I'm really amused (and pleased!) at how reliably Mara and Maman comment on any entry that has anything vaguely to do with Feminism. Hayley, too, now that I think about it... Hm... : )
So, I was sitting in my Psychology of Stigma and Victimization class, listening to a discussion about the portrayal of characteristics as masculine and feminine. No one is talking about how they're only stereotyped into those genders, largely, it seems, everyone agrees that typically masculine and feminine traits are biological. That is concern #1. Concern #2 is the repeated affirmation that traditionally masculine characteristics are truly better than those that are traditionally feminine. Namely, that aggression is the best of the best. It in the past went out and got food for the tribe/family- it kept us alive- and now it is the characteristic that makes men sucessful in the working world. That's why they're able to just go out and get jobs - they've enough aggression to go after them (not assertiveness and not the inherent sexism that prevents women from competing?).
After about three comments of this, I'm about to explode with the comment: And will someone PLEASE tell me when being a good listener ever caused anyone to beat their wife?! ACK! ack! ack!
Hey! Let's hear it for feminine traits! I have heard it positted that the reason women are finally rising in the ranks is that we are good at multi-tasking! Yes, let's hear it for balancing a baby on one hip, stirring dinner, talking on the phone at the same time as wiping the nose of the toodler. Important life skills.
I saw a headline in USA Today (I read the article, sigh, but I was looking for bad stats so that I could do an assignment with it). However, the article pointed out that 57% of college students are now women. Then they started saying things like, "should we be taking affirmative action to keep the numbers equal?". But, I couldn't help thinking of a correlating The Onion article (that has yet to be written) that is titled,
57% college students now women: College men across the nation celebrate
In a recent study, college men don't seem to mind that they're outnumbered in their classes 2 to 1 by female students. "We're [men] the hottest comodoties on a college campus now, after makeup and accessories, I'm certainly not about to start complaining," sophomore Mark Dunlap said after he left his 46 women to 4 men CS class. Another male student is quoted as saying, "Let all of the bright guys go to MIT, it just means that the numbers are stacked more in my favor here at my little liberal arts college."
Another article for The Onion that I thought of was something like, "Conservatives pissed off that Rosa Parks didn't conveniently die in February!"
Somebody outside a dorm is reported as quoting Trent Lott saying, "Damn it, we just don't have any room left in the remaining eleven months for any historically significant minorities! We need those days to be celebrating Columbus and Thomas Jefferson!"
I decided to put this into a different post.
On another note, the vast overhwelming majority of students that are declared psychology majors at Miami University are women (about 80%). It seems likely that the next generation of theorists and text book writers will be predominantly white middle class women. Way to go on overcoming the gender gap! Way to not overcome race and class barriers.
What I learned in anthropology class:
In hunting/gathering societies, it is the gathered fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts--generally gathered by women--that makes up the large majority of the diet. In a society we looked at (the Dobe Ju/hoansi of southern Africa) that was recently entirely hunter/gatherers, the men were more likely to have a longer "work week" than women, although women brought in much more of the food. Meat that men hunted only served to supplement the diet. So although it was men that "brought home the bacon," in no way were their contributions superior to that of the women's.
Interesting sidenote: the time that the Dobe Ju spent "working" in a typical week was much, much lower than the 40-hour American work week. And that includes the equivalent to housework!
I feel we need a couple of centuries of true equality to have enough documented references to be able to quote anyone with experience and wisdom on issues of gender 'shoulds' and shouldn'ts'. I for one am simply hoping to treat and be treated as more than equals. Perhaps as special in lots of ways rather than in a male-female roles.Is there more or less order in the world because we have defined and fixed rules? Is there chaos in who does the laundry, or who does the shopping? Or is there simply agreement in each relationship to complement one another?
Hmm, Mensch, actually, college guys may like to have more women around in theory but then, why aren't they studying gender studies?
Also, 80% of psych undergrads being women is pretty normal. What you should check is how many of those women go on for advanced degrees. I know that 10 years ago, 85% of sociology undergrads were women, and 85% of soc. grad students were men. Wow - striking imbalance!
This also reminds me of the compilation that I sent out to some of you folks awhile back that one of my friends made on all the quotes about what is feminine in the Baha'i Faith (in her attempt to figure it what was feminine for herself). There's some great stuff in there that we can use as guidelines to the future! (for one, this is the era when feminine traits will rule [eventually]) Tell the students in your class praising aggression that they are "so yesterday"! :-)