Nils Philippsen wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Oct 1999, ae wrote:
>
> > Explaining sexism to a male is really difficult, though gay/bi men will
> > sometimes understand if they are gorgeous.
>
> Objection, Your Honours! Some males grasp sexism and some don't, it's just
> the same as with females (though I think more females than males will
> understand sexism because a female person more likely falls a victim to
> it). Some people might consider your statement a rather sexist one, don't
> you think? Just because a relevant share of males are chauvinist pigs,
> this doesn't mean that this is true for all males.
Agreed. In fact, many men _do_ understand sexism in a way that women do not.
Some guys get to hear their friends talk about that 'great piece of a$$' the
other night, or how some b**ch woman got that promotion over him, 'cuz she was
probably bangin' the boss. Unfortunately, many men listen to this on a
day-to-day basis, and are degraded by the 'guys' if they say something
counteractive to that opinion. Their ability to be 'one of the guys' may be
challenged, and sometimes even their sexual orientation is questioned. All
because they don't agree with the sexist comments being thrown about the room.
Us women are not completely innocent, either. The pendulum has swung the other
way and it's considered 'okay' by many women to put down men. I look at it as I
would the current situation between races in north america. There are 'black'
sitcoms (where the majority if not all the cast are african american) where
white people are made fun of on a regular basis. Very degrading comments, but we
(or at least myself and my other 'white' friends) all laugh at them and it's
considered okay. I'd like to see what a stir a 'white' sitcom where jokes were
made about african americans would cause. I bet it would be the beginning of the
end of the network. So why is it okay for one race to make fun of the other, but
not the other way around? Because the first race was oppressed by the second?
Why is it okay for women to make sexist/derogatory comments about men? Because
we've been oppressed in the past? Somehow that doesn't seem to be a good enough
excuse *shrug*
Anyway, I get kind of tired of hearing how only women get sexist comments. Men
get a lot of it, too, and often they don't get as much support when they try and
stick up for themselves. Perhaps women do see a lot of sexism in the IT
workplace and community, but I think it will change as we become more prominent.
But we have to remember to do it as ourselves - as _women_ - and not try to
pretend we're basically 'male' to fit in. Personally, I see nothing wrong with a
woman having an interest in both computers and, say, beauty products. However,
it saddens me to see a woman hide everything about herself that is 'feminine' in
order to fit in to a male-dominated community, or to feel she has to dislike and
distrust men to make it (this comment is not directed at anyone in particular,
these are just my observations about a few people I've met along the way)
Best regards to everyone :)
Amanda
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
