Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Tek) 9/26/83; site orca.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!hogpc!houti!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!orca!chrism From: chrism@orca.UUCP Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Feminism and a double standard(?) Message-ID: <582@orca.UUCP> Date: Sun, 12-Feb-84 21:16:15 EST Article-I.D.: orca.582 Posted: Sun Feb 12 21:16:15 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 18-Feb-84 04:26:14 EST Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR. Lines: 48 This seems like a good newsgroup in which to resolve this issue: There is a "Ms. X" who works for a company that shall remain nameless. She is bright, relatively good-looking and exudes a very professional manner. She is also a feminist and is very protective of her rights. Ms. X works in marketing. By chance I happened to pass an informal meeting while Ms. X made a pitch to an older man who was interested in our product. What amazed me was that Ms. X used blatant sexuality as a tool to cajole the customer. It was smooth, obvious and planned. Also, the customer seemed to really soak it up; he showed every indication of letting Ms. X's methods be an influence on his decision making. Later I was told that this was a common practice by Ms. X, and that it was very effective. Incredible! I was bothered by what I considered the unprofessionalism of both Ms. X and the customer. What really irked me, however, was the double standard I perceived in Ms. X's behavior. I called up an old, reasonably progressive friend of mine and outlined the situation for her. Basically, she told me the problem lay more in my outdated moral standards than in the actions of Ms. X. There was nothing wrong, I was told, in using "femaleness" as a tool for leverage. She made a distinction between this and outright selling of sex, which she conceded was unethical. My problem, I was told, that I was still living in the 19th century, and felt bothered and threatened by a successful woman. "Wake up to the real world!" was her parting remark. Needless to say I was not too happy with that analysis. So, recently I have been watching very closely for similar situations and (surprise!) they abound. Nor is the situation particularly one-sided. I have seen plenty of men use these same tactics on women business associates. Generally however, the men who do this are macho types who make no pretense of relating to woman on any other level. Many of their woman counterparts, however, are self-proclaimed feminists like Ms. X, and thus are guilty of hypocrisy on top of everything else. So, the issue is clear. Is this appropriate behavior in a professional environment? Or is the problem my archaic ethical system, and should I pack up my computer and emigrate to Iran, where I belong? Chris Minson ..!tektronix!orca!chrism