In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

304 CODES
soon have the same faces, and their bodies will eventually differ only in
the most elementary aspects. What will happen if, in addition, they fall
in love with each other? They won't do it out of any wish to be troublesome;
they'll do it because they have no other friends left on earth. Young
as they are, they already have to comfort each other. They confuse
friendship with camaraderie" (309-310). [see Dancing] In Mann's view,
the one positive aspect of the convergence between the sexes-and the
obverse of the decrease in erotic tension-is the vanishing of mutual
aggression: "We expect the battle between men and women to intensify
in an era that is no longer familiar with humanism-an era which has
just realized that protecting humanism is once again a painful necessity.
Strangely enough, however, the sexes get along better today than in
many other periods in history" (305).
Even more astonishingly, this shift toward a friendly tone between the
sexes occurs when women and men are engaging for the first time in
serious competition-for certain types of employment and for athletic
records. [see Endurance] The classified section in the Berliner Tageblatt
shows that women are about to conquer considerable territory at middle
and upper management levels. Although Gebriider Knopf, Karlsruhe,
will accept only male applicants for the position of manager in their
financial department, the North German Rubber-Coat Factory, which is
seeking to fill a comparable position, will consider both men and women.
The descriptions of secretarial jobs, now typically occupied by women
[see Employees], often prescribe a level of competence that goes far
beyond the tasks of typewriting and receiving visitors: "Starting ASAP,
our company will hire an experienced and well-trained stenotypist for a
position as secretary. Only female applicants with experience in the
commercial sector and a wide-ranging general education will be considered."
In Argentina, an ongoing parliamentary debate regarding civil
rights and the female sex inspires the magazine Caras y Caretas to
publish a photo feature about women in unusual professions: they appear
as representatives in government, bricklayers, police agents, taxi
drivers, railway conductors, sailors, and jockeys. In a more or less subtle
way, however, the readers learn that this diversity by no means reflects
social reality. An introductory note expresses the thanks of Caras y
Caretas to three actresses for their collaboration, and the comments
accompanying the photographs of their beautiful bodies-in professional
disguises-betray the most old-fashioned type of male conde-