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White guys get a bad rap from women. They are seen as the all-oppressing force keeping women down. And we young white men are seen as the next in line to inherit this kingdom of ignorance and perpetuate the white man’s dominance in America.
Obviously, I’m not looking for sympathy. Nor am I looking for support from other white men. Judging by our history, nothing good comes from a bunch of white guys trying to form a brethren-type atmosphere: the KKK, NAMBLA, fraternities. What I am looking for is for women to recognize their current standing in society.
The tide is turning. There are more women than men attending universities throughout the nation and, at UW, these women are, in fact, doing better than men. Also, the number of women in medical and law schools in America are nearly even with men, which is a significant gain over the historical female admission figures of 3 to 7 percent.
The current trend shows there is soon going to be a large infusion of women in the workplace and, if the rates of women enrolling in higher education continue, a transfer of power.
Recently in the Wisconsin State Journal, an article commemorated the UW organization “Expanding Your Horizons” — a program that promotes women’s involvement in the scientific field — on its 50th anniversary.
Today, unlike in the past, the organization claims it is no longer a challenge to find female scientists to motivate and serve as role models for aspiring young female minds. This past Saturday, female scientists did exactly that at a conference for roughly 350 young women here at UW.
Many admit there is still room for improvement, as a sizeable gap still remains between the number of men in the scientific field compared to women, but that great strides have been made in those 50 years.
It’s hard work like this that, I feel, Jim Allard’s opinion column, “‘Inclusive Excellence’ a Flawed Idea” undercut on Friday. I agree with Allard, that the idea of equality among people is fundamentally true. All morality stems from such an idea. But, to me, it is evident that it has yet to be embraced throughout the world.
Unfortunately, these “differences of no difference” Allard speaks of created barriers. They shouldn’t be ignored simply because recognizing them enforces the very thing we’re trying to combat. Nor should they be ignored because they may diminish the standards of some abstract idea of excellence.
The people are equal but the playing field certainly is not and promoting diversity is the way to correct the human prejudices that created such an environment.
Still, if women themselves don’t recognize these changes, then the momentum in the push for change will be slowed.
Today’s young women were raised by parents who felt the pressures of intense sexism. The effects of that are, at times, seen in modern young women’s bleak outlook on their own future in the workplace. They may cite the long history of unequal pay or previous incidences of men discriminating against women in the business world. Allowing these things to negatively affect one’s outlook only augments its damaging influence.
Women of our generation, because of their current enrollment rates in undergraduate, graduate, law and medical programs, are just as likely, if not more so, to be the breadwinners in the family; reversing the traditional “stay-at-home-mom” archetype to “stay-at-home-dad.”
America may even be only a couple generations away from having women constitute the majority enabling them to discriminate against men. And what a world that would be, eh ladies? All I ask is, women, once you’ve made it to the top, don’t forget I was on your side and please, hire me.
It seems obvious that programs and organizations promoting diversity do make positive differences and should be commended for doing so. They shouldn’t be degraded for diminishing excellence or reinforcing differences. The differences are as real as their regrettable impacts and need to be addressed.
The world our parents grew up in was vastly different from the one we currently live in. Women aren’t as oppressed as they were in years past. Lifting the cloud of misconception that women are still the victims of the same intense oppression as past generations can only further empower women.
Our generation may not be completely out of the woods, but it shows promise. Women should be encouraged to continue what they’ve been working so hard to do: fight their way to the top.
Then again, I’m just a young white guy.
Finally, the opinions expressed in this article were not a vain attempt to make myself look more appealing to the opposite sex. I will be frank: I did not write this piece to get myself laid. Although, I will say, I do think power is sexy.
David Carter ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in forestry.
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the glass ceiling exists for women because on average,they work less overtime than males and take things like maternity leave.
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Thanks for the pat on the back for the social progress, but as a woman, I don’t want my success to be defined in terms of what society defines a successful man. Sure, wealth and power are not exclusive objectives of men, but limiting success to getting a college degree and becoming the breadwinner belittles accomplishments in any other area, such as serving the community, building a family, or pursuing one’s passions even if it doesn’t mean a paycheck.
