ignore it and it will go away...

that has been somewhat my working theory against sexism for the past while now. It doesn't really work, but in some ways I think it's a fairly revolutionary way to tackle the subject in that, at the very least, it makes the act of being sexist look more absurd than if it were a subject I were willing to give credence. (if that makes any sense...) I can keep asking why things are happening and let the rest of the world grapple with the question of whether or not it has anything to do with sexuality or my own shortcomings.

In any event, I used to think about the burqa a bit - during my trip to Afghanistan, I received some of the most intense stares of my life which, according to my colleagues, was a product of Afghan men not having seen woman's faced in public for so many years. I have favored the idea of having my own job so that I have more control over what I want and do not want for myself for some time, if not for as long as I can remember, and, in a weird way, I think that the burqa might be a feminist garment in that it eradicates the possibility for women to be paid and valued based on their appearance in a male dominated field. Having said that, the very idea that I women hold have to go above and beyond to thwart a man's inability to control their sexual desires is inherently sexist. Still, all the rest aside, I think there is much more than my gender holding me back from career success.