Just. LOL. I have left this one alone for a few years.
But, given that women’s rights are receding, yes, receding, why not write about it?
Gender pay gap
One hundred and seventy years.
Yes, for all those doubters out there, despite women gaining education on a par with men or exceeding them, they still don’t receive the dosh.
http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/
And won’t. Well after my lifetime.
And from the UN, women in the changing world of work
Against this backdrop, only 50 per cent of working age women are represented in the labour force globally, compared to 76 per cent of men. What’s more, an overwhelming majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidizing care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection. Achieving gender equality in the world of work is imperative for sustainable development.
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/international-womens-day
Sex crimes
Record high in the UK.
Abortion? In America. Not. Going. There.
And:
‘Potent feminism’.
I read this on another blog the other day. If feminism was remotely potent we wouldn’t have a gender pay gap, escalating sex crimes, women without health care, education, and dying from reproduction. Or restriction to access for contraception or abortion. Potent feminism my arse.
I’ll finish off with a difficult point.
Women are born with XX chromosomes. They normally have periods and can produce babies. Which makes them useful.
Men who think they are women can do none of those things.
So, everyone who agrees that men who think they are women, is living in la-la-land.
At the moment, when women should be fighting for serious issues, like education, health care, equal employment, we are being derided and abused by the trans lobby; lesbians are told to accept ‘transwomen’ with a penis, and toilets, changing rooms, dormitories, domestic shelters are no longer for women only.
I don’t give two hoots if some man wants to wear make-up, frilly frocks and high heels. It will never make him a woman. Nor will surgery or drugs.
So, can we concentrate on biological women and their inequality which is not getting better and is only being eroded by the trans agenda?
ETA for those of you who like vids, Julie Bindel and er, someone
And, if you haven’t read about it, check out the whole Jenni Murray controversy via the Sunday Times.
Here’s a good link:
http://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/03/07/jenni-murrays-statements-womanhood-not-bias-truth/
roughseasinthemed 
Good post! Events in the past couple of days really highlight the fact that we’re going back. You look at Jenni Murray and you see that women are not allowed any say in what a woman is, with trans activists calling for her to be sacked. And then this little gem in the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/truth-female-sex-offenders/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, under Lifestyle – Women no less. At times I’m optimistic because it seems more people are realising how stupid trans ideology is. At others I despair at the ignorance of so many people.
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Thanks Butterfly. I thought the JM article was balanced from a non-radfem perspective.
But sacked. Uh? Why?
For voicing her opinion, and biological fact (oops forget that, doesn’t suit the trans agenda).
The telegraph one was weird. Back when I did court reporting women actually got stiffer sentences than men.
We can only keep writing about it and saying how it affects women. So for IWD, it seemed appropriate.
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Transgender, like race, like ethnic origin, is a red herring to keep attention away from combating poverty and resulting lack of opportunity.
Much more exciting to be arguing about who can use loos then to enquire why doors are closed to swathes of people who are poor as a result of deliberate government policies.
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Mmm. Nicely pointed out. Naughty communist barrister. Anyways, I have just lost the stuffing out of my red peppers. But we can recover the stuffing. Unlike poor people.
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We will all be lucky to get out alive.
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And probably ending up in the workhouse. Wish I had been born earlier.
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I have always been an activist for equal pay for equal work, with the rider that there has to be equal work for equal pay. That means sex cannot be an excuse for not undertaking some of the duties associated with that particular job with the same efficiency as the other sex normally displays.
Trans, and gays etc? Shared toilets with adequate anti-pervert measures work perfectly well and save a lot of duplicating expense.
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Of course. And have you read about the women in tough macho jobs (eg firefighting, bridge painting) who left because they just had enough of the sheer sexism they suffered at work? I mean, let’s assume that women get the jobs in the first place and there is no discrimination in the hiring process.
