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From: saj@iuvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: new discussion & limits - (nf)
Message-ID: <165@iuvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Feb-84 15:40:10 EST
Article-I.D.: iuvax.165
Posted: Wed Feb 15 15:40:10 1984
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#N:iuvax:9200002:000:1762
iuvax!apratt    Jan 28 02:11:00 1984


***** iuvax:net.women / houxu!welsch / 12:18 am  Jan 28, 1984

	3. Leave personal biases out of the discussion.

----------
	I personally declare this limitation bogus (don't listen to
me if you don't want to).  Discussions should *include* personal biases,
not only because we can't help it, but because without them, it's not
a discussion but a rehashing (complete with referenced sources). I am
including personal opinion in the realm of personal bias. This is all
just a personal opinion; please no flames.
	The part you *can* flame about (or rebut) is this: I think the idea
of "masculine" and "feminine" traits is a useful one. There are certain
traits which are *traditionally* attributed to women, and are called
feminine. Tenderness springs to mind. There are certain *traditionally*
masculine traits. Aggressiveness was mentioned previously.
	The terms "masculine" and "feminine" are handy labels for the
personality traits which fall into these classes. They are anachronistic,
however. They are certainly not exclusive (by any stretch of the semantic
imagination). What's most important is that they are widely accepted. When I
say that a person strikes me as effeminate, I am understood. That being the
purpose of communication, I declare those terms useful (there I go again!).
	The NEGATIVE aspect of those terms is clear: they propogate sexism.
The REASON for this is clear: their roots are (firmly) in sex-based
distinctions. The common root with "male" and "female" is the root of
the problem, obviously. It is arguable that we can overcome that built-in
sexism in our language. I would argue that we can, but I've already used
up lots of space, so I'll just say so. Any takers?

----
					-- Allan Pratt
			...decvax!ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!apratt