I couldn't wear slacks in high school and girls' skirts had to be long enough that they came within an inch of the floor if you knelt in the hallway (which is, in itself, a humiliating experience). That rule changed the year after I graduated.
What you've written, Phoenix, is very true and I could speak to nearly every point, but I think a very difficult problem today is the unwritten social expectation of women.
Not only are they expected to earn money, but also their houses are expected to be kept well-cleaned, they're expected to produce meals for the family, and they're asked with the full expectation that they will provide free labor to various volunteer organizations. I haven't even mentioned child-rearing and all the expectations of good mothering. A lot of gossiping goes on if a woman fails to live up to this standard, most of it generated by other women.
Some of this is even part of the law -- child abuse cases mention how dirty a home is, the state of the clothing and how much food is in the frig. Nobody is looking at the dad and saying why didn't he clean, launder or shop. I'm not saying that parents shouldn't provide these things -- but when it comes on top of the expectations and economic demands of maintaining a full-time job... well, it isn't any wonder that women are frantic.
Just thought of another fine tidbit - when I was practicing law, I was often mistaken for the court reporter, despite the fact that I:
(1) wore a suit
(2) carried an enormous briefcase
(3) wasn't carrying a stenographer's machine
Used to go to court with male colleagues and our opponents would often ask if I was a secretary or legal assistant, or if the man was my boss and I was being "evaluated". Terrified some opponents when I told 'em the man I was with was the one being evaluated.
Plus, oh yeah, my female colleagues and I were often hit on in court, by lawyers and court officers (generally not by clients, and of course judges, even then, realized they could lose their jobs over an unwelcome flirtation, so they didn't bother us).
Couldn't wear a pantsuit to court, no matter how nice it was, no matter how dang cold it was (and Long Island/NYC can have mucho snow in the winter). Hell, I couldn't even wear nice pants when I was in the office all day!
jes- I once read an article written by a female attorney, who also was mistaken for a legal secretary. She solved the problem by wearing hats!
Phoenix32890 wrote:jes- I once read an article written by a female attorney, who also was mistaken for a legal secretary. She solved the problem by wearing hats!
I believe that was Bella Abzug.
Yes, that was Bella.
I remember freezing my buns off during recesses in elementary schools. It was tough to play outside in 15 degree weather in skirts. When I was in junior high and highschool, skirts could be no shorter than 5" above the knee, and they regularly measured us with rulers. You should have seen how short we could roll up those pep club uniform skirts at football games, though!!! We weren't allowed to wear pants until about 1970, then blue jeans weren't allowed. For my last year in highschool ('72) they allowed colored or patterned jeans, as long as they weren't blue denim. In college, all we wore was blue denim. (well, almost all!) The girls had a dorm curfew of 10 p.m. on weeknights, midnight on weekends. And yes, we had to sign in. They called our parents upon the third infraction, and billed the long-distance charges to us. Nope, n curfew for the guys. Also, no opposite sexes allowed in the dorms except on Fri. & Sat., when we could visit between 6 and 10 p.m. However, like Gautam said, THE RULES NEVER STOPPED US!!! In fact, they hardly even slowed us down!
I remember asking a college counselor what the starting salaries were for several majors I was considering. He told me to "just pick something you like, honey. Don't worry, you're going to be married anyway." This was in 1974. My sister went to the same university several years later, and that sort of thing was strictly verboten. So I guess that must have been when the change occurred.
I let "expectations" worry me until I hit my late twenties. Since then, I've done whatever I pleased. To hell with expectations. I ignore them.
A short one:
When Linda and I lived in West Virginia (70's) the women in the hospital where she worked were absolutely shocked that she had taken the chain saw and cut wooh for our wood stove. (we heated with wood) They lectured her for several days about it being the man's job and noting all the horrable things that could happen. She got the same response when she had changed the oil in the truck.
It has changed a little but, not much.
NOT!
