I see that the influx of blog posts has begun, so I figured I'd add in my last graded post for...forever.
I was watching a 30 Rock episode ("The Natural Order") on NBC last night, where Liz Lemon and Tracy Jordan attempted to behave and work as equals, because they disliked the fact that the other received preferential treatment in the workplace. To avoid a recap (I'll let you have the joy of watching it), let's just say that by the end, both realized that they preferred receiving the preferential treatment that they did.
This got me wondering: yes, many of us, I'm sure, would prefer that humans operate in a way that is completely unbiased, but is this a realistic option? There are numerous areas where it appears that most females are unwilling or unable to take on the same tasks that are considered normal for males, and it's the exact same vice versa. This is definitely not to say that there are men and women out there who are not capable or do not attempt to bridge the gap...there surely are. I'd argue that the majority of people, however, are impervious to differences because it's what they know...something that honestly doesn't need questioning. As long as we have those differences, then there may never be a leveled playing field because both males and females realize and fully embrace the strengths and weaknesses that separate them. The differences in ability based on gender have been so bound to culture (ie, hunters vs. gatherers) that perhaps most people prefer and expect the benefits/assumptions that naturally fall in whatever sex they are. Can we overcome dichotomy when seemingly-grounded factors like certain abilities and expectations will always be adhered to by the majority?
My analysis, as you can see, is in very general terms and purposefully so. I realize exceptions obviously exist, so no need to provide case-by-case counterclaims...unless you want to.
I was always watching "30 Rock" last night thinking the exact same thing. The episode reminded me a lot about what we have talked about in class in regard to dichotomy. But like Ruth said, males and females embrace the difference between the two. Although we are constantly trying to move away from gender stereotypes and gender roles and make men and women equal, I believe that will never fully happen. In keeping with "30 Rock," Liz tries to change a giant water cooler bottle and was clearly struggling with it because she was not strong enough. However Tracy refused to let a male coworker help her because she was equal to him hence she could do whatever he could. Because men and women are not physically equal it would be very hard to totally disregard and overcome dichotomy. Not to say that society can not overcome the other inequalities that exist between men and women, but the fact that men will always have a physical advantage might make it difficult when trying to get rid of dichotomy.
Damn I was watching that episode last night too and was going to make a post about it but it looks like i am too late. I agree with what you guys are saying about equality. It almost seems like trying to get rid of the dichotomy is pointless because there are all sorts of natural differences in people. Instead of trying to avoid them, maybe it is better to embrace them and accept the differences and live with them. I feel that sometimes we go to too far of lengths in society to make sure everything is perfectly equal. It is like that article 9 issue in college athletics that states that there has to be an equal number of female and male athletic teams. The simple fact that you are making a rule going out of the way to accommodate someone, does not seem like equality at all. Affirmative action would fall under this category too. Is it REALLY fair? what if a student with lower grades, SAT, etc... gets into the school you applied to simply because of their race, gender, etc.. but you had better marks? Sometimes it is better to allow the natural order of things.