University of Nebraska Omaha - Tomahawk / Gateway Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

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secretarial work which was only minor. On the countryside in Yugoslavia, everyone was close to the earth. It was an atmosphere of sharing rather than male dominance. Survival was the thing, with men and women working side by side. Miss Owen thinks, Male dominance in the United States is most readily noticed by the middle classes and upper classes because they have the time to notice it. She feels women's lib isn't accepted by the struggling minorities because they think it takes attention away from their area of struggle. But many times the liberation move- ment has been associated with the plight of black people. Like black people, women claim as great a struggle for voting rights and job equality, but here white Americans, including white women, still have an advantage over blacks. Kathy Pope, former Miss Omaha, now a student at UNO, believes the liberation movement, if successful, would end many opportunities for black men. Currently holding the title of first runner-up in the Miss Bronze Pageant, Miss Pope thinks the liberation movement has too much idealism, and the plans aren't functional in our society. She feels society would have to change before their demands could be met. Miss Pope disagrees with the liber- ationists on their stand against beauty contests. 1 don't see anything wrong with contests because there are many benefits, such as prizes and meeting people. The contests girls enter strictly for beauty would depend on what a girl wants out of a contest; it should be entirely up to her. The liberationists that worry about Playboy's comments are going to have to accept things from a man's point of view, as well as a woman's. They must learn to carry two loads at once, if they are to assume a liberated role, she added. Black women have two counts against them and continue to carry these burdens, one being black and the other being a woman. Miss Pope feels that all black women have this double burden to live with. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, overcame these two simultaneously. She has been quoted as saying that discrimination against females hasn't been recognized to the point that discrimination against blacks has. With her present political career, Miss Chisholm projects a brighter future for other females, both black and white. Political power is what some of the conservative lib organizations call con- structively working themselves into power, and the Chisholm success carries a lot of weight in this argument. Cur- rently, 11 women hold US Congressional seats. Looking back over the history of female involvement in politics, UNO stu- dent Kay Brown thinks, Giving women the right to vote didn't have much to do with giving them political influence. They were already politically aware. Women are sometimes their own enemies because they judge other women's abilities according to their own, says Miss Brown. For an example, if a woman decides to run for public office, women will usually vote against her because they judge this woman according to themselves, thinking her incapable of the job. Jealousy often comes into the picture, she added. Women still remain in the background where politics are concerned. Some serve as campaign helpers during political campaigns and elections. They should have the same role as men in politics, says Miss Brown, a member of the Doug- las County Democratic Central Com- mittee. A more active position in politics, such as campaign managers, delegates to state or national conventions and public office holders, are positions that women should seek. Miss Brown believes, The old built-in attitudes are the hardest to shed, not the laws or rules. When women break out of their roles, everyone gets confused. Usually it results in women not being taken seriously. Many times the women's liberation movement isn't taken seriously because women are protesting their feminine roles. Mary Jane Lohmeier, speaker of the UNO Student Senate, thinks feminity is an advantage. A loss of it would mean a loss of male respect. She feels responsibility is the key word to the wage scale. In the past, women have held secretarial jobs, jobs that aren't socially high on the scale. In manual labor and cafeteria jobs, some of the hardest working people don't earn much because they don't have as much responsibility, according to Miss Loh- meier. All women don't want to achieve the goals of the national movement. But, if it's something a woman can't achieve alone, then it should be each woman's own personal commitment to unite with other women for a common goal. The women's liberationists seem to be doing this, she added. Many times Playboy's editor Hugh Hefner has been considered a bad influ- ence on the female image. The magazine has been accused by liberationists of exploiting the female as an object for male pleasures. Resentment is high among liberationists over this alleged image of feminity. Miss Lohmeier thinks Hefner has the right to publish any image he desires, although it could have a psychological effect on men, since some men believe everything they read. And if they do, she added, then it becomes the responsi- bility of women to set them straight. Maybe that's what the current lib move- ment is all about. BY LYDA BANKS 7

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Despite liberated attire, this female still enjoys male courtesies. At UNO, females think nothing of having cigarettes lit by male students. On the UNO campus there seems to be very little liberation activity . . . Other than a gradual emersion of female instructors in pant suits, the visible signs of the movement are few. pursuing careers in politics, engineering or business. Today, the female horizons are widening from their former sphere of teaching and motherhood into areas that 10 years ago were strictly in the male domain. UNO sociology professor Dr. Elaine Hess has some logical explanations for the women's lib movement: Discrimination against women on the job market occurs, but it is more subtle, she claims. When women don't readily detect this discrimination, it's harder to pinpoint. Many women accept the discrimination rather than speak out against it. Dr. Hess adds, Women are some women's worst enemy — their worst discriminator - because they don't want to do anything about discrimination. She went on to say that women are taught from childhood to compete for male attention, making the whole thing seem like a merit system. Whoever wins the most attention is the most feminine, according to men. Women are frowned upon for reacting to social conditions, but, she said, Women should have the right to express dissent. The idea of keeping quiet shouldn't apply to women, if not to men. More responsibility seems to be the key to many feminine goals now. Jobs, other than secretarial work, are desired by qualified women. Sue Owen, coordinator for Manpower for Urban Progress on the UNO campus, feels there is discrimination in the job market. If you are a male and meet all the requirements such as grades, edu- cation, etc., then there is no doubt in the employer's mind. But if you're a woman, they give a second and third look at your qualifications, and you must continue to prove your ability day after day. In her own job activity she feels there is no problem with working at a sub- ordinate job. Program Director Mike Adams has a completely different job function from mine. Her only disagreement with the lib movement is that their main attack is directed at male chauvinism. I think it's time to stop the marching in the streets and prove we are capable of doing the job. The liberation movement has been noticed, so now we've got to get to the roots of things and work from there. It is time for women to look to the economic and social aspects of the country. The male illusion, the system recognizes as power, is an ego trip. Miss Owen has worked with laborers of several European countries. She went to Europe to learn about people. In a German camera factory all the manual labor was performed by the women. All the administrative work was done by men, except for some of the 6

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For fun and fashion, COMFORT COMES TO CAMPUS 8