I said trans. Not gay. Not the same thing at all. Trans is wanting to be the opposite sex. Gay is being attracted to the same sex. Very different. In theory. Although a number of trans people have later said they were attracted to people of the same sex and finally acknowledged they were lesbian/gay rather than the opposite sex. I think western society is unhealthily obsessed with sex and sexuality. Much easier when you are older :)
Individual toilets work fine for me. But they are more expensive. And see Phil’s comment below.
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Men with tiny souls and inflated egos feel threatened by women who can compete with them on equal or superior terms, and react accordingly. Human nature. It is one of the risks a woman needs to take with open eyes when entering such male-dominated domains. First prize of creating a more mature general attitude would only be achievable with generations of changed attitudes, and with the incidence becoming a rule rather than the exception.
One cannot brush aside, too, the fact that, on average, sheer strength of males is superior to that of females; nor can one ignore the testosterone/aggression factor.
Trans and gays are both subject to similar discriminatory attitudes. An automatic antipathy towards anything ‘different’.
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But women shouldn’t have to take risks when entering ‘male-dominated domains’ in the lands of equal opportunities and equality. It’s not human nature at all. It is blatant sexism and often misogyny.
Mature general attitude? You mean absence of sexism and patriarchal norms? A bit unlikely isn’t it?
So, testosterone and aggression excuse crap behaviour from men? Eg assault, rape and murder? I. Think. Not. I may have misunderstood you.
Trans and homosexuals are a small percentage of the population. Women make up approximately fifty per cent of the population and are continually subjected to discrimination. But no one gives a shit about that.
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Shouldn’t have to, but do, because the land of true equality and equal opportunity has yet to be created. There is a vast difference between ‘excuse’ and ‘contribute to’, which is the intended drift.
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That’s right we do. But there are an awful lot of excuses made, which at my ripe old age, I find boring and tiresome. Been there, done that etc.
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There may be setbacks, but still there is progress. When I was in College (business school) there were about 15-20% women. Now, the Pew research center reports that a 60/40% women/men ration in College. That is good. One has to be careful, but the boat is advancing. I think. Hope. :)
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Hmmm. So when women are achieving more degrees (both at bachelor’s and master’s level) why are they not earning MORE money than men? When I did my MBA there were far more men on the course too. Which meant I got lots of attention, although that’s a different issue …
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Definitely another issue. Not too sure about the money stats. The journalists are very fond of comparing apples and pears. (Peras y manzanas). Overall, women work more part-time. Some take breaks in their careers to spend time with their small children. But all that is aggregated. I think we need to look at data ceteris paribus. Was Clinto less paid as secretary of state than Kerry? Don’t think so. Is Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO, less paid than her male counterparts? I don’t think so. Hope not. I also know that I paid my female research executives exactly the same as my male execs. Or more sometimes, as women were better. ;)
(Where did you get your MBA?)
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And in reverse order …
I was working full time (ie 12 hrs a day and more) so I did my MBA through distance learning with the UK Open University. Saturday morning classes and summer schools (which were great). Took three years, the first year was four set courses I think. Accounting (loved that), marketing (loathed the tutor), IT and something else, HR maybe. For the next two years, strategic management was compulsory, but the other three courses were elective. Think I chose the external environment (interesting), public services (bit dull), and creative management (brilliant). We were discouraged from trying to do two courses a year because it was seen as too difficult. Pah! It was great, I really enjoyed it.
The point about pay is not looking at individuals though. It needs to be looked at overall to show how women, as a class, are not achieving financial parity – for whatever reason. Don’t forget we aren’t looking at periodistas, peras y manzanas. We are looking at validated studies by researchers. And some journalists are quite capable of reasonable analysis, TYVM :)
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I agree with you. Global results are important. Though it has been known that researchers may… organize their data in a certain way. (I’ve seen it countless times) My only concern, methodologically, is whether we are comparing the same groups. e.g. recent female graduates vs male graduates. Is there a difference in pay? If there is, fine the companies. What I’m saying is to delve into the data and look at specific comparable cohorts, more than overall populations. Noe, for instance, if part-time is affecting overall female wages, what is society doing for more day-care, and father leave benefits? Be good and buen fin.
