Quote:
Originally Posted by boo boo
Arizona Teacher Adds Etiquette to Lessons - AOL News
Thoughts? Just a guy who wants to teach customs from an older time or a fascist worse than Hitler and Stalin combined?
Well, I don't think anyone but the most hardcore feminists would cling to the latter belief but yeah, do you guys think this is sexist or just a well meaning attempt to teach old manners that are now outdated?
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Definitely, a fascist worse than Hitler and Stalin combined!!!
The article asks, "But is teaching gender-specific etiquette perpetuating what some consider sexist traditions?"
The answer is simple: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If boys are being taught to pull out chairs for girls, then the opposite should be taught, too: girls should show respect for boys by opening the door for them, etc.
The whole premise of that teacher's etiquette lessons is that women are some weak, delicate creatures who must be coddled and cherished. While it certainly isn't wrong to cherish and protect other people, and respecting others by showing you genuinely are concerned about their well-being is wonderful, to direct this behavior toward girls/women only is patronising.
The second problem with that article, boo boo, is that it assumes people in society are losing the ability to respect others. Last time I checked, back in the 1950s in the U.S., racist Jim Crow laws were alive and well, people couldn't be open about their sexuality, and women couldn't control whether or not they have children.
In my view, people are much more respectful toward others now in the U.S., at least, than in the past. I feel that the belief that there has been an increase in "disrespectfulness" toward others is a myth. Where respect really counts...in civil liberties that allow us to live and let live...people are *much* more respectful now than in the past.