I’ve been reading Boing Boing for a little bit now, and, while the tech/geek stuff is of interest, I STILL don’t get some of the stances on equality. And this article is just… Odd. Is this an act that’s supposed to be praised? If a guy today decided to don a set of falsies and a leotard to sneak into a Women’s only gym, for, I don’t know, I guess Hijinks was at least half the reason in the cited incident, would that be an act to be praised? Or generally regarded as creepy?
I’m not really turned on by the idea of gendered establishments, but, I can at least see why some activities folks of a similar disposition might wish to be able to let their hair down, so to speak, and drinking/socializing as well as personal fitness might well be two instances of that. But, we’ve gone way, way down the path of not accepting that, be it for a particular gender, race, etc. (Disallowing “White’s only” public institutions, or, as in the article, Men’s only Drinking Establishments).
At some point, it seems like you have to decide, which way is “equal”! Allowing some spaces of separation for certain activities, with different spots for Both/every side, and showing disdain for those that violate those norms? Or mandating such things be dissolved, and cheering those who would brave violating those norms, no matter which direction that violation would go. (And the former option totally ignores the various border situations, but, there’s got to be some kind of internet word limit that would be crossed opening that topic right away)
But allowing separate, restricted space for some, while mandating non-discriminatory access in other cases, is self evidently not equality, be it restrictions on Race, Gender, or even Religion (This would obviously apply to ostensibly “public” spaces, not private homes/property, or even members restricted institutions, though even those are a source of some contention).
-S.C
