Thursday, April 3, 2008

Not Quite A Feminist

Yesterday marked the last meeting I needed to set up my new committee. I met Committee Member in her office, and we had a very nice conversation. She has lived in Buddhist Country and speaks the language fluently. In some ways, she behaves like people from that country. Buddhist Country may not be where I will collect my data, but My Country is pretty close to it, and so culturally, she is the closest informant in my department. She said she would be very happy to be in my committee.

Now I have a committee of three women. Two women co-advisers, and one woman committee member. I struggled with that a little, then realized that I am a man, and so is Outside Committee Member. That's balance, isn't it?

Working with women does feel different from working with men (generally speaking). I just need to alter my worldview slightly and chant a new mantra: "Let the estrogen flow!"

3 comments:

Scholar Wannabe said...

First, congrats on having assembled a committee!!

Second, would you be so kind as to clarify the following?

1) Why did you struggle with the realization that your committee is composed of three women?

2) In what ways does working with women feel different from working with men?

Fajita said...

Compared to Rush Limbaugh, you're a Feminist. Perhaps you are an Accidental Feminist who has stumbling into it unwittingly. Or a Reluctant Feminist who finds himself siding with Feminism more than he ever thought he would. Or maybe even an Aspiring Feminist who finds there is much to like about Feminism, but does not feel like he qualifies as one - what with all the Testosterone.

God be with you on your dissertation journey.

Lonely Dissertator-No-More said...

Scholar:
1. I'm a male chauvanist pig.
2. Less piggish.

Fajita:
Neither Accidental, Reluctant, nor Aspiring. Just Not Quite.