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Lesson 01 - The Mind of Woman Thomas

The passage discusses the challenges women face when entering traditionally male-dominated fields of work and intellectual pursuits. It argues that women, like amateur billiards players competing against professionals, are at a disadvantage compared to men due to a lack of lifelong practice and experience. Additionally, scientific and intellectual pursuits have historically been limited to white men of means, excluding groups like women, the poor, savages, and peasants who have faced geographical, economic, social, or gender-based barriers to participation.

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29 views1 page

Lesson 01 - The Mind of Woman Thomas

The passage discusses the challenges women face when entering traditionally male-dominated fields of work and intellectual pursuits. It argues that women, like amateur billiards players competing against professionals, are at a disadvantage compared to men due to a lack of lifelong practice and experience. Additionally, scientific and intellectual pursuits have historically been limited to white men of means, excluding groups like women, the poor, savages, and peasants who have faced geographical, economic, social, or gender-based barriers to participation.

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simmona2101
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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The Mind of Woman

The woman who undertakes to do man's work today undertakes to compete with professionals and has about the same relation to man that the amateur has to the professional in games. She may be desperately interested, and may work to the limit of endurance, but she got into the game late, has not had a lifetime of practice and does not have the advantage of that pace gained only by competing incessantly with players of the very first rank. No one will contend that the amateur in billiards has a nervous organization less fitted to the game than the professional; it is admitted that the difference lies in the constant practice of the professional, the more exacting standards prevailing in the professional ranks and constant play in fast company. A group of women would make a sorry spectacle in competition with a set of men who made billiards their life work. But how sad a spectacle the eminent philosophers of the world would make the same competition! Intellectual life and particular expressions of intelligence are beyond the reach of far the larger part of humanity because the larger part of humanity lives in a commonplace world. The world of scientific interest is limited to the white race, to a small portion of the men of the white race, and is of recent historical origin. The peasant, the savage, woman, and the poor man are outside this world simply because they are not taught to know and manipulate the materials of knowledge. The savage is outside the process for geographical reasons; the peasant is not in the center of interest; the poor man's necessities do not permit of any but immediate and practical activities, and woman does not participate because it is not necessary and not womanly

W.I. Thomas. "The Mind of Woman", American Magazine, 67 (1908): 146-152

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