Excuses having to do with our parentage, or socioeconomic class, or bad fortune. Someone external had to actually – or at least plausibly – rain on our own personal lives. Only then could we excuse our own failures to thrive.
Thanks to the wonderful new world of Gender Studies, you get to go straight to “because the Patriarchy!”
It’s not art, is all I’m saying. All the nuance and flavor of the excuse is lost when you dump it all on this one gray over-arching Boogeyman. (sigh) Bring back the old days, when even the most hackneyed, overused excuses at least showed a little thought.
My mother has a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, and a Masters in a different kind of Engineering (still drinking my coffee, the name isn’t coming to me right now). She worked for GE for several years, did work on jet engines.
She agrees that there is a general societal push to push women into different fields of work than men. But the large majority of folks like the ones in the screenshot you posted annoy the hell out of her, and she has zero patience for them. If they want to get more women in those fields then they should have led the way, not pushed from behind!
Agreed! Having went to High School in the 60s I am well acquainted with the societal push for young ladies into fields I wasn’t the least bit interested in. My father when called about my choices for classes told them, if I had the prerequisites, then he better see those classes on my schedule.
I didn’t end up where I thought I was going but the advice my parents gave me and my siblings was passed on to my children. “If you are going to spend money on an education, make sure it will pay the bills afterwards.” So, if it’s not a STEM education, it is a waste of money.
Lawsy, back in the day I wanted to take high school shop class – must have realized I’d need those skills some day. I enrolled. Was dis-enrolled. Appealed to the Ultimate Powers in Charge. Was told that there were only boys in shop class, girls weren’t allowed, and I was enrolled without my consent in a home ec cooking class. Told to take it or not graduate. Yes it really was like that. FOMCL
Zelda – I took the Home Wreck classes cause I like that stuff, but the fight was over Mechanical Drawing of all things. Something about the language used by my male classmates.
I got shop, auto mechanics and such at Dad’s You-Live-At-My-House-So-You-Will-Help Institute of Higher Learning.
Heh. I took shorthand, choir, and business classes in high school, because that’s where the girls were. Didn’t take home-ec, as my Mom had already covered that. My youngest girl found STEM pretty entertaining but hard, so I pushed her towards business, and advised her to avoid anything sounding liberal. She’s now, at 25, a manager at one of the Yuge hotel chains.
@Ruth: “a general societal push to push women into different fields of work than men” ???
Is that why companies are practically losing it in their pants, trying to find women engineers? I’m an EE, have worked in that field in industry for 30 years, and have seen a constant push to get more women into STEM / engineering during that time. When there is a choice between a man or a woman and their qualifications are close, the woman will be offered the job.