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Society doesn’t define a successful man (or woman), reality does. One is successful if they take the types of actions that advance their lives.
Also, a person’s success in one area does not “belittle” someone else’s success in other areas.
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Wherever this magic land is that you speak of, I want to go to there.
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Nice opinion piece, Dave. I don’t think it’s the end of men altogether, though. Lots of men I’ve worked for and with are much more mature and prepared for the real world than women. Being a woman myself, I think it’s important that not only men accept women as equals (OK, except for the heavy lifting) but women need to stop seeing men in general as rivals. Feminists have a way of screwing that up, which is why most career-minded women avoid associating with them. Any guy who was here in Madison back in the 90’s remembers all too well just how vicious all the feminists were. I was still a preteen, but I’ll tell you I’m glad none of them were my babysitter. Just hearing them talk about castrating men, men are dirt, men are s*, men this, men that and I’m like “OH STFU ALREADY!!!! MY LITTLE BROTHER ISN’T EVEN THAT EVIL!!!!”
Getting my bearings once again, I wish you the best in your educational and professional endeavors and hope you don’t have to put with too much of the kind of ghouls mentioned in the previous paragraph.
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I can’t wait til all the commentary demonstrates exactly why the feminist movement still needs to exist.
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I’ll also be frank, Dave. There is ZERO danger of you getting laid crooning this silly paean to white male impotence.
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If women keep moving on up, does that mean that they will start hitting on guys and buying them drinks at the bars…cause I wouldn’t hate that
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Dave, if there’s one human that has no justification for his existence, it’s you, OK? You’re fucking pathetic! The only valid reason a guy could possibly have for writing such self-deprecating bullshit is a guy who did something to piss off his girlfriend. Did she catch you looking at another girl’s ass? Did you catch her looking at a black guy’s ass? Did you have an accident with her Subaru? Did you forget to let her Shih Tzu out and the thing shit on the carpet? Man up, pal!
Look, it ain’t the end of the friggin’ world! Go see a damn therapist! Call your mom! Better yet, call your dad! You’re having a crisis and I don’t think it has anything to do with the economy! I’M TAKING MY BOBBLE-HEAD COLLECTION HOSTAGE!!!! THE WORLD’S GONNA OPEN UP AND SWALLOW EVERY LIVING THING ON EARTH AT 4:27PM TOMORROW!!!!! BUCKET SEATS ARE THE THRONE OF THE DEVIL!!!! GOOBIDY-GOBBIDY-BLOOBLE-KIDABBLYAP-W09UBAPORT RHPOTIAERHJTPJRTPSAOEIJB09U50U5_$)ue)(jrw(j
Hey, it’s just an opinion. Cheers.
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Wow. This is most offensive thing I have read in a while. Oh, wait. Not as offensive as that Shout Out that condoned rape.
I digress. I think the author needs to A) Take a Gender and Women’s Studies course and B) have himself checked. This opinion column is the most privileged thing I’ve seen in a l o n g time. While yes, women are ever more represented in the academy, and are, at times, the “bread winner” in some families, this hardly counts as being a cause celebre. Women are in fact still overwhelmingly the victims/survivors of sexual assault, which is, SHOCK! an exercise in power. So there goes that argument.
Just because women are ever more represented in higher education, does not correlate to increased numbers of faculty (tenured, tenure track or otherwise.) This of course is not mentioning the fact that curricula is wildly androcentric (Thanks VDM). If you’re interested, I would suggest looking up the current statistics on UW’s male-to-female professor ratio, which is paltry. (I’m an education grad student who studies this stuff.) On the subject of the academy and tenure track positions, tenure processes are still skewed towards men. The publication and timeline requirements favor men who, usually, are not bearing and rearing children, causing those pesky hiccups in the tenure process called children. I don’t mean to belittle this issue, as it is of great import. I could go on about how academia favors men, but this going on far too long.
Finally, I would like to point out the weak argument that stay at home dads are somehow a sign that women are “taking over”. While yes, stay at home dads are ever-increasing in their numbers, the author ignores the double standard that is often the case with women working double-shifts as both moms and employees- working full-time at a 9-5 job only to have to come home to that never-ending and wholly unappreciated job of being a mother.
