Theos-Talk Archives (October 1996 Message tl00366)

Ann E. Bermingham writes:
>> Gotta throw the other sex in ...let's keep the girls happy.  But
>> isn't this sexism thing getting a little out of hand?

The "girls" term was used purposely, but not to refer to all women.  Rather,
to women who constantly bring up serious issues and distort them to childish
ends ...I'll explain this through this post.

>But isn't that the point?  The "girls" aren't happy.

That is because they are too worried about their sex, rather than their atman,
which I feel is most important.

>I'll applaud that, but there's a whole bunch of people (notice, I did not
>say "guys") out there who don't, for different reasons.  No one likes to
>feel like a second-class person simply because of their sex, race, color,
>religion or you-name-it.
>
>How would you like to be pawed and felt up by your male clergy and
>co-workers?  Then be afraid to be say anything about it because your were
>only one of the "girls" and lower in rank to the pawee?  I didn't read this
>in the newspaper - I've lived it for thirty years.

You bring up an issue that can, however minutely, be related to these posts.
I agree that there are some very sick men out there who feel that women are so
much lower than them that they can "do with them as they please".  There is a
problem with how you may be defining sexual discrimination.  The above is
called sexual harrassment.  I have yet to see anyone on this mailing list say
, "Hey Ann, how about you and me jump in bed"?  THAT is very different from
writing "he" rather than "a person" or even "he/she".

>Some of us "girls" have decided that we don't speak up for ourselves and
>consider ourselves equals and demand that attitude of others, then we will
>never be treated with respect.  If we sound a little shrill, it's because
>we're tired of being some guy's cheap thrill.

When I write "he" I am not looking down on women.  And I surely don't look
through them as, I know, many men do.  But this bantering about a word which,
when written, normally means "all people", is very childish indeed.  If men
were complaining about it similarly, I would call them boys.  I've written why
it was childish in a previous post.  If you missed it, I would be happy to
write it again.

With love,
---
The Triaist