
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 5, 1993                   TAG: 9306070115
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

A REFRESHING VIEW OF WOMEN'S ROLE

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Timothy Barrett's May 24 letter, "Women can help the economy by giving up their jobs - to men." Unfortunately, he will more than likely receive an adverse reaction, even though his arguments are intelligent and plausible.

While I realize that his theory is not wholly realistic, at least not in today's society, it is refreshing to see this kind of publication in times so conducive to the feminist ideology. I grow weary of hearing the National Organization for Women advocate radical pro-feminist policies as extreme as Barrett's, yet insist that they are only echoing popular sentiment. I am interested to see the backlash to his letter from those who contend that his position is unfavorable to women, yet support some of the extreme feminist views that can be just as unfavorable to men.

It is frustrating that it is socially acceptable nowadays to bash men's character, yet any "disrespectful" notion on women's role is taboo. I wonder how many would have supported an article titled, "Men can help the economy by giving up their jobs - to women," and been able to provide an intelligent, supporting argument without refuting Joan Beck's admittance of women's propensity for motherhood in her May 9 commentary ("Mothers must work, so society must adapt"). JAMES D. TETTERTON BLACKSBURG

by CNB