[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Division of Labor

[Amanda Geist]

Vulgarweed said

> Well, racism and sexism are different in some ways and have different
> rationalizations, so can never be exactly paralleled. But "gender division
> of labor" certainly _does_ parallel the way *racism* plays out in some
> ways. Until fairly recently, in the US, blacks were barred from certain
> jobs (usually the prestigious, interesting, well-paying ones) entirely,
and
> herded into others, such as service jobs, janitorial work and domestic
> work, perhaps entertainment and athletics for the enjoyment of whites.
Some
> people at the time _did_ argue that this was a "separate but equal"
> division of labor. And some people believed that it was only right and
> natural because of black people's different capabilities and interests. It
> is *definitely* a VERY MAJOR and important form that "some races being
> treated worse than others" took. Not the only one, but a major one that
had
> great impact on the education, economic status, social status, and overall
> hopes and dreams of many generations of people.

Slightly off the topic, but I've read some interesting guidelines for
employers that date from the nineteenth century that offer helpful
classifications, such as
--Slavic people are good for heavy work, they're strong, but not very smart
--Italians are intelligent, but they are prone to volatility and aren't too
reliable
--Irish are not reliable, they drink, and they're not as strong as Slavs
etc. We tend, these days, to think of "racism" as only applying to blacks,
Hispanics, and sometimes Asians. The "visible" races. But it was used to
great effect to keep many ethnic minorities in their place for many years.

Just an interesting sidenote.

--Amanda