Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!aero-c!nadel
From: fester@cs.washington.edu (Lea Fester)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: sexist space...
Message-ID: <15417@june.cs.washington.edu>
Date: 12 Mar 91 05:19:52 GMT
References: <9103091235.aa25111@orion.oac.uci.edu>
Sender: news@cs.washington.edu
Reply-To: fester@cs.washington.edu (Lea Fester)
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle
Lines: 33
Approved: nadel@aerospace.aero.org
Status: R
Originator: nadel@aerospace.aero.org



In article <9103091235.aa25111@orion.oac.uci.edu> schoi@teri.bio.uci.edu (Sam "Lord Byron" Choi) writes:
>Given the premises:
>
>1) We want children to speak up in class.
>2) Boys willingly speak up in class.
>3) Girls only speak up in class when boys are not present.
>4) Boys do nothing to prevent girls from speaking up in class.
>
>I don't see how else to intepret this situation other than by saying that
>there's something wrong with the way girls behave.  What is bothering

Subtlety is in the eye of the beholder.

Boys CAN prevent girls from speaking up in class.  Leaving aside
Mara's excellent point about negative reinforcement (the "permissible"
ways in which children enforce cultural standards, from whispering
in class to assorted mockery, e.g.,) there is still the issue of
loudmouths.  Since boys are not taught restraint as well as girls,
they can sometimes hog the resources (teacher's attention, class
discussion time, etc.  In the dojo they'll hog the punching bags, grrr.)

If every time the teacher asks something, one of a group of eager bright
young things jumps in to answer, nobody else gets to participate.  Or
if in a college classroom someone spends ten minutes of a discussion 
droning on about something, everyone else's participation is limited.
I leave it as an exercise to the reader to reflect on both their own
previous experience *and* on the question of whether a subgroup
socialized to have to incessantly prove their prowess is more likely
to monopolize various classroom (or other) resources, or not.

Lea F

"Now if you believe in magic                          (Hi chiclet!!!)
Don't be afraid, afraid to use it baby"