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Well, data interpretation is as it is.
Comparing graduates is pretty elementary. The whole issue is about women, as aclass, earning less money.
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Agreed. But then, two questions arise: 1) Is this stable? i.e. is the gap stable over time? 2) what segments within the woman class cause the average to remain low. (Worked with figures all my life, my friend. Averages – as I used to tell Procter – can cover up very different realities) Be good.
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The gap changes over time. Obviously. Bit like NPV.
Or what discrimination causes the average to remain low?
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There is a covert discrimination by which women have less access to higher power (better paid) jobs. There is also a behavioral factor (that would be my null hypothesis to be confirmed or not) where women more often take part-time jobs or less demanding positions to spend more time with the kids. Research-wise I would do monographies. randomly select a small sample of companies, and compare male-female postions, seniority and pay grade. Then we would know for sure. :)
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Your first two points are an excellent example of the problem. So no matter how much data we analyse, it’s meaningless if we don’t ask those extra questions. And there are a lot to be asked.
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There is a lot to be asked, indeed. :) Bonita semana.
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Gracias. Igualmente :)
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Oh, and about the “full time”. I am well aware of that. Women tend to work way more than men. Not to mention the “double job”, at work and at home… :(
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My man does far more washing up than I do, hangs out the laundry, so I’m not complaining. Expectations though …
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:)
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At least they are beginning to be concerned with honor killings happening here. (Where are loud voices of the women’s groups?)
Just a note, while many are fretting about bathroom bills, what is not being discussed are real problems in schools ( which have had an unofficial neutral/safe bathroom for years in the office area or nurse’s office for anyone who felt they needed it) – many big city/large suburb middle schools/high schools had to remove bathroom stall doors because the kids were smoking dope, setting fires in the cubicles, and smashing kid’s faces into the water in bullying sessions – there are no doors for safety reasons. That’s a problem. Another concern for me is the girl transitioning to male who wants to use the boys bathroom/locker room/shower – only there’s going to be some young males who are not enlightened and decide to rape – just because they can. Parents and most adults do not realize what animals kids in a group can be…dogs in a pack. Something to think about.
And yes, your post on target in so many ways.
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Oh that’s good. What about FGM? Illegal in the UK, still happens and what is being done about it? JSN. The truth is, certainly in the UK, it is difficult to argue against anything non-white, non-Christian. Or it’s deemed as racist. Sad but true. Perhaps Donald will help with honor killings? One way or the other.
I’m glad I went to a single sex school. But it was embarrassing enough taking sanitory towels and later tampons into the toilets in a school full of girls. Uf, if boys were around? I can’t imagine it. And that’s nothing like the scenarios you are painting. You make an interesting point about the girl to boy trans being a potential rape target. I’ve not read about anything around that so maybe it hasn’t happened or more likely, not been reported. What I have read, is women who have been perved on, photoed, videod, and assaulted by men purporting to be women. In either case, it’s women who are still at risk from men.
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Definitely. The risk is there.
Why do a majority of women have to give up their safety/comfort level for a few, anyway. Doesn’t make sense.
Majority should rule. (and here, if you do’t like it, no one is stopping you from moving. We have that right and freedom.) I’m getting more and more supportive of local rule – which is what this country started out as.
Dog pack rules are so much more simple, easily understood, and followed.
Schools in many places have become warehouses to keep kids off the streets and out of the work force. Schools keep the violence and incidents as quiet as possible. Parents don’t really want to know – don’t really want to have to deal with it. I could tell you some real stunners.
I hauled some neighborhood parents (who thought all the stories about the schools were made up rumors) into a middle school to sit in classes and walk the halls for one fun day – and they came out shell shocked – and put their kids in private schools. Didn’t help the majority of kids only theirs, but those people shut up.
