The other night my family and I went out to dinner with my grandpa. Papa is an avid golfer, and he being retired and all, he usually plays at least three or four times a week in the summer, and even takes vacations solely for the purpose of golfing. Whenever I see him, he usually has some golf story or another. So that night, he started into his usual golf story of the day.
He told us that he had played at the Old Elm Club in Highland Park that day. Then he goes on to tell us one of the most shocking things I have heard in a long time: Old Elm is a mens-only country club. Woman are not allowed to play the course, nor are they allowed to even step into the club house. In my grandpa's own words, "Their spouses are allowed to drop them off at the club, but they can't go in."
I probably had a very strange look on my face at that moment because I was in utter disbelief. No one but myself seemed to be very affected by this fact. I couldn't believe that places still kept such outrageous rules like that. I couldn't even start to comprehend why anyone would go to such extremes to keep woman out and be so obviously sexist. Did we honestly not learn anything in the past 50 years?
This made me realize something very important about our society: As much as people say racism and sexism has been completely eliminated in the United States, it is utterly false. Slavery has been abolished, but that doesn't mean there aren't any racists left in the country. The same goes with women's rights. Just because women can vote and be apart of the work force, it doesn't mean that the country hasn't been completely rid of sexists. Take Old Elm country club for example. In our society, men and women are far from equal.
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Aye, but realize that while racism towards blacks and sexism towards women exist, so do the opposites. You can't have one abolished without the other, and both have existed for quite some time. Unfortunately, human nature kind of prevents us from being that big, equal, lovey-dovey family that people hope for.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I read your blog about the mens only golf course. However, after clicking the link you posted, I read that the course was built in 1913, 7 years before women were given the right to vote. As astonished as I was, i now think that the course isn't that sexist after all. Perhaps the Old Elm Country Club is just trying to continue a tradition established long ago. However, if the gender rule is newly installed, I would be more apposed to it.
ReplyDelete@Greg, I don't think she's referring to gender binary so much as she's referring to inequality of law/opportunity.
ReplyDelete--
I share a similar sentiment when it comes to the men's-only golf club. More than anything, I find it really bizarre, although not necessarily very sexist. It's a private organization, and as a private organization it has the right to create its own rules and target only a specific audience. For example, boy scouts is boys-only, as we all know, and officially excludes gays (well, many of my gay guyfriends are boyscouts, anyway). There are also entire religions and religious positions just for men, and just for women, and while they are exclusive and may have a sexist background to them they might just be, as Ellie touched upon, tradition-based and the people attending may not be intentionally sexist.
I read about a law case where a guy sued a business for not letting him in for free on Ladies Night at a bar because it was sexist, and he ended up winning the lawsuit. He didn't gain any money, but did it on principle. I wonder what would happen if a woman decided she wanted to go to the golf course no matter what. Could they actually stop any female from entering?
Actually, Old Elm Club, does allow women in the Clubhouse, just not to play the course. Chicago has 1/6 of the mens' only clubs in the entire country.
ReplyDeleteI've been on the grounds and in the clubhouse there. From people who I know who have played the course, Old Elm course is one of the nicest manicured courses in the entire country.
It's a private club, and this is a free country. Old Elm Club does nothing to make women feel unconfortable or detract from their well being. In fact, most of their members allow their wives to play at another course to which they belong.
Read obituaries of their members available online, they are extraordinary people who lived successful lives. They are generous to their families and leaders in their communities. The members are not sexist in the least. It's simply a private club!
If I am not allowed in the house of another person, it's not because they're disciriminating against me, it's because it's private property. I am not allowed in womens' bathrooms, nor can I play on womens' only teams.
Lastly, if you were a golfer, you would know that men and women play differently. They are entitled to have their own clubs. There are only 24 all mens' clubs in the United States, and over 99.9% of golf courses can be played by women. Instead of attacking a super-minority of people who enjoy these clubs (about 6000 out of 307,000,000 Americans), please direct your energies toward more relevant matters.
G. Ellis - Palatine, IL