I was struck by two thoughts most strongly and multiple others
- the first thought was that how the gender bias is intertwined in a
multitude of activities and identities derived from those activities.
For example, it is not enough that women should refuse to participate in
beauty contests. The male participation supports particular arrays of
male identity of priviledge which the men may well be loath to give up.
And, it is usually very difficult for people of power to give up their
languid positions on the divans of priviledge, especially within the
seductive aurora of kowtowing fans and pyramids and Sphynxes. So that
the clearing the air of sexist behaviors towards women is going to gained
through change both of men as well as women.
The second thought brought me here to the xmca list. When issues
of sexism are raised, as they have most recently by Mary Bryson,
Katherine Goff and yourself, after a few days the issue of affirmative
action is raised along with complaints that white men are suddenly
victims of discrimination, because no one wants to hire them since
minorities are the _preferred_ candidates.
In particular, white men are quite on the whole unwilling to
accept that, since there will always be limited access to various
positions of varying degrees of power, and that if minorities and women
are to be accorded equal access to those positions, that men must begin
to look for positions of lesser power _if_ they truly do believe that
minorities and women should be found equally in all positions within our
society.
For centuries, women and other minorities have been
systematically shut out of most positions of power, with rare
exceptions. If we actually do believe that this is to be reversed, then
of course, white men are going to have to actually give way. We live in
a world of limited resources. And, white men _don't_ want to give way.
Finally, in response to your rough draft's final question - what
is a person of middle class priviledge to do. I suggest that those of us
who have the insights and observations continue to speak out and write
out, and that those of us who are white males who are willing to move
into positions of less power and prestige - elementary school's a great
place to teach and highly demanding intellectually, for example - do so.
Change happens in individual choices.
Thank you, Angel, for an enjoyable read. For me it was a pleasure.
Phillip White
Cotton Creek Elementary
pwhite who-is-at carbon.cudenver.edu