Responding to Amy's Comments:
Greetings Amy!
I have no doubt that there are certain behavior
patterns which are "masculine" and "feminine," but
that's not really the thrust of your post. You see
society as labeling "masculine" as good
and "feminine" as bad. While you're a very nice
person, I really can't agree with this. Rather, I
see the diametric opposite occurring; "masculine"
being labeled "bad" and "feminine" being
labeled "good."
As has been my style in the past, I will ask a
series of questions to try and get you to look at
the issue from my perspective.
1. When was the last time you heard a girl or
woman admonished to "get in touch with your
masculine side?"
2. How often do you see domestic/dating violence
painted as a crime of men's violence against women,
when it is equally a crime of women's violence
against men? Does this not have the effect
of "demonizing" masculinity?
3. If the "feminine" was labeled by society as
being "bad," and "masculine" associated
with "good," then doesn't it follow that girls
would be punished more harshly for the same
offenses? That's a simple application of
sociological labeling theory. Instead, we see boys
being punished more harshly.
4. Why then is it acceptable for girls to wear t-
shirts that say "Girls Rule" but it is sexist for
boys to wear t-shirts that say "Boys are good" as
in the article I posted a month ago?
I hope I've gotten you to at least think about
things from a bit of a different perspective.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Amber Valeris Tower
avtower@wolfmail.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Apr 12 2002 - 15:16:38 EDT