Klarinet Archive - Posting 000107.txt from 1999/02

From: DHmorgan@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Women and orchestras
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 15:25:49 -0500

Having spent ten years working with discrimination professionally, I thought I
might chime in here, for what it's worth. I can't tell you how many times
this argument comes up in every context where discrimination an issue. Yes,
it's off the subject of the newsgroup, but this is the second time in less
than a month where discrimination has become a hot thread, so maybe, subject
be damned, the list needs to discuss it--

What I found useful was to think in terms of the Immersion/Emmersion model of
identity formation. One of the hot issues among college students is, "Why do
all the black kids sit together? Isn't that 'discrimination'?" Research has
shown that marginalized groups have specific identity-formation needs that are
best met through Immersion into the group--blacks in college are typically
discovering their 'blackness' in a big way, and they need to find a separate
place away from the hegemony of white culture to explore this. This process
is seen as normal and healthy. Oddly, no one seems to think that straight,
white male Immersion, which they do constantly through sports, drinking, male
social groups, etc, is in some way destructive--and it's the one instance
where they probably should!

Lisa seems to be arguing for the virtues of Immersion--and there are many.

Then there's Emmersion. Most people leave the Immersion phase eventually
(though not all) and make a foray out into the dominant culture with stronger
sense of who they are and what they want than they ever could have had if they
had never been through the immersion phase. And, of course, one can go back
and forth between the two, perhaps for the rest of one's life. One
characteristic of the Emmersion phase is that to the Emmersee the Immersees
start to look silly. One begins to shed some ascpects of the believe system
that allowed for intense in-group Immersion, and the people in that phase that
still hold those beliefs seem to be 'making a mistake'. Of course, those
leaving Immersion need to have the good sense to remember what it was like
when they were there and respect the process.

Hope this helps--

Truly,
Don

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