So much comes bad behavior comes from what parents’ attitudes.
Adults have risks, but kids in schools are at the mercy of people making rule without ever setting foot in their environment.
As you say, women, whatever age, are the ones that face the dangers and get harmed – universally
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Ugh. I was glad to leave school. Sounds a total apocalypse/zombie zone.
However, overall, we are not doing enough to protect girls and women, and support them in achieving their potential. Two very different sides of the coin. How to improve the lot of underpaid illegal domestic or other workers, and how to ensure women gain professional equality. Gah! Mind-numbing.
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Oh, you’d love this. Wish I could paste this in for you to see.
Just got a flashy email notice from purse merchant co about “International Women’s Day isn’t just a day to us – it’s everyday.” And goes on to insist you should “shop with a purpose today” -(and a note about “Instant Gratification at this store near you”)
You know some will do that.
We are so done for.
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Oh yes! The womens just loves to drop, er shop.
That is so (not) me.
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And now the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister….wants to have men and boys included on today’s celebration “to celebrate those men who have helped us get to where we are…”
(Do you hear me screaming? Women can make it on their own. They are not helpless creatures who require help. Men need to shut it about abortion and women’s rights.)
I need to go outside – far far away
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I knows. I actually started reading some of the FB comments, and then realised there were nearly four thousand comments. Er no roughseas, you have better things to do than read men accusing women of being man-hating feminazis, women saying they don’t want equality, other women saying I wouldn’t be where I was today without the men in my life … ugh pass the sick bucket.
Men need to shut it. As do some handmaidens. If people don’t know what the issues are, they need to clear off and read up. If they can read. One comment on Sophie’s page said, actually more than one, there was equality. Uh?
There is no equality when there is increasing sexual violence against women, increasing DV, no wage parity, FGM, under representation of women in the top levels of business and public services, and sex trafficking in women and girls is the new slave trade. Sure, equality rules. Ha.
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Morning friend.
Are there any countries where the pay gap between women and men is at an acceptable range- that is where they get equal pay for equal work?
I find the gender debate and especially when mixed with trans debate to be not hard but confusing.
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Morning Mak :)
I don’t know. Although your question isn’t always how it’s measured, the pay gap tends to be measured overall rather than looking at individual cases. So, using the studies available, certainly in the UK and the USA, women are still well behind men, and women of colour tend to be worse off. But again, I think that’s generalising because when you break down non-white occupations, they can be very different. If anywhere was approaching equality I would guess at Scandinavia. The isdue however, is that worldwide, and in western countries, it is a significant gap, despite what naysayers claim.
I agree mixing gender and trans issues is very confusing. Part of the problem is linguistics. Gender and sex have been conflated for so long that people think they are the same. Years back I thought so too. But simply, sex is our biological make-up, and gender is how we expect people to behave according to masculine or feminine norms, which is why you’ll read about it referred to as a social construct, ie it is artificial. Calling it a gender pay gap doesn’t help. Technically it is a sex pay gap I suppose, the difference between what men and women earn.
The issue with the trans agenda for many women is that we feel our hard earned rights are being relinquished to men who *think* or *feel* they are women. Which usually seems to be based, if you read around, about how they wish to express their feminine self, and their idea of being a woman is wearing pretty clothes, make-up, and high heels. By which token, I am probably a man, given that I don’t wear make-up, I do wear shorts and trainers. No feminist that I have ever read has been abusive about trans people, but, when radical feminists are told to ‘die, terf scum’ etc, I think that’s pretty nasty. Until women, as a class, even approach gaining any sort of equality, then we do not want men invading our space or telling us what to do or how to be women. There is no prescription or recipe for ‘being a woman’. We just are. And that includes having periods, getting pregnant and fearing rape.
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Hey RS,
Hope you are having a good day.
