A thesis of sorts

[Riverkilt]

Duchess, you are young.

Names like Golda Meir (The Iron Lady Premier of Israel in 1969), Indira Ghandi (Prime Minister of India 1966), and Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister of the United Kingdon 1979) were CEOs of Nations and at war back then.

I think we're so flush with lovely young women there are few women on the board who lived through those times to report back.

For me, there is a parallel in each sex standing up for the freedom to wear whatever garments they choose - or don't choose - to wear.

Would for sure make a good thesis topic.

Ron
Married with a child in 1968 when the bras were burned for the media.

[duchessofnc]

Duchess, you are young.

Names like Golda Meir (The Iron Lady Premier of Israel in 1969), Indira Ghandi (Prime Minister of India 1966), and Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister of the United Kingdon 1979) were CEOs of Nations and at war back then.

I think we're so flush with lovely young women there are few women on the board who lived through those times to report back.

For me, there is a parallel in each sex standing up for the freedom to wear whatever garments they choose - or don't choose - to wear.

Would for sure make a good thesis topic.

Ron
Married with a child in 1968 when the bras were burned for the media.

Ron:

Respectfully, I don't believe age really has anything to do with it. You named some very great women who were also very much exceptions to the rule. The vast majority of women had to fight very hard to get into medical school, business school, and law school. Because it was generally perceived that such revered professions were in the domain of men and not women. And that there were certain roles that belonged to women, one of them being predominately wife and mother.

History of course has beautiful exceptions. Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen Elizabeth I. Catherine The Great. Eva Duarte De Peron. Shining examples in history but not the normality. Not the common theme. When you look around, you see many women lawyers, doctors, and business women in the landscape.

However, in the 1960's take a look at how many women were actually enrolled in medical school and law school. How many had MBA's and not be relegated to the role of secretary. How many women CEO's were there at the time?

And in my opinion that was what was truly behind the bra burnings and not whether or not they were comfortable. Furthermore, I do not see how whether men are going regimental or not is screaming out that their rights are being violated. Facts are facts. The bra burnings are very linked to the women's liberation movement.


Yours,

Catherine, daughter of a mother born in 1931 and raised on the women's liberation movement ideals. I've got 1st cousins that participated in it.

[O'Callaghan]

Ron:

However, in the 1960's take a look at how many women were actually enrolled in medical school and law school. How many had MBA's and not be relegated to the role of secretary. How many women CEO's were there at the time?

The idea of systematically relegating female college graduates to the typing pool was something I saw in American films of the period, and which shocked me at the time, because it wouldn't have happened in England. Maybe the films were quite a bit older, because it took quite a long while for a US film to get to be on TV in England back then, but I don't think we ever did that. I'm sure we had our own barriers to equality, but AFAIK that was never one of them. Maybe someone older can prove me wrong? (Although I'm on the wrong side of 50)

[Phil]

It is fascinating how often this subject comes up although this time someone has worked a women's lib angle into the discussion. Underwear (or intimate apparel as it is coyly referred to in America) is a fairly recent innovation for women's clothing as it only appeared in the 19th century although men had worn underpants prior to this. As to going "regimental", while this seems to appeal to certain individuals, from a purely practical point of view the cost and inconvenience of frequent dry-cleaning in order to maintain an acceptable standard of hygiene would surely weigh heavily against it.