22nd October 2009, 11:35 PM
Hey Digging the Dirt...I don't consider myself a humorless fool. Did you not get some of my amusement in my earlier posting
? But if you are to ask those women who paved the way for these gals to actually have those jobs, those women who really faced a rough time during the 60s and 70s and in other times in recent history, then a person might consider why the image feels a bit off. Some of those coming to archaeology today and in the past few years perhaps have little knowledge of a world where the glass ceiling was in fact a cement wall. Few women had paying positions in archaeology. I would also suggest that if one were to look at the numbers of university positions in archeology filled by females is significantly lower than those of their male counterparts. In CRM, my experience has been something similar on projects that require a very rigorous terrain, long hours, and being away from home for an extended period. It really comes down to a climate in which, whether conscious or not, there are sexist choices. It seems to me that the image feeds into the idea that the female on a crew is just that. I can laugh at the thought of folks dreaming up the setting for the picture, arranging a location and costume for the event, and carrying through with the fun of having a copy for each participant, but as with most anthropological settings interpretation depends on your experience, situation, personal exposure (no pun intended) to certain issues, and honestly which side of the fence you sit on.
Or maybe if you lean that way, the girls simply turn you on.}
? But if you are to ask those women who paved the way for these gals to actually have those jobs, those women who really faced a rough time during the 60s and 70s and in other times in recent history, then a person might consider why the image feels a bit off. Some of those coming to archaeology today and in the past few years perhaps have little knowledge of a world where the glass ceiling was in fact a cement wall. Few women had paying positions in archaeology. I would also suggest that if one were to look at the numbers of university positions in archeology filled by females is significantly lower than those of their male counterparts. In CRM, my experience has been something similar on projects that require a very rigorous terrain, long hours, and being away from home for an extended period. It really comes down to a climate in which, whether conscious or not, there are sexist choices. It seems to me that the image feeds into the idea that the female on a crew is just that. I can laugh at the thought of folks dreaming up the setting for the picture, arranging a location and costume for the event, and carrying through with the fun of having a copy for each participant, but as with most anthropological settings interpretation depends on your experience, situation, personal exposure (no pun intended) to certain issues, and honestly which side of the fence you sit on.Or maybe if you lean that way, the girls simply turn you on.}
we don't know what we don't know