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From: watson@spock.UUCP (Steve Watson)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Feminism's ill effects on men?
Summary: Ontario College of Art: Men need not apply.
Keywords: oppression reverse_discrimination
Message-ID: <4955@watson>
Date: 19 Oct 90 12:55:44 GMT
References: <11109001:30:33RA04@lehigh.bitnet> <1990Oct18.154041.6433@ora.com>
Sender: nadel@aerospace.aero.org
Reply-To: uunet!mitel!watson!watson@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Steve Watson)
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.
Lines: 35
Approved: nadel@aerospace.aero.org
Status: R


I've been skimming this thread and have belatedly remembered the following:

Last year the Ontario College of Art instituted a policy according to which
teaching vacancies will only be available to WOMEN.  This will continue
until the faculty is 50% women.  At current turnover rates, this should
take 10 or 20 years.  (I may have some details wrong, corrections welcome)

Now, I am in NO WAY a male chauvinist, sexist, misogynist or whatever.
My views are in agreement with many of the definitions of feminism posted
recently.  According to some people, I am a feminist.  I don't even object to
the principle of 'affirmative action'.  However, I find this extreme form
reverse discrimination to be more than I can quite swallow.  It constitutes
a clear case of oppression of men by (an aberration of?) feminism.
If you are a young male art teacher in Ontario, you are automatically
disqualified from competing for a job at the province's most prestigious
art school (I believe most of us would accept denial of employment for which
one is otherwise qualified as constituting 'oppression'?).

Some would say that past injustices need to be rectified.  I agree. But you
cannot correct an old evil simply by committing a new one in the opposite
direction.  And yes, we probably need women art teachers to give a female
perspective on art (I don't think it's healthy that there are so many female
nudes painted/sculpted by men, but relatively few examples of other
artist/subject gender combinations.  It suggests a skewed viewpoint)
But the men who are locked out at OCA are NOT, in general, the ones who
created the situation: it is not fair to them.  

Now before I get flamed, two disclaimers:
1) I'm NOT an art teacher, I'm a EE who admits to knowing diddly-squat about
art.  So this in no way threatens me personally.
2) I'm not saying all feminists, or feminism-in-general are doing this: I
take it as an example of feminism gone crazy.

-- 
====================== disclaimer ===============================
"Blame me, not the Company I keep..." - Steve Watson
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