idea of its having only a single advertiser. Christine Kelly Glavin of Claymont, Del., asked, “In an issue that applauded choice, how is it that there was only one advertiser, Sears?” Protests from 112 readers cited the article titled “Life Behind the Veil,” which described conditions in Islamic countries where legal rights for women are being whittled away. It showed a lack of “consideration for the feelings and sentiments of millions of Muslims,” wrote members of the Miami Valley Islamic Association in Springfield, Ohio. But all in all, response was overwhelmingly positive, as exemplified by the comment from Deborah Nailos of Hamburg, N.Y.: “My understanding of the problems that face women throughout the world was increased with every turn of the page.” That’s exactly what we wanted.