On Thu, May 31, 2001 at 07:28:01PM +1000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> David Merrill wrote:
>
>
> >>> The problem with this is that it perpetuates the belief that women
> >>> cannot compete in the field. We need to see women writing and
> >>> producing publicly, not behind pseudonyms.
> >>
> >> I agree... but why is there the pressure which leads women to be
> >> more comfortable using male pseudonyms?
> >
> > It can be a sacrifice to stand for your ideals. Almost nobody has the
> > strength to do it all the time. I try to be understanding when people
> > stay in their comfortable closets, even though I believe the `right'
> > thing to do is to stand for your ideals.
>
> I meant:
>
> Why the hell should women have to 'sacrifice' to publish under our
> own names in the first place? Why should we /have/ to 'stand for our
> ideals'.
Because the world is unfair, and in this particular type of
unfairness, women get the shorter stick. Sucks, but there it is. We
would all like the world to be fair, and lots of us are struggling in
various ways to address the unfairness, but in the meanwhile it is
still a fact of life.
Men also get a shorter stick because of sexism, although so many of
them don't see it. I feel sorry for some straight white protestent
middle-class men (not all, but some). They are missing out on the
vibrant, stimulating, oh-so-interesting community that I inhabit! They
live out entire lives without ever having truly intimate friendships
with other men and/or women. They close themselves off from the great
mass of humanity. (And remember I'm speaking of *some* and not all, or
perhaps even most!)
> What's stopping us? That's what needs to be looked at.
Society is a *system*. Change is slow and painful. Inertia and
ignorance are probably the biggest things `stopping us'.
All of this IMHO, of course. ;-)
> (PS: docbooked the articles. Decided I might as well write the last
> two before I send them in. Have the first (data transmission) mostly
> done, and the second will be quick.)
:-)
--
A modem is a baudy house.
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