Gender

Jones compares the Sacramento legislative community to a "not-so-pretty girl . . . dumped by her beau." I find such language insulting, sexist and exceedingly gender-specific. Moreover, the argument is unsound, since it offers a gross oversimplification of both topics: the situation in Sacramento and romantic relationships. In addition, the "schoolboys forced to play right field" metaphor heightens the gender specificity of the piece. Editors should remove such offensive language.

Repeated exposure to objects like high-heeled shoes and electric razors that are typically associated with one gender or the other biases people's perceptions of whether human faces are male or female, according to a new study. And in a twist, the research shows that exposure to female-associated objects makes faces look more male, and vice versa. It may seem strange that viewing something for an extended period of time can lead to increased perception of its opposite, but the effect is common enough to have a name: adaptation.

In his Feb. 16 article Stuart Nixon calls the beautiful and venerable cemetery La Cimitiere du Pere-Lachaise instead of Le Cimetiere . . . , two errors, one of gender, the other of spelling. If we must use a foreign language, shouldn't we do so correctly? V. J. JAHNSEN Granada Hills

Sigal is obviously right. We are all responsible for the riots, regardless of class, race, ethnicity, ideology, gender or neighborhood. And we will all be miserable unless we all take responsibility for finding solutions. It's time to stop looking for people to blame, and start looking for ways to help. ROBERT N. JACOBS, Los Angeles

I was appalled at your article ("For Women, the Game Is Afoot," Jan. 10) glorifying the increased numbers of female hunters. Murdering animals for sport (or any other reason, for that matter) is cruel and barbaric, regardless of the gender doing it. MS. DIJE NDREU Goleta

As the U.S. Census arrives in the next weeks, the government once again wants to know everything about us. Goodbye, privacy. The only thing one should fill out on this invasion is the number of people living in the residence. The government has no right knowing our gender, ethnicity, education, wealth, income, salaries, religion, jobs, etc. It's your life and your right to privacy. JAMES LEHMANN Torrance

"A Century of Women" (TBS) was extremely well made. The story of the women it portrayed is awe-inspiring, and caused me to marvel at the progress women have made in the past 100 years. Thanks to feature articles like yours (TV Times, June 5), my gender will be able to continue to make strides for our daughters--and sons. Many thanks to all who made both the documentary and the cover article possible. Janel Tortorice, Irvine

Re "Vets struggle to go from war to work," April 26 Veterans are a minority group representing about 8% of our nation's population, selflessly serving on behalf of the other 92%. They pledged their lives to defend our Constitution, which protects the many freedoms we take for granted. Some delivered on that pledge, while many are disabled for life from their military injuries. AMVETS, a national veterans organization, proposed a federal law to include veterans as a protected class against employment discrimination that currently includes race, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

As a follow-up to its report "Artists in the Workforce, 1990-2005," released in June, the National Endowment for the Arts is releasing today the results of a closer examination of the gender pay gap between male and female artists discovered by the original study. Surprise: Female artists earn less. Sunil Iyengar, the NEA's director of research and analysis, and research analyst Bonnie Nichols, the primary author of the study, said that the gender pay gap is wider for artists working in the competitive big-city arts capitals such as Los Angeles and New York City.