What a swell party this isn't

[serene]

Scene: party Saturday night, which I only attended in trophy-wife capacity (cute-poet-chick's college friend's birthday)

Montessori Teacher who looks like Garry Shandling and says things like "We traveled through Egypt, and everyone does laundry by hand. Lots of people earn their living doing laundry for others. It's a social thing for women to do it. So if they had washing machines, it would hurt their economy."

Me, after about an hour of ignoring his idiocy and chuckling lightly at his stupid jokes: "So, you have three teenaged daughters? Wow."

Garry Shandling: "Yeah. I'm the only guy in a house full of girls. So I have to keep remembering to think down to their level."

Me: "Um, excuse me. *Down*?"

GS: "You know what I mean. Guys think on one level, and girls on another."

Me: "Oh. And it's *down* a level? *Down*?"

GS: *sputter* "You know what I mean."

Cute-poet-chick, sotto voce: "Doesn't he realize he's sitting at a table with a bunch of women who are bigger than he is?"

Me, to GS: "Hey, that's right. I could totally kick your ass."

Me, to cute-poet-chick: "Here, honey, hold my jacket."

Grrrrrr.

Comments

racism/sexism

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

hm. i am not very comfortable with this, because it implies that racism/sexism can't be committed by a member of a minority group. which i don't think is true, because i have very definitely seen it. unless you define racism so narrowly that being a member of the minority group automatically excludes you because you're ostensibly not in a position of power. and you define "position of power" so narrowly that it only recognizes caucasian males in that position.

that's not how i like to define those words, and i can't say i find it very meaningful to my life and my observations.

i think racism/sexism is much more pervasive than that, and position of power comes in lots of smaller chunks.

and is it by definition apologism if one wants to reserve judgment? (since breckan is on your friends list, you'd presumably know him way better than i of course, but it's possibly worth thinking about, especially since he's protesting it -- your hypothetical women isn't the only one who's protests can be dismissed, and is that the best option?)

and i think i have more options than your three. i have encountered women who saw sexism against them where i really, truly, after much consideration, saw none whatsoever. and i've seen women be terribly sexist themselves without even noticing that they initiated the sexist exchanges. heck, throughout my life í've probably gotten overall more shit from women in ways i consider sexist than from men.

just pondering :)