Man.... Woman....

[Earl Sande <sandes@wilken-dsm.com>]

I guess I'd better confess.  It was me who posted the original "100 Man
is....." statements, to show one method of giving the students something
which to organize their thoughts on the DDS.  I was challenged on the
gender issue and agree with Ken on the paradigm of "100 People
are....".  I agree, too, with many that gender is a very powerful, and
often used/misused, way to empower a group based on anatomy.
It seems, too, that the discussion has presented a wide array of
viewpoints, some more radical than others.  But is does show, I think,
that as a group, librarians are in the forefront of first, making
ourselves aware and being sensitive to a great number of issues (like
gender words, sexual topics, and so on), to think through the
alternatives open to us and apply what we consider "right" (as in,
correct), and to pass this attitude along to those under our care.
I consider it a privilege working as a teacher-librarian and the
re-examination of these kinds of issues on a fairly frequent basis
(remember, I've been a teacher-librarian for over 25 years) always makes
me more conscious of what a proud heritage we librarians do have.
I started out, if you recall, with "100 Man is....", responded initially
that I learned man was mankind and included women, and have been lead to
"100 People are...."  Isn't that great?
Thank you all.

--
Earl Sande, Upper School Librarian,
International School of Tanganyika,
United Nations Road,
Post Office Box 2651,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
(e-mail : sandes@wilken-dsm.com)

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