MTV: The Fallout

MTV’s creative director, Judy McGrath, perfectly demonstrates corporate doublespeak when she declares that the network doesn’t want to be a censor. (“We’re like an art gallery,” she says. “If somebody sends you a painting, you can’t just say, ‘If you’d repaint it, I’d be glad to hang it.’ ”)

The hypocrisy lies in the fact that MTV banned Madonna’s “Justify My Love” because of sexual content, but videos that include the subjugation and abuse of women are still aired.

As a teacher, I support Prof. Sut Jhally’s work at the University of Massachusetts, in which he uses MTV footage without the music to educate his classes about misogyny in the media. MTV can show us it’s really on the cutting edge by broadcasting discussions on the effect of misogynistic images to help viewers become critical thinkers.

Then, it is hoped, those irresponsible musicians who rely on images of victimized women to sell their music will begin to censor themselves.

RONETTE YOUMANS

Los Angeles