A little note on top of Alison's.
When I taught for a group called MALA - Mature Age Learning Academy - where
the age limit was 50, retired men were in equal numbers to mature ladies
(some who were retired professionals of some sort - like matrons of
hospitals, etc). The men spoke out and 'bossed' a little (at me and the
female students) whereas the women tried their old charm tactics to win
their point or gain their space. It was fascinating - most were well over
60, btw. I think it was a generational thing: no younger groups I have
taught have had quite the same dynamic.
Btw, technologically, the women outdid the men easily, with email and
Internet, etc. Interesting.
Andrew
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alison Croggon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 6:36 AM
Subject: Re: Feminism: an aside on the classroom
On 3/4/06 2:13 AM, "Douglas Barbour" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> In my junior classes, & for some years now, there were more women than
> men, but also the women tended to speak out more often than the men. In
> senior courses, pretty well the same situation. Also in the creative
> writing classes, where I arranged so that everyone had to speak out,
> but where usually the women did so more thoroughly, more carefully,
> more usefully.
That's pretty universal in all the posts here. In my experience too. But
what about other situations? Certainly until relatively recently (and
perhaps it's still the case - I haven't looked at any stats lately - though
it seems to me to have changed a bit) women spoke out significantly less on
list servs, and if figures went up, it tended to be loudmouths like me
talking to much rather than lots of women. Most poetry editors complain that
their contributions from women are significantly lower than men. And men are
probably dominant in most social situations. Is it that the perceived
protection of the classroom allows women to be more articulate? Just
throwing this into the mix. I donšt' see women being dominant in the news
media, in politics etc, and businesses are still run mostly by men.
All best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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