Dear CJ,

"Women on Top" ... As you point out CJ, nothing much has changed in the last quarter century.

Interaction between men and women carry symbolic meanings that may not be immediately obvious.

For example, the "door ceremony," in which men open doors for women, symbolically reinforces the idea of female dependency and delicacy, while asserting men's paternalism and control. Although on the surface it seems no more than a courtesy, the ceremony helps underscore existing patterns of inequality - which is one reason why a woman who opened doors for men would draw reactions of discomfort rather than gratitude.

Just as interesting as the question "why" men open doors for women is the question of "which" doors they open for women: certainly not the symbolic doors that lead to positions of power, wealth, and influence...

‘Oils aint oils’
It would be interesting to know what the surveyors’ definition of a ’feminist’ was –and whether all respondents’ shared that definition…

‘Oils aint oils’
It would be interesting to know if the surveyors’ & respondents’ shared the same mental gauge –which measured ‘good sex’ on the same scale…

‘Oil aint oils’
It would be interesting to know if one survey– amongst one population – however well constructed, could give meaningful results…

Ah but, who needs to know about oils when you have –‘good sex’

Foxy, your point about door opening is very interesting. I am not sure that it meant to be a demeaning assertion of the power of men over women, but I would certainly agree that its a power thing. The person in power opens the door and ushers through the other. I am a female professional, and when ushering clients to my office, always open and hold the door for them, male or female. Its not really something that I have given a lot of thought to, it just seemed the polite thing to do, but really I guess it reinforces that fact that I am leading the way. I know I certainly get uncomfortable when someone pre-empts me and gets the door instead.

Country Gal,

You got it in one. It is a power thing!

A power thing in some situations - courtesy in others.

I'm in the habit of opening or holding doors for others (both male and female when the circumstances seem appropriate). No sense of power in it that I've ever noticed. I appreciate it when others open or hold a door for me.

The following may diverge from the original topic but is in my view relevant to the comments about power and door opening.

William Farrel had some interesting points to make about the supposed power nature of the stuff that men have traditionally been expected to do for women in his book "The Myth of Male Power". Change the differentiation of the players from gender to race and ask who the roles would suggest has the power.

If a coloured person is expected to give up a seat for a white person on public transport is that because they have more power in society? If a coloured person is supposed to open the door and hold it open so the white person can go through is that because they have more power?

Watch a powerful person who enjoys the trappings of power get into or out of a car and see how often they have hired help to open the door.

Try it on anything where the roles are assumed to be about power and see if it holds. Sometimes it will, others will seem very much off the mark.

We needed/(still need) feminism to address some significant gender based limitations of opportunity for women and men. That does not make all the claims put forward valid. I suspect that in most cases things like opening doors are a mark of servanthood rather than an experession of power.

R0bert

Explain OLO please