On Friday we were in Women's Studies (totally my favorite class currently) and my professor asked us "What are some differences among women?" One person suggested "education" and another suggested "income level"--my teacher said both of those belonged in class. I raised my hand in disagreement and said "I don't think they belong together because education can shade your opinion, even if, for example you're a stay at home mom who is not actively using her degree in the workforce". My professor got pissed and went on a 20 minute rant about how stay at home moms are part of the unpaid workforce and how much work they do etc. I *never* said they weren't part of the workforce--they say if mothers were paid for their work, they'd earn a ridiculous amount per year. All I said was that education can change your perspective even if you're not using it to earn income--she missed my entire point. Yeah, she's part of the workforce, but how is she applying her [physics, library science, art history, whatever] degree to gain money from it--how does it change affect her class?
Bleh. I'm all for feminism, I'm all for equality, and if I think someone has made an unfair statement, I'll probably step up and fix it. But seriously, listen first. If we don't listen, we're never going to understand. Also, you may make someone who looks up to you sad and frustrated.
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