I don’t know if studies have been done in my backyard on pay gaps, but I think for those in the government service- they get equal pay for equal work. In the private sector where salaries are negotiated, I am not so sure but I don’t think they do badly. I think the one group that suffers the most are domestic servants who are mainly women. They get paid badly, most are harassed by their employers among other ills.
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It’s not the apparent pay/equality. It’s the underlying discrimination. When I was applying for a director’s post, my immediate boss said, the chief exec is sexist, he won’t appoint a woman. Two women were interviewed, and one man. Do I need to go any further? And my boss at the time was a man. Decent boss too. The only other female director was pushed out.
Discrimination occurs in promotion, in hiring, in attitudes at work which all results in less chance of women earning more money.
Yes, women work part time and in low paid jobs. But why?
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That why is the million dollar question. I could say structurally, society has given them a bad hand and in many places continue to do so.
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Indeed. It is not men as individuals who have created what we currently have that discrimates against women. It is very much a societal and class-based problem. But it exists. And to deny it is to be an ostrich par excellence.
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Thank you for ALL OF THIS. If you need inspiration for fighting the good fight, check out the round of of 15 inspiring quotes by trailblazing women on my blog! https://www.generationtrygirl.com/2017/03/08/15-inspiring-women-quotes/
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Thanks Celia. I tend to take my inspiration from second wave radical feminists. They pretty much nailed everything.
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Time for parity.Though time for Party sounds pretty good too. True equal pay for equal work is the way forward but it won’t work if employers don’t accept the premise.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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When we get parity we can party. And get rid of (political) parties :) All round good result say I.
I think what everyone misses here is the inherent discrimination. And the normalised sexism. Let me look up a link. Will add in a tick.
Here you go, you must have read this:
https://www.rt.com/viral/379264-eu-parliament-sexism-outrage/
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For once I have nothing to say — other than there is much food for thought here. I heard viewpoints that haven’t reached my ears before.
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Wow! Anything in particular Diana? Comments, or blog post?
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I’m pretty sure I’m not going to express myself well — which is probably why I didn’t elaborate earlier.
But I will try.
I think the thing that really hit me over the head is the concept that “woman” is a “social construct.” I don’t think I’m naive (at least not extremely so), and am very much aware of the socialization that goes into the raising of children — but this rather stunned me, since biology has apparently suddenly taken a back seat to socialization. Also — because of all the publicity around transgendered people and their rights (or lack of same) — the declaration that a a male transgendered to female will never really be a woman (based on the lack of socialization and experience as a girl growing into a woman) seemed rather astounding. Yet this rings with truth. Of course no-one raised as a male would know what it was like being raised as a female (and vice versa). This does not negate any individual’s experiences, either positive or negative.
I know there are many parents determined to raise their children in a gender-neutral environment. This will be an almost impossible task, but if they are successful I’d like to be around long enough to see how the adult children walk in this world.
Those were interesting links you provided. Thanks.
Oh — and somewhere in the post or comments (or both) — comments were made that men should not be involved in women’s rights. I disagree with this — and I know of men who have spent their adult years promoting the rights of everyone, both male and female, and have endured abuse and ridicule for this. Downplaying the roles of men simply because they are not women is dismissive, disrespectful and unproductive. These same men would think it laughable that women’s day should be considered anything other than the opportunity to celebrate women and their accomplishments (and the need to gird themselves for battles still ahead).
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Okay. Let me try to clarify. Woman is not a social construct. Woman (and man) are biological entities complete with relevant chromosomes and different bodies. Gender, ie masculinity, femininity, IS a social construct, ie the expectation of how we should behave. Insert the usual stereotypes of nice passive caring pretty women, macho tough men who excel at ‘clever’ things like law, medicine, engineering. Women do nursing and teaching (although I noticed head teachers were invariably male). Get the drift?
And yes, you are correct, biology has been shunted off in favour of socialisation. And, as I was not raised male, and am not a man, I do not go round saying what it is to be a man. Or how men should act and behave. Or how we should refer to them. Yet, this is happening towards women. So, you Diana, and me, roughseas, no longer get to define who we are without taking into account the trans lobby.
