<p>We need to stop all this discrimination. I mean, how dare the Girl Scouts exclude boys. How dare the Girl Scouts exclude adults. What if a 40 year old man wants to be a Girl Scout because he loves to sell cookies? I cannot believe how his civil rights are being violated and no one is doing anything about it.</p>
<p>If we let this get out of hand, pretty soon girls and women will have their own public restrooms. As well all know, separate but equal is not equal at all.</p>
<p>Oh crap. I hope she has the guts to get up and announce in public
“Yes, they invited me to join. Yes, I am declining the invitation. Yes, IBM is pulling our sponsorship of the Master’s. Augusta has the right to remain an all male private invitation, and IBM has the right to provide sponsorship to organizations and events that share our values and our 21st century view of the world.”</p>
<p>They are only willing to ask a woman to join for the money. They will sell their souls to someone else eventually.</p>
<p>Great story about a male only club nearby. trustee member and wife having lunch in the mixed grill room overlooking the course. wife becomes irate when she sees a member in the tree line relieving himself of excess urine. wife demands trustee husband take this atrocity up with membership. the next day, no women were allowed in the grill room.</p>
<p>Exactly! The only reason for a woman to desire entrance into an all male club is if she is interested in doing a documentary on chest thumping!</p>
<p>I agree, lololu! Well said. That is what I hope happens, too.</p>
<p>I’m all for male chest thumping … after all I do have a S and H who need their guy time rightfully so. What I don’t agree is that Augusta ties their private membership to corporate sponsorship, and doesn’t match diversity views of corporations like IBM (and GE and HP and Intel, etc.). They can’t have it both ways … they either risk losing corporation sponsorship of events they host or they match the world in treating all people equally.</p>
<p>There will be a LONG line of sponsors to take IBM’s spot if they pull out. It’s a pretty primo sponsorship to have. IBM’s loss if they go that route.</p>
<p>I guess I’m the only one here who looks on the history and significance of this a little differently. This debate is about power and money, and controlling access to it.</p>
<p>If this was just a men’s golf club, it wouldn’t be making headlines. This “golf club” invites membership of men of great wealth and power. Membership confers extensive business and financial networking benefits. They explicitly award membership to CEOs of sponsoring organizations. They are one of the last such bastions of corporate privilege to openly exclude women executives. I understand they have one black member. Playing golf has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>It hasn’t been that many years (within my memory as an adult) when women were not welcomed at many of our nation’s most exclusive colleges and universities. They were systematically excluded from whole professions, were barred from owning credit cards, were openly paid less than men in the same jobs, and were generally expected to be subordinate to the “head of the household.”</p>
<p>Of course, men should be able to have men’s clubs. Women can have women’s clubs. When is the last time you heard about the head of Goldman Sachs clamoring to join his wife’s bridge club? Follow the money.</p>
<p>Yet another reason why I am a tennis fan and why tennis is the greatest sport in the world.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>All the major tournaments are combined mens’ and womens’ events.</p></li>
<li><p>The men and the women earn equal amounts for the championships.</p></li>
<li><p>Mens’ and womens’ matches get equal TV air time.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I can’t think of any other professional sport that treats men and women as equally as tennis. There are no other sports in which the women players are as prominent as the men. </p>
<p>For the amateur player, it’s a lot more exercise than golf. And the outfits are waaay cuter. :)</p>
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<p>I think something similar was said about Congress, the Supreme Court, medical schools, law schools, . . . . and pretty much every institution with power and prestige in the US.</p>
<p>As Christine Brennen said on NPR this morning, when you take the turn into Augusta National, you take a turn back to the 50s. Yes, it’s a private club and they can do whatever they want to do. I grew up in a city where there were many country clubs and city clubs where Jews and Blacks and women could not join . . . most of them have now changed their rules. Maybe it’s time for Augusta National to come into the 21st century.</p>
<p>Again, should the all women colleges be forced to accept men?</p>
<p>Personally, I do think the all women’s colleges SHOULD take men IF they get any tax dollars at all. This private club presumably doesn’t take any federal or state dollars and so they can do what they like. That’s a legalistic argument.</p>
<p>BUT, I also think that they are foolish not to accept women. The real world has both genders and all races and in college as in the social world, it helps everyone’s personal growth to be exposed to all in the mix. Merit should be the only criteria for an offer of admission.</p>
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<p>It is a legitimate question. However, I think it deserves its own thread.</p>
<p>Augusta will allow Ginny to scuba dive (her sport) in their ponds. She could supplement her income by selling the golf balls she retrieves.</p>
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<p>Absolutely. It’s not as though IBM wasn’t aware of Augusta National’s policies prior to this year. They’ve been happy to sponsor the Masters because it is a very lucrative tournament and it makes financial sense for them to do so. </p>
<p>This woman is in a tough position. Either way. It’s possible that she already got the invitation and it’s also possible that she’ll never receive it. We have a couple of friends who are members and one of them thought that the invitation was a practical joke when he received it. He’d ever indicated to anyone that he wished to be considered/sponsored/invited. It’s a very strange club, and it’s a given that they will not talk about membersip.</p>
<p>I’ve been on planes all day and love tracking how this thread has evolved. SteveMA, you are a fascinating personality…look up the definition of straw man argument, then come back with something more compelling. Also, kudos on your golf achievements, I assume you did not emerge from the womb driving 250 yards, how ever did those on the hole behind you cope while you were ascending to single digit greatness?</p>
<p>I agree that Augusta gets to do whatever they like, I’m vehemently against telling private entities what they can and cannot do. I do think that it’s archaic, misogynistic and ultimately a path to extinction for them. I think those old white men are smarter than that, and I’ll bet any amount this policy recedes into the dark ages very soon, whether we hear about it officially or not.</p>
<p>So women can have their own private fitness clubs (Curves anyone?) but men can’t have their own private golf club? Makes sense to me!</p>
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The equestrian events - one of the few sports where women and men compete against each other.</p>
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<p>These are completely different. Let me explain it. You see when a private fitness club for women excludes men that is permissible because those being excluded are men and the women don’t want the men around. When a golf club is owned by men but permits women to play on the course, that is discriminatory because it is women who are being excluded from ownership. The rule is simple: it is always ok to discriminate against men, but it is never ok to discriminate against women.</p>
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<p>Got it. Knew it was something simple!</p>