Man Woman Ethno

MCP · Guest

http://www.onecitizenspeaking.com/2008/06/if-women-want-t.html

In an hell-bent effort to gain equality with those who stand up to pee,
women have turned to lawyers and the government to enforce their rights to
use "men only" facilities at private clubs. Even to the extent of allowing
women into the men's steam room.

One recalls with disdain, the antics of the publicity-seeking attorney
Gloria Allred whose web site proudly lists among her legal accomplishments:

"Allred is renowned for her bold and creative tactics, and she recounts
such unconventional strategies as visiting the all-male steam room of the
Friars Club armed with a tape measure for the naked men and warbling the
Peggy Lee hit 'Is That All There Is?' in order to end its men-only policy,
and waging a sit-in and being locked inside the Los Angeles County District
Attorney's office overnight to protest inadequate enforcement of
child-support laws."

From the New York Times .

"Nice Spot to Eat After Golf, but Women Are Barred"

"When the men of the Phoenix Country Club saw their feeding ways in peril,
they did not tarry. Some sent nasty e-mail messages, hectored players on the
fairway and, for good measure, urinated on a fellow club member's pecan
tree."

"The targets of their ire were the women, and some men, who have dared to
speak up against the club's policy of forbidding women in the men's grill
room, a center of power dining in Phoenix."

"Charges of sexism against private golf clubs are not uncommon; the
Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, where the Masters is held each year,
does not permit women to be members."

"But here in Arizona, where the governor, secretary of state, chief
justice and Senate minority leader are women, it has rankled more than a few
women that nonmember men have more rights than paying female members at the
Phoenix Country Club, a century-old fixture in the city's social and
business life where it costs tens of thousands of dollars a year to belong."

"Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, is not a member of the club, but
Dennis Burke, her chief of staff, is. Mr. Burke has publicly opposed the
separated dining rooms, and in an interview called them 'indefensible.'
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, does not belong to the club but
has spoken there. (The McCain presidential campaign declined to comment on
the separate dining rooms.) According to a 2007 club directory, Mr. McCain's
son, Andrew, is a member, along with scores of other notable Phoenix
residents, including the rocker Alice Cooper."

"Women at the club are not permitted to have lunch in the men's grill room
with their husbands after a round of golf; they have been barred from trophy
ceremonies after tournaments, even ones they have sponsored, and may not
participate in one of the most sacred rituals of the men's grill room -
sealing a deal over a beer with a client."

Boo Hoo!

"If at three in the afternoon I wanted to have a business cocktail, there
wasn't any place to go," said Vicki King, whose husband recently resigned
from the club. Ms. King had privileges at the club as the spouse of a
member."

I cannot believe that a city as large and sophisticated as Phoenix does not
have a multiplicity of venues which will be conducive to business drinking
at 3:00 p.m. And why, I might ask, isn't she back in the office cleaning up
the paperwork at 3:00 after having sealed the deal over a two-hour liquid
lunch at some more commercial facility?

The argument that business women are precluded from making deals on the same
basis as men does have some merit. But only if such deal-making is over
golf, drinks or even at a strip club. In reality, these are "getting to know
you" events which ease deal-making - but one would have to be downright
stupid to think that even if a women were permitted access, the social
dynamics of the interaction would be the same.

Now an aggrieved member couple has filed a complaint with the civil rights
division of the Arizona attorney general's office and is allegedly arguing
that while the club is private and not ordinarily subject to the state's
anti-discrimination laws, the club should be subject to sanctions because it
leases its facilities to non-members for golf tournaments, speeches and
meetings.

If they are so aggrieved or uncomfortable, why not simply pack their bags
and join a club that caters to couples. Unless it is a matter of the social
prestige that accrues from membership in that particular club. in which
case, they should honor the club's tradition and internal grievance
procedures. And if they are that aggrieved, they can solicit membership
support for a new mixed-use facility and keep the entire matter out of the
media.

Anyway, the club is said to be renovating the women's area to be the
equivalent of the men's facility. Problem solved. On to the real problems .
What to do about the membership of a spouse whose husband has died or has
re-married? And what about their children's access?

Oh! the troubles of dealing with life at the top?

But real issue remains: the members of this private club should decide what
policies should govern their club and these should be expressed to the
elected Board for consideration. No member should ever file a formal
grievance against the club or seek legal redress. They should resign their
membership and move on. What part of "private" do they not understand?