both genders are to blame for sexism

Post Reply New Topic

this link is really depressing

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_a ... ual-rights

only 20% of japanese women thought that men and women should have equal rights and only about 30% of swiss women thought so.

first of all, i kind of thought that all these countries in which the surveys were carried out already had equal rights for men and women. i can only imagine what the results would be were the surveys conducted in countries where women are treated like chattel.

second of all, aren't women who do not want equal opportunities for both genders kind of shooting themselves in the foot

i am not going to take these stats at face value since it is possible that the respondents confused the concept of equal opportunity with equality.

i am just curious why some women would choose to uphold discrimination. even queen victoria did not beleive in women's rights, which is ironic because evidently she did not follow her own belief that women should stay at home. even eleanor roosevelt opposed the equal rights amendment because she thought it would be harmful to women, which does not make sense to me because all the equal rights amendment proposes is that there would not be any discriminatory laws against women.

i am guessing that some of the respondents opposed gender equality because working moms, for example, spend less time raising their children, but whether or not working moms or no fault divorce laws are detrimental to society is another story altogether that no one agrees on.

If you look at the poll it's from 1999....

Yawn, yawn, yawn.

Still, suppose it's something for lefty feminists to whinge over. The rest of us (men and women) get on with life.

I don't really care. I have my own life to live through.

I agree, it is a shame, but if you look back to the past 50 years, we've come miles!

The worrying thing though is that now there is a real backlash against feminism and a rise in biological determinism that is threatening to drive it backwards. I hope it's just a cultural blip, but it's been on the increase for the past few years.

I wonder what the survey meant by 'equality' though. Many women would argue that it is their right to have paid maternity leave, regardless of employment length or whether the employer can afford it. That's an 'inequality' that many women are quite happy to have.

Some people chose to conform to the status quo rather than be outside of it and fight it. Most cultures are still somewhat male-dominated and certain communities are very male dominated. For some, it's easier to become powerful in those communities if they espouse the dominant ideology and people don't like to feel like hypocrites so they may convince themselves that they don't believe that women are equal or that women are unequal but they are somehow special and above the rest. And of course a lot of people don't question what they've been taught, especially when the other side has been consistently portrayed as a threat to society.

Maternity leave, at least in the US, has been replaced with parental leave - which recognises that a parent of either gender is entitled to stay at home with an infant and was something feminists had to fight for as a lot of people still don't understand that a man can stay home while his wife or partner works.

[quote="Celoneth"]Maternity leave, at least in the US, has been replaced with parental leave - which recognises that a parent of either gender is entitled to stay at home with an infant and was something feminists had to fight for as a lot of people still don't understand that a man can stay home while his wife or partner works.[/quote]

That's a good idea. I wish they promoted that more where I'm from.

I think that even in countries with relative equality, there is still a severe difference in gender perception and treatment. Gender roles, for example, are a societal construct, and are taught from birth.

A guy i know from HS illustrated this point perfectly. He told class about another class discussion he'd had on the subject. When his turn came to speak, he evidently made some kind of joke and jabbed the guy on one side of him in the ribs. He then attempted to do the same to the girl on his other side, and was met with a resounding "NO!" from everyone in the room. Equal rights my ass.

Ive always said sexism goes both ways to be honest. A good example of what I mean would have to be the following.

I have nothing against feminism UNLESS the women in question are the ones who will call themselves as feminists and thing men should be made into slaves and s**t. (Yes, ive known a few who were honestly like that, so yeah...)

Granted men say s**t right back at them such as *women are only baby factories and kitchen wenches*

It is a sad but true fact that women, as a whole, are just as responsible for the inequalities against them as men.

For example, in villages where female genital mutilation is performed, it is the women who are in charge of this.

Their reasoning is that they will not find husbands for their daughters unless they do this, but their willingness to oblige perpetuates it.

I personally feel both sexes are being manipulated by society. Both printed and video ads use sex to sell products. If you watch a sporting event, they will show shots of the cheerleaders in skimpy outfits. If you listen to music, songs sung by men tell of women screwing them over. If the song is sung by a woman, it tells of a man screwing her over. Movies and TV shows use sex to generate interest/ratings. I feel men and women can complement each other. Both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses. I like to burn the cones of incense. You can light a cone by itself and it will burn. If you put two cones together and light them the light they give off is greater than if you lit each one individually. Both sexes can can get along fine by themselves but if they join forces, its magic. When people come to the realization that most of their views of the opposite sex has been fostered and basdardized by someone whose sole interest is in making a buck and is not actual reality, they will be on the right track. When someone views a man or a woman as only a physical object, they are cheating themselves.