I am ashamed to be a man. This opinion is offensive and shameful. I have not even begun to delve into the “White-male” aspect of this piece, I’ll let someone else tear into that one. As a proud graduate of the Gender and Women’s Studies program at our fine UW, I would encourage anyone who knows this guy to help him out. He, and those who agree with him, need it.
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Ashamed to be a man? Wow what a pussy.
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LOL!
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Do you feel better about yourselves now? Grow up.
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Calling a guy a pussy must make you feel better, at least he has a good argument slash actually articulates himself. your a douche hahahah
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You’re*
It would seem as though YOU are the douche.
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Hi Dave, this is the Angel of Death. You’re not due for another 57 years. Make the most of it. You’ll have grandchildren who will grow up to be successful adults. Don’t live such a fruitless life. You want everyone to remember you in a positive way. Be of good cheer, think happy thoughts, because when that train slams into you at the crossing…
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I think our curriculum is sexist. There needs to be more cooking and sewing classes for the women; all we have at this university are the sciences.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
There are more women in the workplace, yet they still make less than us. Hm, I wonder why? Could it be discrimination? How many women are fortune 500 CEOs? How about members of Congress?
Yeah, we still have a ways to go. If there are more women than men, there should be more women than men in Congress, top corporate positions, etc. etc. But this is not the case.
And judging from the comments, you don’t need to worry about getting laid, bro.
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Sooner or later Womyn will rule in the USA. They already have most of the wealth, once they get most of the college-degree jobs, well…
Affirmative action for men?
A reader (thanks!) sent me a WSJ article entitled, “The Lost Boys” written by Richard Whitmire, author of a forthcoming book, Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind. The article discusses universities admitting men with lower qualifications than women, and why guys might need these preferences:
http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2009/11/affirmative-action-for-men.html
Well, men are an underrepresented minority.
“Currently, 135 women receive bachelor’s degrees for every 100 men. That gender imbalance will widen in the coming years, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Education.”
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=092705B
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“the opinions expressed in this article were not a vain attempt to make myself look more appealing to the opposite sex. I will be frank: I did not write this piece to get myself laid…..” What woman would sleep with you due to this piece? You have done nothing to advance the role of women, but rather you seem to have taken note from the feminist backlash movement, and are somehow asserting that women should realize their advancement??? Which really means they should stop complaining, right? All I’m getting from this piece is that YOU think there is no more work to be done on part of the feminist movement, or for the advancement of women, but rather that even though women are not at the top just yet…they’re headed there. WRONG. Great, women have come a long way from wearing corsets and not being able to own property. And OMG, women can vote now too! But uh….just cause more women are being accepted into medical school doesn’t mean there isn’t still quite a lot of progress to be made. I won’t bore you with an endless list of the sexism that women continue to face socially and economically, but I can assure you it still exists. And it will continue to exist if the white men who have been “discriminated” against like you have, continue to hold these opinions. Thanks for your piece. It sucked.
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you people need to get over yourselves. i look at these pieces just so i can watch everyone overreact. and you all look like dumbasses
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I am not a dumbass! Shame on you! I’m going to flag your comment and…wait, I’m a dude. I don’t need to cry to someone else.
Hey 7:46AM, stick it in your shorts, dipshit! Go suck eggs! Yeah, that’s right, go suck eggs! Come on out to Camp Randall Stadium next home game we play and see how fast we toss you down onto the sidewalk from the cheap seats. Ha ha! I told you off, didn’t I?! Look at him, he knows it! Who’s crying’ to the moderator now, huh?!
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Oh gosh, aren’t you just so cool writing on message boards and not having an opinion about anything.
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haha! awesome!
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The title of this article should be changed to “CLICK FOR THE LULZ”
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I feel you, man. Being a white guy sure is tough. Stay strong, brother.
Fraternities are also the exact same thing as the KKK and NAMBLA, 100%. No difference. Good call there, I wouldn’t have noticed that I was both a neo-nazi and a pedophile if you hadn’t pointed that out.
Quality article.
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Males lost 3 out 4 jobs of those lost during this recession. Imagine the headlines if was 3 out of 4 had been female.
Males need affirmative action to maintain any kind of parity with females!