grrrrrrrrrr.
Mar. 21st, 2005 12:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keryxI got some email invite to a party for dancers that reminded me of how frustratingly heterosexist and just plain sexist the world tends to be. It was "just" one little line in the email that did this - it added to the "belly dancers only" caveat to take the night off, and leave your husbands, boyfriends, and kids at home! (that's a quote).
Because:
1. On a Saturday night, what I need to take the night off from is my familial responsibilities, right? Like IT'S MY JOB TO BABYSIT MY FAMILY?
2. And of course I'll only have a husband/boyfriend. I couldn't possibly have a girlfriend or wife. What if I were a dude? Can male dancers bring their wives, but not their boyfriends?
I know, I know... I'm waaaaaay overanalyzing this, and I was in a pretty Angry At World mood anyhow. BUT. I also think about my troupemates putting together our flyer for another event and the fact that we actually gave thought to the way we worded a gendered statement. Or my gender-non-specific company's partner/parent benefits statements. It's NOT THAT FUCKING HARD, people. So the explanation isn't laziness, it's [tacit, I hope] acceptance of a sexist/heterosexist paradigm.
[Psssst... should I bother to send a polite email back to this person pointing this out, or am I being the Raging Feminist Oppressor again and thus need to shut my mouth?]
Because:
1. On a Saturday night, what I need to take the night off from is my familial responsibilities, right? Like IT'S MY JOB TO BABYSIT MY FAMILY?
2. And of course I'll only have a husband/boyfriend. I couldn't possibly have a girlfriend or wife. What if I were a dude? Can male dancers bring their wives, but not their boyfriends?
I know, I know... I'm waaaaaay overanalyzing this, and I was in a pretty Angry At World mood anyhow. BUT. I also think about my troupemates putting together our flyer for another event and the fact that we actually gave thought to the way we worded a gendered statement. Or my gender-non-specific company's partner/parent benefits statements. It's NOT THAT FUCKING HARD, people. So the explanation isn't laziness, it's [tacit, I hope] acceptance of a sexist/heterosexist paradigm.
[Psssst... should I bother to send a polite email back to this person pointing this out, or am I being the Raging Feminist Oppressor again and thus need to shut my mouth?]