Comments on: Is College Making Us Dumb? http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/is-college-making-us-dumb/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:26:55 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Liz http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/is-college-making-us-dumb/comment-page-1/#comment-383 Liz Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:04:49 +0000 http://liveunitedblog.org/?p=580#comment-383 I realize that wifebeater is well-known, but I still find it offensive. To make sure it wasn't just me, I did a mini-survey of coworkers (n = 4) to see if they also found it offensive and sexist, which they did (although one found it more classist than sexist). As for the generic male, it still bothers me, particularly when it is used exclusively or almost exclusively. Perhaps I am being nitpicky but it wore me down as I progressed through the book. (Though it certainly didn't stop me from reading!) I realize that wifebeater is well-known, but I still find it offensive. To make sure it wasn’t just me, I did a mini-survey of coworkers (n = 4) to see if they also found it offensive and sexist, which they did (although one found it more classist than sexist). As for the generic male, it still bothers me, particularly when it is used exclusively or almost exclusively. Perhaps I am being nitpicky but it wore me down as I progressed through the book. (Though it certainly didn’t stop me from reading!)

]]> By: Intrigued, confused http://liveunitedblog.org/2009/12/is-college-making-us-dumb/comment-page-1/#comment-382 Intrigued, confused Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:46:12 +0000 http://liveunitedblog.org/?p=580#comment-382 Good post. College is getting increasingly expensive even as employers demand that applicants have more and more education on their resumes in order to do jobs that, for all practical purposes, don't necessarily require a four-year degree to perform at them effectively. I've spoken with temps, part-timers and entry-level folks in other industries who say they have more skills than their supervisor but can't get a promotion -- or even a full-time position with the company -- because they don't have a Master's. The only thing I'm confused about is the top where you call some of the author's writing sexist. What's sexist about it? I haven't read the book so maybe you've found some compelling evidence, but the examples you provide don't strike me as degrading toward women. A "wifebeater" is a type of shirt well-known in the lexicon; if anything, he seems to be critiquing the marketing material in the catalog and its ability to sell cars through images of muscle men at work. As for the phrase "the work a man does forms him"... If he had said, "the work a man or woman does forms them," would it then be more acceptable to you? If he had said, "the work a woman does forms her," would that have been better? "Man" can be used as a general stand-in for both sexes, as in "mankind" or "since the dawn of man..." Seems a weird, nitpicky thing to harp on.... Good post. College is getting increasingly expensive even as employers demand that applicants have more and more education on their resumes in order to do jobs that, for all practical purposes, don’t necessarily require a four-year degree to perform at them effectively. I’ve spoken with temps, part-timers and entry-level folks in other industries who say they have more skills than their supervisor but can’t get a promotion — or even a full-time position with the company — because they don’t have a Master’s.

The only thing I’m confused about is the top where you call some of the author’s writing sexist. What’s sexist about it? I haven’t read the book so maybe you’ve found some compelling evidence, but the examples you provide don’t strike me as degrading toward women. A “wifebeater” is a type of shirt well-known in the lexicon; if anything, he seems to be critiquing the marketing material in the catalog and its ability to sell cars through images of muscle men at work. As for the phrase “the work a man does forms him”… If he had said, “the work a man or woman does forms them,” would it then be more acceptable to you? If he had said, “the work a woman does forms her,” would that have been better? “Man” can be used as a general stand-in for both sexes, as in “mankind” or “since the dawn of man…” Seems a weird, nitpicky thing to harp on….

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