I don’t think gender neutral should be that difficult. I really don’t. Trouble is, trans is reinforcing stereotypes, even though they claim otherwise.
Not that men shouldn’t be involved with women’s rights, and support/fight for them. I applaud those who do, the genuine ones (often Canadian!) are few and far between. The problem occurs when the menz start telling the women what to do, how to think, what to say, and basically don’t listen to the women. Mansplaining no less. It also doesn’t help when they have stuff all understanding of feminism, but lacking knowledge doesn’t usually stop men.
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Came looking for new posts from you — didn’t find any, but did see this and realized I hadn’t responded to your response. Thank you for clarifying. More to consider, and to wrap my brain around. Life was much easier when I was a child (a long long time ago, despite one of my students recently guessing my age as 36).
All seems to be too quiet at your end. Is all okay? I am looking forward to more posts in future. I rarely leave without something to think about or a new view of the world to consider.
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I think you’ve covered the topic pretty well. My thoughts are feelings really. I see more women on the news lately and appointed to higher level positions, think Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Fox, CNN etc. But I don’t feel represented and most importantly do not understand the need for trans gendering while in high school or younger. I’m fairly liberal minded but when you preach to kids ‘abstain from sex and drugs’ why on earth would you support surgery and hormones to become the opposite sex before the age of 18 or 20?
Why can we not love the effeminate male or the strong female and let people have sex with who they want or how they want? Makes me confused. I think you hit the jackpot that it takes away from biologic females advancing or making equal money. I think you are right that a female has female parts, pure and simple. And making a wrestler who has taken hormone enhancing drugs and pitting them against other females is reckless. What if one of them had gotten seriously hurt? Lawsuits would have endured.
The adults are not helping the younger kids to mature in my viewpoint. I don’t propose that we should ever have 50-50 in the workforce, some women like to be mother’s and some men love tending to kids needs while their wife works. But if a female, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. wants to get into the business and works hard then she should climb the ladder like any other person. Your former prime minister she was inspiring.
Two things: what is second wave feminism? and I agree that western society is unhealthily obsessed with sex and sexuality!
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Thoughtful comment. And I pretty much agree. But a few young pretty faces on TV hardly espouses equality.
As for advocating trans for children? I think it is off the wall. Telling a four-year-old child they are a girl because they like frocks, or they are a boy because they wear shorts and climb trees? That is well wrong.
I see nothing wrong with effeminate males or masculine women. So what?
Saw something recently about a trans ‘woman’ winning some sport event. Totally unfair.
The issue about the workforce is basically women earn less money. Whether they are in crappy jobs or earning less for doing the same.
You mean Thatcher? Balls of steel. Did stuff all for women though, or working class people. Still, I too admire her strength if not her principles. Hope May gets there. She is facing one shedload of opposition. Brit politics will soon be as bad as US ones!
Second wave feminism is regarded as radical feminism: Greer, Dworkin et al.
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Just a thought. Nothing controversial. When I was a boy my mum didn’t go to work. Dad did. What he earned was theirs, not his. It was a marriage and a partnership. That was the way of things. They didn’t compete for income. My mum was never going to earn what dad did even if she was cleverer or more talented than him. This was only fifty years ago. This was the age and the arrangements in which I grew up. Society changes rapidly but some things take a while to catch up.
Maybe the next generation will make the break through, I hope so, I have two granddaughters!
Can’t help agreeing with you on the transgender issue.
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Similar ages. My mum gave up her full-time teaching job to work
withfor my dad.She really wanted to be a mum and a wife (so not me!) But, they worked well in the family business as did I.
As you say. Times have changed,
Trans. Hah. Tee. Hah.
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Times have changed and there is some catching up to do. There should be equality no question but spare a thought for men who have to adjust to a different role in society. Change is not always easy.
