I think men have relatively few social experiences where they see women create and maintain a driven, competitive environment -- for one another or for both men and women. I experienced this only rather late in life when I took ballet.
Good point - I haven't been in many situations where I had to compete with a woman directly. I suspect part of the reason why it's uncomfortable for women to break into software engineering is because it's mostly men. It'd be uncomfortable for me to work 8 hours a day in a room full of women, at least until I got used to it.
What do you think of ballet? Was it hard to get into as a man? Were there any prejudice issues where you were discriminated against on the basis of your gender, or was it as easy as in other fields of work?
I never worked in it, I only took classes as a hobby. I had private lessons for a time; I think that made things easier. And having a male instructor early on certainly made a difference.
There is no discrimination but there can definitely be a sense of being out of place.
