I have to address the suggestion that colleges should be providing women with “a public speaking class to avoid a whining female voice.” My D was a very successful debater in high school and got her share of sexist comments on ballots. I particularly remember one hotly contested semi-finals round that she lost 1-2 where one of the judges lectured her on being “overly aggressive and strident” while simultaneously praising the male team for being “strong and persuasive.” That judge was a middle aged woman and the other two judges were college aged males. (It’s common that judges at debate tournaments are either college student aged ex-debaters or middle aged teachers and parents.) The comments of the two male judges were all about the strength and weaknesses of her argument. The woman judge was clearly bothered by D’s style. As a middle aged woman myself, I found it sad to see time and time again that some of the most sexist comments on ballots came from MY peers. In addition to the “strident” and “overly aggressive” comments she was told at various times she was wearing too much or too little makeup, too loud a color of nail polish, and should wear a skirt suit instead of a pantsuit. Every one of these criticisms came from an older woman judge. Debate taught my D to speak with confidence and present an argument supported by facts and logic. It taught her to look the audience directly in the eye. It taught her to slow down and not not get so wound up you talk too fast. These are great skills. But when someone starts to tell a female not to be “whiny” or “strident” or “hysterical” then I think those comments clearly cross the line into sexism. Fortunately I think the younger generation is more aware of these prejudices.
And can I ask what is meant by “sugar coating classes suitable for Claremont McKenna kiddos”? I’m not even sure where that comment is going.