chabot@amber.DEC (Lisa Chabot) (06/04/84)
I first had my attention brought to the phenomenon by a man, until then I never thought about it (and when it was mentioned the first time, I thought "who cares!", but he seemed to harp on it (probably due to a limited imagination, I have since come to believe about this person)). Personally, I have only seen it in social situations--groups at restaurants, or at dances in high school and college (or the Stardust Ballroom) when it takes on more of a "hiding" character. It serves a protective function: I've found that you're less likely to get hassled or pinched if you can travel in a pack (and this hasn't been true when I've merely been, for instance, following a date across a dimly lit dance floor--so is it that if there is more than one woman, those jerks who want to pinch just can't decide which one, or is the date a challenge sort of like kicking sand in the face of the eternal eighty-pound weakling (which he wasn't))(those are rhetorical questions, I'm just meandering and don't really expect to start up a discussion about pinchers). Another protective feature is that if you can convince another woman to go along, then you know not EVERYONE will be talking about you at the table :-) (and maybe she'll tell you that you've tucked the hem of your skirt into your panty hose before you leave the bathroom :-) ! ). I've heard from men who say they also, you know, head for the powder room in packs (or at least, the men's room with other men friends). "Hi, Jay; say 'hi' to Ronni", Lisa Chabot UUCP: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot ARPA: ...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA USFail: DEC, MR03-1/K20, 2 Iron Way, Marlborough, MA 01752 shadow: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-avalon!chabot
alan@apollo.UUCP (06/05/84)
Those of us who have been around for (more than) a few years know
that this example of sexual dimorphism was first discovered by
that great sociologist - Dr. William Cosby. I think it was one of
his "lectures" on the "Why is There Air?" album... :-)
Lisa Chabot's analysis of this behavior:
>>> It serves a protective function: I've found that you're less
>>> likely to get hassled or pinched if you can travel in a
>>> pack
is a depressing commentary on the social skills of some fraction
of the male population. It is difficult for me to comprehend the
attitudes of people who find it necessary to behave in that manner.
This is similar to learning about the Nazi atrocities in
WWII. [...I am not equating "pinching" with "gassing"...] It is
hard to believe that such wholesale de-personalization could occur; but
it did. Similarly, I suspect it is hard for a white person to really understand
what a crummy deal blacks get in terms of general social attitudes.
Oh well, I just finished re-reading "The Devil's Dictionary", that
always leaves me feeling pessimistic and slightly depressed about
the human race.
Al Lehotsky
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I'd like to help you out. Which way did you come in?