I've joked around a little but here are my real feelings:
I'm a child of the 60's. I subscribe to the women's liberation movement. I
honestly believe that women and men should be treated with gender blindness;
just as I believe that there should be no differentiation between races and
religions. To have a separate ladies class demeans women and our sport. A
separate ladies class implies that ladies are either inferior or superior
drivers and that to put them in the same class as men would be unfair.
We don't have separate black and white classes; we don't have separate Jew
and Catholic classes; we don't have separate senior citizens classes; why,
oh, why do we have a ladies class? The answer is that its an antiquated
throwback to the male-dominated society of the past century. If women in
autocross feel they really need a "powder puff" class then I think we should
expect them to start making apple-brown-betty and tuna casserole and all the
other house-wiferly stereotype jobs that women have traditionally performed.
If you want a ladies class then you philosophically enslave all women.
However, although I have an opinion, parallel ladies classes really do not
effect me (as Tim Aro so eloquently pointed out) so if you want them then ok
by me. If it comes to a vote I guess you know which way I will go.
Regards,
Alan
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