Subversive Sexism

[Return of the Silver Fox]

Reading todays daily mail one of its regular columnists reports that there is a growing trend (which they support) to accuse men who open doors, offer to carry heavy bags etc as being secretly sexist.

My questions are;

Do you consider this behaviour sexist?

Do we now or are we ever going to have equality and what promotes/prevents it?

 

[Tom]

Not much of a growing trend, it's been said for years.

Depends on your point of view, it is considered manners, but those manners are based on old values which date back to a discriminatory era. Women had less rights but were to be treated with respect. So that is the less discriminatory part. However it also relates to women being the weaker sex, so that is discriminatory

If I hold a door for someone who is carrying something then that is being polite/helpful irrespective of their sex, I hold doors for ladies because that is the way I as brought up, I also hold doors for men as it is also polite - but I have a sexist slant that I am less likely to do so for men

If I go insane and get back on a bus, I would give up my seat for a pregnant lady,but only if she were standing near me. I would not give up a seat just for a woman

 

[Canon Fodder]

you can't take anything you read in the daily mail seriously, youtube "dan and dan daily mail".

I don't consider the behaviour sexist just polite, but then I'll offer anyone a hand with carrying and open a door for anyone. I don't think we'll every have equality while women get to retire earlier even though they live longer.

 

[SteRoberts]

Reading todays daily mail

I would say this would be your first problem to consider

 

[Bambulus]

Reading todays daily mail one of its regular columnists reports that there is a growing trend (which they support) to accuse men who open doors, offer to carry heavy bags etc as being secretly sexist.

My questions are;

Do you consider this behaviour sexist?

Do we now or are we ever going to have equality and what promotes/prevents it?

I wouldn't say they're 'secretly' sexist in the way they just have unknown-yet-purposeful motivations, but more the act itself is a 'remnant' of past times and inherently carries patriarchal values - as do a lot of other aspects of all society, according to a lot of critical theory.

While I, personally, don't think it's a sexist act (well, depends on the exact rationale behind the act - did you open the door regardless of gender, or did you feel compelled to because they were a woman?), these arguments hold a lot of weight in most critical schools of thought, and I honestly understand the basis of most feminist criticisms that are usually targeted at the most mundane and ridiculous of things. I once wrote a paper in which one of the arguments was that language is phallo-centric, and is geared towards power-plays that often place a group of people or object etc, whether it be based on gender or otherwise, as an inferior subordinate to a powerful and superior alternate - usually two halves of a whole.

Some people may want to criticise this as just being the Daily Mail but really this is just the tip of the academic iceberg - there's a whole other world of thought out there, and it has fair grounding.

 

[Return of the Silver Fox]

I would say this would be your first problem to consider

You should always endeavour to understand how the enemy thinks

 

[SteRoberts]

You should always endeavour to understand how the enemy thinks

A fair point but personally I dont want to give hits to the site or money to the paper. Horrible articles by horrible people for a horrible agenda (which you probably agree with if you are calling them the enemy too).

 

[Thib]

Newspaper objectives is to sell, make money and all the rest.
Do you really think they even care about what they write ?
If it sell, it's all good ....

 

[SteRoberts]

I wouldn't say its all good. Obviously the objective is to make money, but does it justify lying and inciting hatred? It's sad that people consider the mail and the sun substitute for an education. It's a nasty state of affairs but this is a different thread altogether I suspect.

 

[Rat]

hold open a door for a lady who turns out to be a feminist then have to argue the toss that you a) being polite and not being sexist or B) being helpful/polite and not trying to demean them.

hold open a door for a non feministic lady you may get a thanks or you may not.. either way you win and lose!!


personally some ladies out there don't need treating with kid gloves as they are more than capable of defending themselves and some are tougher and more ballsy than blokes.!!