Two weeks ago, during a recreational evening, a lady friend noticed a lump in my testicles and brought it to my attention.

Would the Maine Sunday Telegram publish that sentence? If not, the editors of the publication demonstrate a double standard regarding the writing of men and women. If so, I would say the editors of the pre-eminent Sunday paper for the state of Maine have no understanding of impropriety.

I point to the opening sentence of Victoria Hugo-Vidal’s column of March 14. While there may be a time and place for this type of writing, it is not appropriate to discuss personal sexual romps in the forum of “The Sunday Paper.”

Not only was that sentence inappropriate to the forum, it was not even germane to the story. The same points could have been made had the editor used his or her skills to shorten the sentence to: “Two weeks ago I noticed a lump in my breast.”

These kinds of changes are why all good writers have editors, and why the Maine Sunday Telegram hires editors to read drafts prior to publication.

Although I am not personally offended by the sentence, I’m sure there are others who are. There was no reason to include it in the column. It added nothing!

I am not sure if this letter will be published by the Maine Sunday Telegram. If it is not, at the very least, it should be forwarded to the newspaper editorial board responsible for weekly columns.

Micah Engber
South Portland