The first time I came across IWD was 10 years ago in March 2007 when I was in Riga and everyone was handing out red roses to women and there were great celebrations. I am surprised that it hasn’t caught on more in the UK, I can’t recall seeing any IWD greetings cards in the shops but perhaps that is because it is a bit too close to UK Mother’s Day? Who knows? It did get a bit more media coverage this year but had to compete with the budget statement.
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IWD is not about handing out flipping roses like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
Hmm. Spare a thought for men. Who might need to see women as equal? My heart bleeds.
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A very fair point!
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I think the history of IWD is interesting. Very much linked with suffrage, employment rights and feminism of the early C20. Hence my comments about red roses.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day
It’s not a day for celebrating stuff all. It’s a day to mark achievements to date in terms of equality and realise how far we have to go.
With which:
https://www.good.is/articles/twitter-users-donald-trump
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What I find interesting is the way that the World is waking up to IWD and embracing what was until recently an essentially Russian/Eastern European celebration. Interesting to watch it spread as a concept. In Eastern Europe it is a national holiday, will it perhaps become the first international holiday? Maybe not in the Middle East.
International Men’s Day is 19th November!
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Yes. Although starting in America, it was very much socialist/communist initially, and therefore as you say very much Iron Curtain country stuff. The sceptics amongst us say that the other 364(5) days of the year are IM’sD.
You probably didn’t hear but Sophie Trudeau got herself in a pickle by suggesting that women should celebrate the men in their lives who had supported them. That went down soooooo well with feminists. Meanwhile as the criticism piled in, there was counter criticism of man-hating feminazis. I started reading it on FB and then noted there were four thousand comments, so clicked off!
Two things guaranteed to get an argument: feminism and abortion. Amazing. Truly amazing.
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But IWD is about equality. I hope feminism and equality don’t get confused!
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IWD is about women. That’s what the W stands for.
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Exactly, that is why it isn’t IFD! Sadly 19th November could be interpreted as International Masculinity Day
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But it’s not IED. Because there is no equality. And the only ones who have done/are doing anything for equality are/were invariably feminists :)
Anyway next week we have Commonwealth Day, so I shall be writing about that. With a feminist slant of course.
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I look forward to it!
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Actually, coincidentally, this year’s theme is gender violence, and the sec gen is the first woman (appointed last year) so I am on a roll! :D
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Inequality for women is not going to change anytime soon. There are too many law suits going around with gays and trans wanting equality. Why bother with just women’s rights when these other groups have the spot light? It’s all one big mess that continues to escalate and now with the new regime I mean powers that be, in Washington, it is up in the air. The repubs don’t want to provide aid to Planned Parenthood and are not willing to support the aids epidemic in third world countries. Actually, I could go on and on, but I’m tired and I get upset every time I think about how the American government is affecting our country.
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Agree with you there Y.
I have no issue with gays or trans having equality. My issue is that women have bern fighting for equality for years, AND STILL DO NOT HAVE IT. And I am damned if I am going to sit back and be told what to do by men wearing make-up and dresses, taking drugs, and dilating their surgically constructed vaginas. That’s assuming they have gone that far, which many don’t.
Nobody wants women to have equal rights. That’s why we don’t have them.
Last I read about PP was that they could have aid, IF, they stopped providing access to abortion services. And that is not an attack on women’s rights? Nobody would choose an abortion unless they had to, but it is not your decision to take Trump.
Probably don’t want to support anything in third world countries. Merely their mates.
The people who will suffer, as ever, are the ones who have little/nothing. Many of whom voted for Trump. Aaaaaagh. It’s like a bad dream that you wait for to go away. But you wake up and it is still there. You have my utmost commiserations. Although, I am old enough to be cynical enough to think all politicians are shitheads. Some are just worse.
