Typists

 Hi there

above: old typewriter,  stock photo

Way back in the 1800s, there was a protest march through Manhattan.  By typists.  Or 'typewriters', as they were called in those days.

The protesting typists/typewriters were all men, objecting to women wanting to  take over this male role.  Oh goodness, when greedy bosses offered less salary to women than the salary that men were getting, the women snatched at the offers and the men got upset.

In the 1800s this takeover was definitely a triumph for women. It wasn't scrubbing floors, doing laundry, or being a house maid.  It was a break-through.  It was professional office work with better labour conditions - and, yes, better pay - than any maid-servant job could match.

So, women the world over became typists....

Now .. Think to the 1990s and the advent of computers into the women's typing haven.  Some business firms started calling typists 'word processors' (my typing pool even had that name put on a sign on our door, much to the hysterical laughter of the 'girls').

Then the job title changed again:  'data input operators' ...

And men perked up their ears.  The modern guy didn't want to be a typist, with its 'girlie' implications but, hey, being someone who input data sounded masculine enough, right?

And as fast as the snap of fingers, men were rushing to become typists (oops, sorry, I mean Data Input Operators, or any other title that sounded as away from 'typist' as a word could get).

Full circle, people......?