Quote:
Originally Posted by All-American
Mike, I've already agreed that there is a greater tendency for LDS women to stay at home instead of go on to get educations. What I am not seeing is women being discouraged from pursuing an education and enduring institutional repression if they try to do it. I have friends and family members who are going on missions, getting masters and doctoral degrees, and using their education in the workplace. Some of them didn't get married because the opportunity never arose; others had legitimate offers on the table and turned them down to pursue opportunities. Still others got married, had or are having children, and are STILL pursuing education and career. The response to these women from friends, family, and mentors around them has overwhelmingly been support for these women who are following their dreams.
What I see and hear from these girls RIGHT NOW is a very different picture from the one you are painting. Maybe I am unaware of what kind of repression these girls have had to face; if so, enlighten me, please.
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I don't know that overt institutional oppression exists at BYU as Waters describes, but I had similar thoughts when I was at BYU too. I think if you look at women in your ward, you will note that there are very few professional women around, far fewer than you would expect given the education levels of most people in your wards. Whether that is a result of pressure applied at BYU or general church pressure (or whether the pressure at BYU, if any, is the result of general church pressure too), is certainly debatable.