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grumpy feminist moment
Mar. 19th, 2012 11:15 pm"High heels beat flats: Why I left academia" really managed to annoy me yesterday. As I am still annoyed today, I will kindly share it with you. It's entirely possible that the shoes are a gimmick and the article is really about the author's love for pop culture, and I get that as a device.
The thing is, she makes it sound like academia is the only place that women have to appear a certain way to be taken seriously. It's a problem everywhere, and not just for women although especially severe for us. In the extreme case, one simply cannot get into the goth nightclub without dressing up in a particular way. In the everyday case, I get compliments, smiles, and favors when I dress more femme or even just grow my hair long. Yes, this happens at the university -- though I admit I haven't tried any ridiculous shit like high heels or makeup, so I may not reach academic-frump escape velocity.
And the next layer is, why does the writer like those high heels of hers? Is it (impossibly) completely inherent in her with no social conditioning whatsoever? Is part of what she's saying "I don't want to give up my pretty-girl privilege in the rest of the world"?*
I wanted to wear fabulous high-heel shoes all the time, especially after wearing those boring flat, black boots to the interview, having two professors comment on them, and still not getting the job.
Or is she just saying "I did it wrong and don't want to have to learn another skill set"?
(For bonus points, we can consider why the Princeton Review wanted to publish an article by a woman who likes actual shoes better than she likes the ivory tower.)
* She could wear her heels until she gets to work, then change into sneakers!
The thing is, she makes it sound like academia is the only place that women have to appear a certain way to be taken seriously. It's a problem everywhere, and not just for women although especially severe for us. In the extreme case, one simply cannot get into the goth nightclub without dressing up in a particular way. In the everyday case, I get compliments, smiles, and favors when I dress more femme or even just grow my hair long. Yes, this happens at the university -- though I admit I haven't tried any ridiculous shit like high heels or makeup, so I may not reach academic-frump escape velocity.
And the next layer is, why does the writer like those high heels of hers? Is it (impossibly) completely inherent in her with no social conditioning whatsoever? Is part of what she's saying "I don't want to give up my pretty-girl privilege in the rest of the world"?*
I wanted to wear fabulous high-heel shoes all the time, especially after wearing those boring flat, black boots to the interview, having two professors comment on them, and still not getting the job.
Or is she just saying "I did it wrong and don't want to have to learn another skill set"?
(For bonus points, we can consider why the Princeton Review wanted to publish an article by a woman who likes actual shoes better than she likes the ivory tower.)
* She could wear her heels until she gets to work, then change into sneakers!
