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From: etbe_cif@uhura.cc.rochester.EDU (elisa)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Sexist Space
Message-ID: <12775@ur-cc.UUCP>
Date: 15 Mar 91 21:51:55 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester NY
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	I haven't read the entire thread, so I may
be a little off base with my commments, however
from what I have read so far they seem to apply.

	I am a little puzzled as to what the
women only class as supposed to prove.  If it
were a college class, then male/female behavior
patterns had already been ground into everyone
in the class.  And just becase it was a quiet
class doesn't really say anything either. I have
been in several "normal" (in this case normal
means that there are more males then females) college
classes that were quiet and unresponsive.  There
could been several reasons for the class to be
"quiet."  The first one that comes to mind is
that the person teaching the class doesn't
"inspire" the class.  Some people, no matter
how good their intentions, are lousy teachers.

	There seems to be a misconception
associating quiet with female.  In the studies
that I have read, it isn't -the males- in the
class who are the most active.  -A small group-
of males (meaning between two and four) are in
control of the class participation. The rest of
the males in the class are just as quiet as "the
females."  It seems to be a well established
pattern.

	Also from the reports that I have read,
or helped gather data in,  there is a difference
in the amount of time the teachers spend with
males and with female, but a much more
interesting fact is that teachers spend more
time -looking- at the males in the class. It
seems that the idea males are more active classroom
participants then females has become so ingrained
in our society that teachers don't expect the
females to participate, and don't notice when
they try to.  A female who raises her hand to answer
a question is much less likely to be noticed and called
on.  After a while, the females stop trying to participate
because they are often ignored.

	And just because the males in the class
are not threatening to beat up all the females
if they say anything, doesn't mean that they don't
exert any influence.  What can happen in discussions
is this... A group discussion is going on, a person
(doesn't actually have to be female) contributes an
idea, the group pauses for a moment, and then goes
back to the discussion as if the person hadn't spoken,
the idea was ignored.

	Another important in-class factor is
social life out of class, which exerts a great
pressure on public, in-class behavior.  Anything
you say in class can be held against you after
class.

elisa bergslien
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