Re: your last paragraph, I think Eleanor Roosevelt pretty much summed it up: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Women who are willing to shrink away from science just because "girls aren't good at science" or because a few guys get huffy when presented with a female colleague... Well, they can't have wanted it much in the first place, could they?
I'm not sure I agree with that quote (and I'm not sure this is the right context for it either). It's a nice sentiment, but how many people are actually strong enough to not lose self esteem if they're discriminated against, insulted, or not included? Not many, particularly if those sorts of things happen on a regular basis. And even if you don't feel inferior, other people may still think of you that way. Simply thinking highly of yourself is not going to change an unfair situation.
Women who are willing to shrink away from science just because "girls aren't good at science" or because a few guys get huffy when presented with a female colleague... Well, they can't have wanted it much in the first place, could they?They could have. If you're told "girls can't do that" often enough, you can come to believe it, even if you *are* good at it. Some guys get more than huffy...there can be sexual harassment and discrimination that prevents you from succeeding. And like I said, if you're discriminated against regularly, you're going
( ... )
Its a generational thing, someone just yesterday started this whole fight when I said that I lived as both male and female and for the most part there was no sexual discrimination except in only a few select situations. They are still going on about how men have it so much easier, and I can say they don't.
I went to a science/premed/preengineering magnet high school and there were a *ton* of women there. I was always encouraged with the sciences, they just didn't like astronomy. ;)
I have very rarely expirenced first or second hand any sexual discrimination towards women, and I say this as a woman. The little that I have seen has been people older than my generation a good ten years.
However, I still see sexism and sexual discrimation nearly every day by people my age. Men are victims so often, and it's so socially unacceptable to say it. I get accused of anti-feminism - right before I get the speech about how feminism isn't about just women but rather "equality of the sexes". *rolls eyes*
But I get told my experience doesn't matter because I am ftm and thus never was a woman in the first place. Go figure. Means nothing that I lived as a woman for most of my life. I really notice the difference though.
I think that's part of it, yeah, although not necessarily all of it. Although we didn't discuss it much, I think class also might play a role in the presence or lack of discrimination. You had the privilege of going to a science magnet school, and I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family have had opportunities to do what I was interested in. Students who grew up in inner cities or in poorer families may not necessarily have had the opportunities to do what they wanted to do, unlike us.
Comments 11
Women who are willing to shrink away from science just because "girls aren't good at science" or because a few guys get huffy when presented with a female colleague... Well, they can't have wanted it much in the first place, could they?
Reply
Women who are willing to shrink away from science just because "girls aren't good at science" or because a few guys get huffy when presented with a female colleague... Well, they can't have wanted it much in the first place, could they?They could have. If you're told "girls can't do that" often enough, you can come to believe it, even if you *are* good at it. Some guys get more than huffy...there can be sexual harassment and discrimination that prevents you from succeeding. And like I said, if you're discriminated against regularly, you're going ( ... )
Reply
I went to a science/premed/preengineering magnet high school and there were a *ton* of women there. I was always encouraged with the sciences, they just didn't like astronomy. ;)
Reply
However, I still see sexism and sexual discrimation nearly every day by people my age. Men are victims so often, and it's so socially unacceptable to say it. I get accused of anti-feminism - right before I get the speech about how feminism isn't about just women but rather "equality of the sexes". *rolls eyes*
Reply
But I get told my experience doesn't matter because I am ftm and thus never was a woman in the first place. Go figure. Means nothing that I lived as a woman for most of my life. I really notice the difference though.
Since you are a member of the question club (I checked your journal posting access before looking for the entry for you) you might be interested in this question : http://community.livejournal.com/thequestionclub/41625864.html
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment