Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site abnjh.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!mhuxn!mhuxl!abnjh!lute From: lute@abnjh.UUCP (J. Collymore) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: Has this happened to *you* lately? Message-ID: <874@abnjh.UUCP> Date: Mon, 1-Oct-84 17:00:43 EDT Article-I.D.: abnjh.874 Posted: Mon Oct 1 17:00:43 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 5-Oct-84 06:02:33 EDT References: <1274@pucc-h> Organization: ATTIS, NJ Lines: 41 In response to Laurie Sefton's original article I can only say this: What you are experiencing is the inevitable backlash of the 1970's feminist movement. No, it is not fun to be on the receiving end of that type of behavior, but it is to be expected. Outside of the issues of equal pay for equal work, the 1970's feminist movement also cut deep into many of our long-held beliefs about social-emotional responses (and responsibilities) to the opposite sex. It asked/told/dictated that we see the other sex's side of life, take from and learn from those insights. This is all well and good, but the unspoken dream was that we would only look at ONLY the good in each other's gender and be blind to the bad. This type of dream is nice, but is not the reality of human nature! When you ask someone to take an idea, and bring it to fruition, you must realize that this idea is like a coin; a single item with two distinct sides! This is what has happened in the aftermath of the 70's; you are experiencing only one facet of it (an unpleasent one, unfortunately). If you have said to men: "Take from our experiences as women, feel free to express yourselves in ways you thought only we women could; and we women will do the same in turn." Then you must be willing to accept that some of the behavior that men see/have seen in women have not all been positive/productive examples. Just as you have seen an increasing number of men who seem to be uncaring, cruel teases, so we men have seen an increasing number of rude and boorish women pop-up in everyday life. This could be, as I said, just an example of the 70's backlash or aftermath. It could also be that these people were always out there. Personally, I think what really may be at the crux of Laurie's article is that it's embarassing to see the opposite sex mimicking the least likable qualities of one's own sex. Well, that's life. "Oh, would the power, that God give us, to see ourselves as others see us!" -- Robert Burns, 18th century Scottish poet Jim Collymore