Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Tek) 9/26/83; site tekecs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!orca!tekecs!jeffw From: jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Subtle and insidious sexism (or anything else) Message-ID: <3520@tekecs.UUCP> Date: Fri, 17-Feb-84 19:51:48 EST Article-I.D.: tekecs.3520 Posted: Fri Feb 17 19:51:48 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Feb-84 08:12:31 EST Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR Lines: 22 One has to be careful in describing something as "subtle and insidious" sexism (or racism, or whatever) that one does not fall into the trap I will illustrate this way: I can imagine that if I told random Nazis "I have no problems relating to Jewish people; they seem just as fine as any to me", sooner or later I would get the response, "that's perfect evidence of the subtle and insidious powers of persuasion and media manipulation they have." Personally, if something is so subtle I can't see it, it's not there. To believe otherwise is to invite prejudice and paranoia. And if someone else sees it anyway, it may say more about them than about me. However, I'm usually willing to listen and think about it. The question of whether the use of the generic "he" is sexist has been debated ad nauseum on net.women at least twice since its inception. It's a controversial topic. I guess I would say that there's enough overt sexism around to fight without troubling oneself about subtle and insidious (and questionable) forms of it. the the the the, Jeff Winslow