Earlier this month, nearly every cable news show discussed the controversial remarks made by radio host Don Imus. On April 4^th, Imus referred to the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” while discussing the previous night’s championship game. The comment arose after Imus’ producer Bernard McGuirk compared the players from the Rutgers and the Tennessee teams and implied that the Tennessee girls appeared more feminine because the Rutgers’ teammates had tattoos and were therefore, as he put it, “hard-core hos.” Amid protests led by the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Imus was fired. However, McGuirk was not fired for another week. The laggardly firing of McGuirk only substantiates the belief that Imus’ remark was more racially insensitive than sexist—but is that the case?

Maybe if more prominent women had come to the forefront of the fight to have Don Imus fired, his remarks would have been considered as sexist as they were racist. However, the main champions for the cause were two black men. In fact, very few women, particularly white women, expressed their outrage over the Don Imus remark publicly. Many historians and civil rights leaders were on television discussing how the “nappy-headed ho” comment opened up many doors of racism that were once thought to be closed. In fact, many people outside of the African-American race were unfamiliar with the term “nappy-headed.” This unawareness was discussed openly on The View, and in a recent edition of the Philadelphia Daily News, a byline appeared saying that “nappy” is a word that is still hurtful and offensive to African-Americans.

However, the media has largely neglected discussing how the term “ho” is still hurtful and offensive to all women in general. There is obviously reason to believe that sexism still exists in American society, but people are not supporting the cause to fight against it if you allow terms such as ‘bitch’, ‘slut’, and ‘ho’ to be used in everyday vernacular by prominent members of society.

This is not to say that the term ‘ho’ was not discussed frequently throughout this debate, but because many of the entertainers who frequently use these terms to objectify women are African-American themselves, this gender equality issue was considered less important than the race issue. Humorously, on CNN.com, rapper Snoop Dogg tried to justify his use of the term ‘ho’ in his music, as opposed to Imus’ comment: “(Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports," he told MTV.com. "We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing ---- that's trying to get a n---- for his money."

The women of the Rutgers basketball team certainly did not deserve to be called “nappy-headed hos” or even “hard core hos.” But certainly neither slur is ever acceptable for media use. It is pretty evident that if only the “hard-core ho” term was used on Don Imus’ broadcast the morning of April 4^th, Imus might still be on the radio today. After all, he has certainly made sexist remarks in the past and been allowed to continue broadcasting. And there are some people who do not feel that Imus said anything wrong at all, citing the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. But a CBS News once made a crucial distinction between “free speech and responsible speech,” and it is times like these when we have to remember the difference between the two. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was also right to recommend that the terms ‘bitch’, ‘ho’. and ‘nigger’ be removed from the recording industry. It may not change the mindsets of many ignorant people, but it will lead the crusade towards more intellectual and less offensive dialogue within today’s media.