Klarinet Archive - Posting 000086.txt from 1998/01

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Discrimination in hiring (was women in VPO)
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 17:32:29 -0500

I can't speak with any authority to the Bay Area Women's Phil and any
discriminatory practices that they may or many not have, but I can
speak with some authority on the Bay Area Gay Band.

It so happens I am not gay, but that it was a gay organization was of
no consequence to me when I was called by that group to play basset
horn in the Gran Partitta. I would have been very proud to play
with the group but they wanted me to perform indecently. They
asked me to play for free and I considered that an unnatural act.
But had they been willing to pay the regular fee, I would not have
felt self-conscious or otherwise embarassed by playing with the
group. My wife said that she wanted to come to the performance but,
as I said, I didn't participate.

So here is one group that apparently does not discriminate by
sexual preference, though their title gives the distinct impression
that they do.

There was, at one time in New York, a doctor's orchestra which
required one to be an MD (and maybe a dentist or chiropractor
might have been OK but I don't know) in order to be a member.

In effect, the business about discrimination is not so clear. By
gender, ethnicity, and race, it is quite clear, as it is in
Europe. But there, it is much harder to invoke the laws put
in place to diminish discrimination. But what about sexual
preference and career disciplines? There it gets muddy.

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
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