Question:
If this were how feminism were presented, it would have a lot more
appeal among the people who distrust it. Especially young, powerless
men facing a powerful political movement that focuses its regulatory
instincts upon them because it prefers not to go after a more powerful
group, the older men who had unfair advantages over women. (Why is
affirmative action never applied to the people who got their positions
because of discrimination, but only those who came after?) Young men
have some common interests with women in fighting patriarchal
institutions, but only if they aren't falsely defined as current
beneficiaries, or made to atone for older men's sins.
Answer:
I don't think that comparing Fortune 500 CEOs and prison immates is that
useful. However, let's compare the CEOs and, say, firefighters. Or coal
miners. Or truck drivers, or construction workers, or . . . basically,
any of the "death" professions. They are all predominately male. In fact,
*most* of the worst jobs are male dominated, with percentages right up there
around the percentage of male CEOs. Firefighters are 99% male. Russell's
point is more valid in this context, and (I think) Nancy's objection no
longer holds.
One of the reasons that the average man's salary is higher than the average
woman's is because men are willing to take the worst jobs, because they pay
more. Coal mining, I'm sure, can be a lucrative position, but I don't see
women lobbying for more positions in the mines. I also don't see women
volunteering for firefighting duties, or complaining that they aren't allowed
to risk their lives to save others. It bothers me when I hear about "glass
ceilings" that keep women from reaching the top but don't hear about the
"glass floors" that keep them from falling to the bottom.
This may sound like griping, but it isn't. I think that a lot of women
don't realize what equality means. It means that the good comes with a
lot of bad, and both have to be accepted. In order to get the golden egg,
you have to wipe the sh*t off it first. This reminds me of a scene from
_Heathers_, when Veronica is talking to her parents, and says, "All
teenagers want is to be treated like human beings!" Her mother replies,
"How do you think adults act around other adults? Do you think life is
just a game of doubles tennis? When teenagers complain that they want
to be treated like human beings, it's usually because they *are* being
treated like human beings."
Only because you have not looked. There ARE women fighting for these
jobs in coal mining areas, precisely because they pay higher. The
sexist conditions and lack of facilities for women make the job
even more difficult for them, yet there are women who fight for the
job simply because it is the best game in town (most mining areas
have little other industry).
