Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 26, 1990 TAG: 9004260696
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The national poll found increasing numbers of women expressing annoyance at sexism and describing men as manipulative, oversexed and mean. It compared responses to identical questions asked 20 years ago.
In 1970, for example, two-thirds of the women surveyed agreed that "most men are basically kind, gentle and thoughtful." In the new poll, only half of the women interviewed agreed with that statement.
Prurience also took a pounding. Fifty-four percent of the women agreed that "most men look at a woman and immediately think how it would be to go to bed with her." That was up from 41 percent who agreed in 1970.
Majorities in the new poll, conducted by the Roper Organization, also rated men negatively on their egos and domesticity. Sizable minorities went further: Forty-two percent called men "basically selfish and self-centered."
The reason? "Women's growing dissatisfaction with men is undoubtedly derived from their own rising expectations," the pollsters reported. "`The more independent women of today expect more from men."
The poll, financed by Philip Morris USA in the name of its Virginia Slims cigarettes, was conducted July 22 through Aug. 12 by personal interviews with a random sample of 3,000 women. The margin of error was 2 points.
Respondents expressed greater awareness of discrimination against women than they did 20 years ago. But they also said overwhelmingly that women have made progress in job opportunities, fair pay and political leadership.
Six in 10 of the women who work full time said juggling jobs and families puts them under "a lot of stress," and nearly as many said they felt guilty about time they spend at work and away from their families.
"Their frustration comes out of trying to be superwomen," said Ellen Merlo, a Philip Morris vice president. "Women are handling so many aspects of life - trying to achieve success in careers, wanting to be a wife and a mother, run a home, and do it all well. It's a lot for anyone to handle."
Indeed, the second-greatest cause of resentment in respondents' lives was their mates' failure to help with household duties, cited by 52 percent. Only money was a greater cause of anger.
"As women contribute more to family income, they expect a more equitable division of the household responsibilities in return," the poll report said. "Women indicate that men are failing to live up to this ideal, and that their failure is a major source of irritation."
by CNB