Over the weekend, Judge Sotomayor resigned her membership in the Belizean Grove in anticipation of her Senate confirmation hearings. Ever since I heard the news, I've been trying to decide what I think about her membership and the negative reaction to it. On the one hand, I'm all for camping, networking, and new age old girls clubs. On the other hand, I'm not convinced that only girls clubs are more effective networking tools for professional women than gender-nuetral associations. Plus there's a legitimate aversion among many women to gender distinction of any kind. 

This is hardly idle daydreaming, after all Ms. JD, while not as exclusive as the Grove, is in part organized around the principle that women can and should be helping other women. Though we are an inclusive forum open to all political, personal and profesisonal viewpoints, inherently we have highlighted, albeit in an attempt to nuetralize, the role gender plays in the profession. 

The tension between advancement for underrepresented groups and a discomfort with gender-exclusive dynamics comes up often in conversations about generational differences as well. Namely, Gens X/Y and Millenials are often offended by gender-oriented activities. They see work-life balance and other professional issues as being of equal concern to all genders and any effort to address them otherwise as ineffective. 

I take a different view. I tend to think that the previous characterization of younger professionals reflects their current lack of work-life imbalance. We're talking about a group of people far less likely than their elders to have a house, mate, or family. Once you do, and unless you're that pregnant guy from Oprah, you quickly learn some things will never be gender nuetral no matter how cool you are. (OK at least I think that's what happens since I'm Gen Y, single, and childless) 

So I tend to think the existence of and membership in the Belizean should have been fine. I don't think that makes me a sexist. Nor do I assign insidious motive to those who take the opposite view (as I did to those who screamed "reverse discrimination" when the short list was allwomen). Quite the opposite - you might be an even more hardcore feminst than I am if you're that committed to gender nuetrality.