Comments on: Herr Professor Daddy? I didn’t think so. http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/08/19/herr-professor-daddy-i-didn%e2%80%99t-think-so/ social commentary, gadgets, art, travel and whatever else comes to mind Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:34:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: scott http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/08/19/herr-professor-daddy-i-didn%e2%80%99t-think-so/comment-page-1/#comment-14287 scott Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:07:15 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/08/19/herr-professor-daddy-i-didn%e2%80%99t-think-so/#comment-14287 Definitely, something needs to change there! At the same time, people relate to men and women differently in every context, not just this one. Every profession, every organization--and surely in non-professional, social situations too. Should we strive to eliminate all of these differences? Maybe just the professional ones? I'm all for professional and workplace equity, but I wonder if there's a limit to how androgynous we can become in our interactions as human beings. Definitely, something needs to change there!

At the same time, people relate to men and women differently in every context, not just this one. Every profession, every organization–and surely in non-professional, social situations too.

Should we strive to eliminate all of these differences? Maybe just the professional ones? I’m all for professional and workplace equity, but I wonder if there’s a limit to how androgynous we can become in our interactions as human beings.

]]> By: Kristin http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/08/19/herr-professor-daddy-i-didn%e2%80%99t-think-so/comment-page-1/#comment-14286 Kristin Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:50:44 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/08/19/herr-professor-daddy-i-didn%e2%80%99t-think-so/#comment-14286 I saw another manifestation of this sort of thing during my Master's courses. Male professors, with the exception of one, were always addressed by students as "Professor Smith", and female professors were always addressed by just their first names, and this held true for both male and female students. With the exception of one male prof, who asked each class to just address him by his first name, none of the other professors invited students to call them one form or the other - it was just the accepted cultural norm that students would address one gender one way, and one the other, which sets up a strange hierarchical element that elevates men up to a more respected position and brings women down to a more personal level, regardless of their place in the academic hierarchy. I saw another manifestation of this sort of thing during my Master’s courses. Male professors, with the exception of one, were always addressed by students as “Professor Smith”, and female professors were always addressed by just their first names, and this held true for both male and female students. With the exception of one male prof, who asked each class to just address him by his first name, none of the other professors invited students to call them one form or the other – it was just the accepted cultural norm that students would address one gender one way, and one the other, which sets up a strange hierarchical element that elevates men up to a more respected position and brings women down to a more personal level, regardless of their place in the academic hierarchy.

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