Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 21:09:31 -0400
From: Thomas F Brown <tombrown@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu>
Subject: Re:  "Stranglehold"
To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu
Message-id: <97Jun22.210933edt.26-7@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu>
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

>     Could Michael be clearer to what extent hiring women as gender
>specialists breaks the stranglehold of middle-aged white males over the
>future training and recruitment of sociologists, I would think it actually
>makes it easier to marginalize women and scholars interested in gender
>in sociology departments and perhaps in the discipline as a whole.

It only works to marginalize women in gender ghettos if they are at the
same time constrained from working in other specialties. If they are
not constrained from working in whatever specialty they choose on account
of their sex, then I don't see how you could possibly consider this
sexist demand structure as marginalizing women. It simply gives them
an opportunity that men aren't allowed. 

On the other hand, if women are constrained from entry into other specialties
on account of their sex, then I would agree with your argument. But we don't
have any evidence so far of such constraint.