Mens’ Clubs as ‘Tree Houses’

It was with deep regret that I read the words attributed to Pat Brown concerning the admission of women to the elite Bohemian Club. I admired his courageous public stances while governor and certainly regarded him as considerably more progressive than his successor, Ronald Reagan. Yet it seems that Brown and Reagan share one reactionary trait--they are strange bedfellows as “Bohos.” As Brown put it, female presence would compel a lot of frivolous “talk about sewing and raising babies” and put a damper on the men’s urge to “pee on the redwood trees.” (And I thought the redwoods had only Reagan to fear!)

If belonging to the exalted club requires that I help fellow members Brown, Reagan, George Bush, Richard Nixon, and Henry Kissinger convert the forests into a public urinal, then I’ll forgo that “privilege” without a fight and join a club with less revered traditions.

PAMELA BYARS

Huntington Beach