Mo'ne in Chevrolet Commercial

[meyers7]

While I agree with Dave that you have been respectful in this discourse, I don't think you're going to "get to the truth"' if the "truth" means one side coming around and accepting the other side's position. That requires listening and empathiszing.

I think both sides can listen and emphasize (have). But I don't think either is going to agree with the other's positions. At least not completely.

 

[JRRRJ]

...
Hey, we live with it too. I can’t, as a man, go up to a little crying girl in a supermarket to see if she’s ok or lost. I can’t drive my daughters friends home alone. I can’t go to a park by myself where kids are playing. Women can do that and nobody would bat an eyelash. As a man, I would be looked at as a creep or worse. (And for the record I wouldn’t ever do that.) And I would much rather be thought of as inferior (in gender) than a creep or worse.
...

...stereotypes do come from observances. People don't make them up out of the blue.

You finally enunciated what those who have been disagreeing with you have been saying, and I'm pretty sure you didn't realize you were supporting their position.

The above excerpt from your post recognizes that you are a victim of stereotyping, and that you have chosen to limit your options in many situations because of that stereotyping. You have allowed the opinions of others to change the way you act, including some situations -- like the crying girl in the market -- where you leave someone in discomfort you might have been able to alleviate. I'm sure that doesn't feel good to you, but you do it anyway because of how someone else might perceive it.

Your other statement about stereotyping is laughable in it's inappropriateness to the discussion. Stereotypes may be created from observations (though in practice the number of observations is often very low -- sometimes one) but they are frequently applied on the basis of very superficial evaluations of a limited number of perceptual notes. It is very difficult to justify the use of stereotypes in making an informed decision in any situation. Stereotypes may be useful as a basis for beginning an evaluation, but deny the unique aspects of a particular instance.

(Sorry about the late continuation, but we have now joined the Boneyard California contingent and are just getting unpacked enough to begin re-introducing some normal activities into our lives.)

 

[JRRRJ]

Unless girls are totally unable to throw a ball correctly, the idea that she "throws like a boy" is stupid and demeaning to girls to me.

But I kinda feel like I am in that scene in City Slickers in which Billy Crystal is on horseback trying to explain to another character how to program a VCR. A different character says "Stop! He doesn't get it. He'll never get it. The cows could program the VCR by now!"

How about "throws well"?