Hello again,
Recently I had an interesting discussion about gender, equality and positive discrimination. We were discussing mostly about the roles set for the genders and whether we should be positively discriminating based on gender stereotypes.
When I was in 6th form, two of my A levels were English Language and Psychology, in which, both discussed topics such as gender changes and discrimination which I am interested in. I even floated the idea of Glass Ceilings in the Workplace for my degree dissertation but it was suggested that it might be a little career limiting!
I was brought up in a home which consisted of just my Mum and I and as a single parent, my Mum is a beautiful, strong, empowered woman. I would never use the 'F'(eminism) word but I would say that my Mum and subsequently myself, feel strongly that women can achieve and do pretty much anything a man can do. (We once moved a fridge freezer between us from the kitchen to the garage - although that was mostly due to stubbornness than ability.)
The basis of my recent conversation was as to whether females should be especially praised based on achievements that are not usually expected of them (engineering, maths, science etc). I stated not. But I am acutely aware that others may not feel the same way. Should woman be told 'well done' or given a big pat on the back simply because they did something which men do every day without anyone batting an eyelid? Would you say a special 'congrats' to a bloke who, for example, won Nurse of the Year, just because he's a man? It works both ways.
For the rest of the world, in terms of PC-ness, individuals are expected to treat every single person exactly the same, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, ability. This becomes even more apparent in the public sector and I often see articles of education / NHS / public sector workers being penalised for not treating individuals with the respect they 'deserve'.
I am definitely all for equality between individuals but that applies to negative aspects as well as positive. I don't expect men to praise me for doing well but hold back on the criticism for fear of offending me. In fact, I think I feel more outraged by female criticism than men's - but that's a whole other post!
If we are really asking ourselves whether individuals should be positively discriminated against, I vote no. But then again, I don't really believe in discrimination at all.
Speak soon,
L xx
When I was in 6th form, two of my A levels were English Language and Psychology, in which, both discussed topics such as gender changes and discrimination which I am interested in. I even floated the idea of Glass Ceilings in the Workplace for my degree dissertation but it was suggested that it might be a little career limiting!
I was brought up in a home which consisted of just my Mum and I and as a single parent, my Mum is a beautiful, strong, empowered woman. I would never use the 'F'(eminism) word but I would say that my Mum and subsequently myself, feel strongly that women can achieve and do pretty much anything a man can do. (We once moved a fridge freezer between us from the kitchen to the garage - although that was mostly due to stubbornness than ability.)
The basis of my recent conversation was as to whether females should be especially praised based on achievements that are not usually expected of them (engineering, maths, science etc). I stated not. But I am acutely aware that others may not feel the same way. Should woman be told 'well done' or given a big pat on the back simply because they did something which men do every day without anyone batting an eyelid? Would you say a special 'congrats' to a bloke who, for example, won Nurse of the Year, just because he's a man? It works both ways.
For the rest of the world, in terms of PC-ness, individuals are expected to treat every single person exactly the same, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, ability. This becomes even more apparent in the public sector and I often see articles of education / NHS / public sector workers being penalised for not treating individuals with the respect they 'deserve'.
I am definitely all for equality between individuals but that applies to negative aspects as well as positive. I don't expect men to praise me for doing well but hold back on the criticism for fear of offending me. In fact, I think I feel more outraged by female criticism than men's - but that's a whole other post!
If we are really asking ourselves whether individuals should be positively discriminated against, I vote no. But then again, I don't really believe in discrimination at all.
Speak soon,
L xx
No comments:
Post a Comment