Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!aero-c!nadel
From: dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us (Doug Philips)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: sexism (against women)
Message-ID: <9104091215.0.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Date: 9 Apr 91 22:06:03 GMT
Sender: news@aero.org
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA
Lines: 36
Approved: nadel@aerospace.aero.org
Status: R
Originator: nadel@aerospace.aero.org



In article <1991Mar13.192417.5176@watcgl.waterloo.edu>,
	hrdoucet@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Heloise Doucet) writes:
+                 I would have had to REALLY love chess to keep at it.
+Boys would only play with me if they could beat me.  Their attitude
+was "Ha Ha, I won, I'm better than you are".  It is no fun playing
+with people like that.  Therefore I don't play chess anymore.  I
+didn't love it that much.

There was a program on Nova recently about "The Computer vs. The
Human at chess" (sorry I can't recall the name).  The current human
champion (a Russian whose name I don't remember) talked about the
psychological aspects of the game as being as important as the
tactical and strategic ones.  He spoke of destroying the opponent's
ego.  He also commented on how the game with the computer was
different because there was no psychological confict (well, perhaps
with himself, but certainly not against the machine).

+If the situation was reversed and the sport was generally a woman's
+and I was a man I doubt the man would continue in it either.  I have
+seen this happen with boys trying to join our ballet classes.  They
+didn't stay very long.  Also, friends of mine that went into nursing
+say that the men in their class didn't stay very long either.

And when they do it is the men that get most of the recognition.  How
many female ballet stars are as well known as Baryshnakov (sp?)

+Men, try to start something that mostly women do.  See how hard it is.
+That is how women feel when trying to get ahead in a "man's" activity.

In my personal experience I find that there is still a legitimizing
aspect to being male, so that I suspect that however hard it is, it
isn't as hard as what women have to put up with.

-Doug