Da Bitches Always Be Wreckin' Da Cars
Cab driving was mostly long bouts of boredom punctuated by spurts of anxiety and, for someone who drank coffee by the quart, periodic, urgent quests for a respectable place to piss. Any good lines from the back seat were a bonus.
Tyrone was supposed to pick up a friend, but his car was not operative, so he hired my cab and offered an explanation: His girlfriend had an accident the night before. The understanding friend commiserated: "Da bitches always be wreckin' da cars."
For many men, this is a philosophy of life, a comfortable justification, proof of male superiority in all things.
Today, I played golf at a public course where a women's league started out the morning. The course marshall matter-of-factly explained to our foursome that our round might be slow for the front nine, because the women were ahead of us. Of course, slow play is the bane of public course golf every day, but this morning, we had an explanation. It was not presented with any particular scorn or heard with abnormal dismay. It was simply confirmation of the cultural assumption.
Da bitches always be slowin' da play.
Echidne writes of a similar phenomenon as she recounts listening to a radio interview of people who commuted to work:
Echidne, you almost have it. One woman often does represent all women, but are men focusing on their achievement?
Or do da bitches always be wreckin' da cars?
Tyrone was supposed to pick up a friend, but his car was not operative, so he hired my cab and offered an explanation: His girlfriend had an accident the night before. The understanding friend commiserated: "Da bitches always be wreckin' da cars."
For many men, this is a philosophy of life, a comfortable justification, proof of male superiority in all things.
Today, I played golf at a public course where a women's league started out the morning. The course marshall matter-of-factly explained to our foursome that our round might be slow for the front nine, because the women were ahead of us. Of course, slow play is the bane of public course golf every day, but this morning, we had an explanation. It was not presented with any particular scorn or heard with abnormal dismay. It was simply confirmation of the cultural assumption.
Da bitches always be slowin' da play.
Echidne writes of a similar phenomenon as she recounts listening to a radio interview of people who commuted to work:
[A]fterwards I remembered what the one woman had said extremely well and couldn't really separate the men's comments from each other. The woman stood out as a representative of a large group "women"; the men were interviewed as individuals and so what they said somehow didn't stick to my memory. It's easy to see how something like this could turn into a belief that "women" are fairly represented in all sorts of fields, perhaps even overrepresented, while the reality could be the very opposite, unless one's view of fair representation is to have one woman to stand for all.
Echidne, you almost have it. One woman often does represent all women, but are men focusing on their achievement?
Or do da bitches always be wreckin' da cars?
2 Comments:
You are right, of course. But we women know about this kind of treatment, sadly. I was once told by a bank manager that he wouldn't hire women to run branches because there once was one and she was no good. Of course, this was some time ago and in another country, but the sentiment remains.
Yes, women know. For men, it is sub-conscious. We/they don't even see it most of the time.
Post a Comment
<< Home