Why sexism hurts men

Women students take lead roles at Ga. Tech That's a headline from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from November 4.

I just "googled" my blog title to see if I could take the easy route and link some other blog. What I got is that: "men aren't allowed to cry" and "feminists rob men of their roles in the family" business which, while possibly well founded, is not what I'm talking about. What I mean might be described more clearly with the phrase, "Why discrimination against women hurts men" or "The importance of diversity for men."

I bring this up b/c of the quote in the ajc article regarding our illustrious president, Bud Peterson:

Peterson said it’s crucial for women to succeed. He recalled an activity a few years ago when the car company Saturn asked students to suggest improvements. Some women suggested a compartment on the back of the passenger seat with a hook to hang purses and other items. Handbags slide around and the contents empty out if the car suddenly stops, the women explained.

Sigh. This stupid little anecdote has been told by Bud before and it's offensive. You may have some other suggestions but I think the reason it's offensive is because women have been reduced to a ridiculous gender stereotype. We are valuable to industry because we install make-up mirrors on the insides of laptops...actually, I couldn't even come up with something more ridiculous that Bud's example. It's especially ridiculous because of this previous paragraph, written by the article's author, Laura Diamond:

National studies show the relatively new area of bioengineering has been popular with women. The field encompasses engineering applied to living things and has been used with ultrasounds and artificial knees and hips.

Ultrasounds, Bud, and artificial knees, you sexist jerk...[muttering]purse hooks, for crying out loud...

So, now I come to the subject of my post, an issue that my advisor and I discussed briefly this morning in the hallway:

Reasons that sexism (against women) hurts men:

1. Many of the world's smartest people (about half) are women. If we leave these particular smart people out of the workforce or force them into positions where they aren't allowed to think or contribute, the society as a whole (including the men) lose out on progress. The structure of DNA would not have been solved by men alone, for example.

2. Spending all of one's time thinking about one's own perspective, and having that perspective echoed back to you by the people around you, is not good for people. It makes them over-confident and boar-ish.

3. It must be exhausting to be constantly handing out favors to those beneath you. Wake up and realize that that's not what you're doing. By surrounding yourself with women in the workplace who could kick the crap out of you academically and in terms of hard work, you may start to feel less resentful of affirmative action...if you could ever actually admit to yourself that that woman just kicked the crap out of you...probably you think it's b/c of that extra year they gave her to get tenure...

Okay, so I've clearly dissolved into frustrated finger-pointing. If you, my friends, have any other suggestions for how (a) Bud Peterson could better describe the importance of diversity at GT or, (b) Men suffer from sexism (against women), let me know.