CNN/CMU promote gender stereotypes
I saw this on the CNN homepage.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/0....ap/index.html
Unbelieveable, just unbelieveable. In the year 2004, we have people and seemingly liberal universities promoting such classic gender steretypes as the female gossiping secretary. Even gets "testy"? WTF, is that or isn't that a direct allusion to the stereotypical "pre-menstral symdrome" which any gender sociologist will tell is BS?
Is "her" personality more real (and therefore 'better') by being a stereotype? What is that telling our children?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/0....ap/index.html
Unbelieveable, just unbelieveable. In the year 2004, we have people and seemingly liberal universities promoting such classic gender steretypes as the female gossiping secretary. Even gets "testy"? WTF, is that or isn't that a direct allusion to the stereotypical "pre-menstral symdrome" which any gender sociologist will tell is BS?
Is "her" personality more real (and therefore 'better') by being a stereotype? What is that telling our children?
Comments
The "Office Assistant" was a man and he was very very competent.
But I was not in the 'Robotics" area . . . CMU generally has alot of women in very high positions including women, and women of color in the Robotics dept> that I have met, and they were also very socially aware and critical people . . . but, I could imagine that some of the more geeky folks get pretty obliviouse to such things as 'negative-stereotypes' . . . they get so wrapped up in their work and they work sooo hard that they close off other considerations . . .
But they should've probably thought about this with a little self-criticism . . .
But then again how many MALE receptionists have you met?
But youu shouldn't take it too seriously . . .its an article about a project put together by students . . . there are lots of projects in the works at all times . . . this one got press because it is playfully about something that people can understand
and people understand cliches and stereotypes because they are stereotypes and cliches
Stereotypes and cliches are what they are because they condence a kind of popular understanding: they are a kind of short-hand of a collective idea.
They can be detrimental, and most often are, but they are also the manner in which we first understand things that we don't have experience on the level of particulars
Drama students try to work with common understading in order to develope "Characters' . . . I'm sure that's what they were thinking . . .
You shouldn't get all college-studentish lefty huff-and-puffy about this . . . it isn't that big of a deal
Originally posted by chu_bakka
[ . . . ]
But then again how many MALE receptionists have you met?
um . . . see my post aboove yours