I, for one, do question the legality of the exclusionary policy. I'm pretty sure that if this event had a rule that excluded, say, non-whites or people of Jewish descent, there would be an equal uproar and not only actual legal recourse, but action in progress. I also suspect that folks on this thread would be less inclined to defend the rights or even the moral justification of this Texas LAN party if they were excluding based on race.
Yes, there still remain some gender segregated organizations and events in our civilization, but really it's only because such events are grandfathered, which is to say, they've been around for much longer than the concept that women are (or should be) equal under law to men. Such traditions also serve as an embarrassing reminder to those barbaric times. Interestingly, all incidents of organizations which exclude on basis race or ethnicity have long since abandoned such official positions.[footnote]Churches, interestingly, are still allowed to reserve specific events exclusively for members of that specific faith. Most publicly, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints is notably exclusionary, as is the Church of Scientology. This has become an issue of debate not because non-members want to attend such events (Though this is the case regarding weddings and funerals.) but because of human abuses that are tolerated outside public scrutiny, about which we only hear in tell-all expositions of evicted or excommunicated members. In largely religious regions of the US, we do see plenty of Christian-only events, which become of issue when there's a conflict about who is or is not a Christian.[/footnote] Do we think women are less deserving than non-white men?
I would also agree with the sentiment that this is not only an insult to women (who are presumed to be an inherently disruptive factor at this event) but also to the men who might participate in such an event. It presumes that a) men are barbarian apes, lacking the capacity for civilized appropriate behavior at all, let alone in the presence of women (aggravated, I suppose, by the GIFT [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/], which seems to still apply out of habit in LAN parties), and b) The hosts are too milquetoast to enforce a modicum of civility, from which one can infer that a food fight, a riot or a drunken brawl will also overwhelm security.
So, yes, this is generalized bigotry at its worst. Of course, what would you expect from Texas?
238U.[footnote]In the event that Escapist requires me to view a commercial before getting a code, I will simply not post. Depending on the frequency, this may temper or cease my future participation in the Escapist community. Apologies in advance, if this policy prevents me from replying to you when it is proper to do so.[/footnote]
