From: rlt@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (r l taylor)
Subject: Re: Sexist Statement
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 14:04:25 GMT

I re-arranged the paragraphs of Patty's posting slightly, in an attempt to
express my comments somewhat coherently.  I hope it worked. :-)

In article <72036@apple.Apple.COM> winter@Apple.COM (Patty Winter) writes:

>Attitudes like this aren't preventing women from participating in amateur
>radio. (Although there may be more egregious examples I don't know about 
>that are.) But they sure wear one down. 

Only if we let them.  I admit, I was somewhat taken aback the first time
I, as the supervisor of an otherwise all-male drafting department, took a
call for one of my draftsmen and was asked if I was his secretary.  It
only took a second to come back with "Nope.  I'm his *boss*."  :-)  And I
still get a chuckle thinking about the way the person on the other end
stammered and stuttered in apology.  At that point, I guess I could have
lectured him about making gender-based assumptions.  That probably would
have given him a bad impression about the whole equality thing.  I think
I got my point across better by accepting his apology and (half-)joking
that he "better watch out.  We're all over the workplace these days."

>Stop and think how you'd like it if, like Sharon, you showed up to help put
>up a tower and were asked to cook food for the other workers. Not that 
>feeding the workers isn't important, but why should someone assume just
>because of your appearance that cooking is the most important skill you have
>to offer?

In my case, that would probably be the best bet.  A) I'm a fairly decent
cook and B) I have a bad back that limits what I can do.  But, if I wanted
to make a point, I'd probably tell them that they'd be taking their lives
in their hands asking me to cook.  ("I dropped Home Ec freshman year...
Auto Shop was *so* much more fun.  But have you ever tasted Don's barbecued
chicken?  Maybe we can impose on him...")

>Or, while you're
>filling up the car at a gas station, having someone notice your callsign
>plates and say, "Oh, is your husband a ham?"

The perfect scenario for a witty comeback.  Something like "Not yet.  I
keep trying to teach him, but he just can't seem to get the hang of the
theory."  :-)

>Nobody's censoring you, for heaven's sake. We're just suggesting that
>you try to become aware of ways in which you make unfair assumptions
>about other people's interests and abilities based solely on the fact
>that they're women. Sure, it's difficult and it takes a long time. But
>it takes a lot longer if you don't even try.

Yep.  And it will also take longer if we try to "educate" by attacking.
(I'm glad that I haven't seen much of that attitude here;  there's more
than enough of it here at work and on some of the other newsgroups.)
Better, IMHO, to show them just how capable we can be.  Like WK2R, one
of the VE's who gave me my Extra exam.  Seems one of the men in her
Novice class called her a "flash in the pan" when she left the rest of
the class behind.  Previously, she wasn't particularly interested in
going all the way to Extra.  Irritated by this fellow's snide remark,
she not only got her Extra class license, she also became a VE.  She
enjoys telling the story of how she had the pleasure of giving that
same fellow his Advanced test last year, and allows herself a small
chuckle as she mentions that he failed. :-)  But you know, Bonnie's a
real decent person, and I'll bet she'll be among the first to sincerely
congratulate him when he comes back and passes.

Roberta		KB2OOA
rlt@gummo.att.com
Newsgroups: cornell.rec.hobbies,cornell.general,rec.radio.amateur.misc