Gender Earnings
I have had the pleasure in the last two months to be invited to partipate in Euchre tournaments. Now for my friends down South - Euchre is a card game that involves lots of strategy and a little luck of the cards.
The first tournament consisted of 16 people and everyone put in $10 a piece. The winners were the two people with the highest points, person with the most loners and the loser got their $10 back.
Now I didn't agree with the loser getting their money back but we will save that argument for another post.
The second tournament consisted of 20 people and everyone put in $10 a piece. The winners were the man with the highest points, the woman with the highest points and the person with the most loners. Plus they rewarded the male and female loser with their money back.
I immediately had to be clear...are we basing earnings of this game on gender?
The gracious host explained she and her family have played Euchre for years and she was taught that men play more aggressive, which can lead to more points, so you have to pay based on gender.
I wanted to scream bull crap but my momma taught me good manners and I respected that it was her house. But since I am blogging and in no one's home...
BULL CRAP!
What a stereotype! It is not like we are playing tug-of-war here where physical strength was involved. It is a card game based a strategy and luck.
Women accepting what they were taught about gender differences and allowing those explanations to still exist is the reason statistics prove men continue to earn significantly more than women in the same position (though the percentage continues to decrease).
So if the next time I play Euchre and I play aggressive to gain points, that will not make me a man. It will make me a woman who likes to win.
And a woman who hopes to change gender stereotypes, even if it is over a card game.
The first tournament consisted of 16 people and everyone put in $10 a piece. The winners were the two people with the highest points, person with the most loners and the loser got their $10 back.
Now I didn't agree with the loser getting their money back but we will save that argument for another post.
The second tournament consisted of 20 people and everyone put in $10 a piece. The winners were the man with the highest points, the woman with the highest points and the person with the most loners. Plus they rewarded the male and female loser with their money back.
I immediately had to be clear...are we basing earnings of this game on gender?
The gracious host explained she and her family have played Euchre for years and she was taught that men play more aggressive, which can lead to more points, so you have to pay based on gender.
I wanted to scream bull crap but my momma taught me good manners and I respected that it was her house. But since I am blogging and in no one's home...
BULL CRAP!
What a stereotype! It is not like we are playing tug-of-war here where physical strength was involved. It is a card game based a strategy and luck.
Women accepting what they were taught about gender differences and allowing those explanations to still exist is the reason statistics prove men continue to earn significantly more than women in the same position (though the percentage continues to decrease).
So if the next time I play Euchre and I play aggressive to gain points, that will not make me a man. It will make me a woman who likes to win.
And a woman who hopes to change gender stereotypes, even if it is over a card game.
posted by Holly @ 10:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home