pc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins) (07/28/83)
During the past few years there have been many seminars offered, particularly to women, to teach them the art (and science) of ASSERTIVENESS (as differing from aggressiveness). The hypothesis has been that many women were unable to get what they wanted because they were too passive and submissive. Trying the "opposite" approach, some women became aggressive and found that didn't work either. Assertiveness "training" has become quite a business. And not surprisingly, women and men benefit from having the ability to assert their ideas and to stand up for what they believe in without alienating or antagonizing others. At this point, further debate would belong to net.politics I guess, but I propose that what many people would like in a political leader is assertiveness NOT aggressiveness. As to whether women are "essentially" passive or aggressive: just look around you to see how diverse women are. The question I still want to answer for myself is whether there is something fundamentally different in the quality (kind not value) of the strength found in women/men. Patricia Collins hplabs