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From: beth@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (beth d. christy)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Re: sexist language/bad attitudes
Message-ID: <499@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-May-85 11:10:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: sphinx.499
Posted: Wed May 15 11:10:06 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 17-May-85 04:03:41 EDT
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From: nap@druxo.UUCP (ParsonsNA), Message-ID: <857@druxo.UUCP>:
>> the default gender is assumed to male unless the expected gender for
>> the description is female.  This must make it pretty hard for male nurses
>> and scretaries.  Almost as hard, in fact, as it probably is for female
>> truck drivers, fire fighters, police officers, ...
>
>Not quite...men have greater "permission" from society to do what pleases
>them, even when it goes against societal norms.
>
>Nancy Parsons

I'm not sure I agree with Nancy here.  I think there are *tremendous*
pressures against males doing pretty much anything that's "typically
female".  Women are free to wear clothes designed for men as well as
those designed for women.  Men, on the other hand, simply cannot wear
a skirt and sandals to the office on a hot summer day.  And I imagine
there are really serious pressures on male nurses and secretaries.
I'm trying to imagine what a male secretary would put up with when
some fellow asks him what he does over a beer in a bar.  Pretty grim,
I bet.  And I'd imagine a male nurse would have a rough time dealing
not only with doctors and patients, but even with other nurses.  And
look at the "Kelly Girl"-type organizations.  (Note both the exclu-
sion of men and the degradation of women in the title - charming,
eh?)  They're putting EEO in their ads, but I doubt men are accepted
by clients as readily as women are.

I think some of this is related to what was mentioned in an earlier
posting, i.e., that it's healthy for men to want to be men and it's
healthy for women to want to be men too.  People can understand why a
woman would want to adopt typically male roles, but it's hard to
imagine why a man would want to be adopt typically female roles.
There's also a practical issue here.  (Stereo)Typically female jobs
pay a helluva lot less than (stereo)typically male jobs.  It *is*
kind of hard to understand why men would prefer them (with the poss-
ible exception of homemaker - that one is at least quite rewarding).

Anyway, I think there's a *very* pervasive pressure against men
"relinquishing their masculinity", and, stronger sex tho they may be
(:-), I doubt many could withstand it.

-- 

--JB                                             "The giant is awake."

Disclaimer?  Who wud claim dis?