2016 May 25/Day 3: I Introduce Overcompensation/Gender Roles
Notice: Our speaker today (as well as some from other days) were from India and so is our "instructor", AKA that guy we see every first class and post-dinner that keeps on making comments, nagging us to ask questions and sit in front and lowers projector while speakers introduce during beginning of each interaction.
Explanation: Overcompensation is term I apply to that "girls can have intelligent careers" movement (likely sub-sect of feminism). One time last year as we were approaching time to leave, our teacher said that all boys can leave but all girls must stay behind. I pack up slowly and somehow I was roped into this minute-long pep talk, where he encouraged us to break barriers or something corny and unnecessary like that (it was year ago, so I forgot, but it still bothers me.), which was part of what intrigued me about gender and made me want to ask why it mattered.
So if I said I was girl/boy on my stuff, I would get paid differently in high-end careers? Well, I should stay male (and maybe fake being white [but I count as Asian] and remain under 35). Does this also apply to my blog? Do advertisers care about my gender? I suppose not, so why do our workplaces?
Difference between advertised corps and corps we "will work for": We reveal our identities to latter.
It seems as if it would be easier to keep track of how much money is being used on salaries if everyone is paid same amount. (I meant same rate for same job; I am not communist.)
Yet somehow it actually seems to be based on college majors and women seem to pick lesser-paying majors, which reflects a different gender gap based on college: even though there are more women than men going to university, they are picking less useful majors and thus go into less profitable fields.
After-dinner presentation: It feels like our presenter, through monetary appeal and background biographies, is trying to insinuate that their lifestyle of STEM careers and propagate assumption that every female will marry and proceed to procreate, which is irritating but sadly not uncommon. They say we have choice in choosing careers, so you must choose to be STEM (or possibly some other well-paying prestigious job that requires an extensive education and follow our manufactured passion, even though all these female in this "Girls Can" ad are not in these careers, are obviously defeating boundaries which you would clearly find fixed and horrendous to not exist, and are promoting makeup (Is this further pushing stereotypical Indian woman image of presentable working mother?).
Also, that distinction between gender (social identity based on sex) and sex (based on genitalia) is never clarified when talking about women being "able to do anything" (which is borderline deceptive exaggeration for younger kids; humans have their limits, regardless of gender/sex --- they are not going to grow leg wings out of their anatomy). Where are trans people? Oh, yeah, those people should stay at home if they want to have their identity. (My mother passionately believes that bathroom debate is important issue (No one said this; I would brought up this , but I worried that this might cause scene.) ) This attitude reminds me of what I looked up on Alan Turing and Brits --- society hating on people due to their identity, except that this is not about gaiety, it is about transgender-ism (which is grammatically correct as nominalisation).
Paragraph conclusion/TL|DR: I think they mean gender, but no one clarifies.
[Edit: They obviously mean your legal status, as that is what employers first see.]
Our speaker seemed slightly surprised when one girl in second video (#girls code) said female video-game characters were hyper-sexualized as if she did not preview it. Maybe it is simply because we are above all of that trivial nonsense about --- what did you just say? Do not use that inappropriate language! We are here to get an education, not become activities of expletives. (hyperbole)
Yet you have had kids and you were talking about how you had your first baby and split between career and motherhood. I am not shaming anyone for any expletive activities, but this approach confuses me. Please just be direct about this sort of stuff; we will encounter it in STEM fields anyway (Anatomy & Physiology and bio + sub-sects/mergers with chem and med) and we likely know more than you think, so please avoid any awkwardness.
Additional note: Mare, Mich and I tried out "Truth or Dare" app. Kid mode was lame, teen mode was goofy but not interesting enough, and extreme was actually pretty pale. Dare - add "love doctor" to FaceBook username (none of us have FB)/Truth - Have you slept with member of same gender? While Mare deleted it after that, this is actually truth I have no problem in divulging: Yes, I have slept with (not a euphemism) members of same gender as well as opposite --- which at most tells you who I may have shared a bed with (parents and cousin) and nothing else.
Please stop telling my female compatriots that their passion is STEM because it might not be; stop hinting that these people will get married (to men of course --- depending on our culture, we may (not?) accept gays, but never in our circle! We would be ruined!) and thus have kids through regular process of impregnation.(awkward thought process on you adults owning/storing protection :|) [what about alternatives? Adoption is rare but certainly more common than "artificial" ways like IVF. Plus, while population is more due to adult fill-up and is not our greatest concern, having kids is not always advisable. Do you really think it is beneficial to be responsible for even more people's lives of which whose existence we were in full control?] It is not something you should do --- rather you should say that these are potential realities and that all of us need to consider our decisions and protect ourselves from risks (pun?)
This family insinuation makes me and likely others feel uncomfortable and uneasy about discussing their sexuality/fertility/career choices on grounds of avoiding animosity; however, hiding our predispositions will create more animosity in long run.
Sources: http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/
http://www.weeklystandard.com/why-is-there-a-gender-pay-gap/article/2002491
0 comments :
Post a Comment