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Ms. Gib, I heartily agree with all that you have written. Men don’t want women to have equal rights. Some men spot the Bible’s “teachings that women must obey and that women must follow men’s lead. It is all b.s. in myhumble opinion. And yes many of the less educated and poorer people did vote for Trump but I many folks voted along party lines and many voted because they did not want a woman president (yes that is a fact) and many believed Trump’s rhetoric that Clinton was a bona fide liar and he continuously called her Lying and “killer Hillary” and began the chant of lock her up. His entire campaign was run on lies and it is still continuing. The republican party did not hold him accountable and did not care enough to insist that he release his taxes. Pitiful and shameful! I shudder at what is going to happen to the US.
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We agree on many thongs. I mean things. Americans didn’t want a woman the first time she ran. Better a black man than a white woman.
In the UK, we are on our second woman PM. Was Thatcher good? Yes and no. Was she better than the rest of the men in the second half of the C20? Ha.
I hope May gets there, I really do.
Trump? Your president. Your country. Not mine to comment. Except he’s an arsehole.
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Agreed. You are right on the money.
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When you work for the people, it comes with responsibility. How you act, what you say, what you do. Like you, I worked in the public sector: local government, civil service, health service. My only private sector work was in journalism, where to me, my role was to inform the public about what was going on. The day we were told we needed to be concerned about shareholders’ money, I zoned out. And applied for other jobs. Trump has no understanding of ethics. (Understatement of the year.)
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Ethics is non-existent in T’s world.
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Quite. Money, pussy and abuse Mexicans. Despicable.
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Yes maam. Right again. I’ve been wondering if Trump is really just the puppet of Bannon and Putin. Things are just too crazy for belief. It is like a football team without a ball or a goal tender. Everybody is running amok.
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Well, I don’t think he’s the brightest lightbulb in el mundo. Putin, on the other hand, despite being a nasty piece of work, is not stupid. At all. Don’t know enough about Bannon.
I’m always fascinated with people like T, who inherit money, and manage to lose it, ie failed businesses. Money clearly has no significance because they have never lacked it. The rest of us earn our pennies, live within our means (well, some of us do), and have to make choices about expenditure. In our case, our animals are a priority, others choose two weeks in the Caribbean. Each to our own. But, there is a sense of order and a basic system. Watching US politics right now is seeing craziness unravelling in front of you. Actually I’ve left it alone of late. Too much misogyny in there for my blood pressure/heart rate.
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It’s the same with me and the articles about T. It drives me crazy every time I read about his latest tweets or some ridiculous law he has just signed or the lies that he keeps repeating.
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I have a feel-good post today about The Commonwealth. Nice to write about something that does good, achieves, and doesn’t promote hatred. I can only sympathise with my US friends who are unhappy with ‘the popular vote’. So to speak.
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Ok, I will watch for the post.
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I think most women probably do feel the same way, but get pressured into alternative thinking by certain groups. I agree, there is WAY too much focus and gay/trans/les these days and personally I sometimes feel we’re getting sexuality rubbed in our faces to avoid real issues. What would happen if I went out with a poster saying something like, “hey guys, look at me, I’m straight!”. I’d probably get all kinds of stick for it if not worse! Don’t get me wrong. I DON’T CARE if a guy wants to be a woman, or gay or a woman lesbian… Each to their own and good luck with it… Be happy. But, like you’ve pretty much stated. More important issues are being brushed under the carpet because of it. Gender equality should be the focus. That for me means, same pay, same rights, same respect, same benefits etc. no matter what gender you are. Once we have gender equality, the problem of sexuality (trans/gay/les will naturally be resolved as these are simply a lifestyle choices.
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Bah! Tired. What else needs to be said? Nicely spoken.
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Great article and the comments are also interesting. One more comment if I may on the gap – women may get uterine cancer and men may get prostate cancer. Maybe the world could focus on solving these issues if we could get past who is wearing how much makeup and make the pay scales equal.
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Women may also get ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal cancers. And men may get testicular cancer. But from a woman’s perspective, virtually any part of her reproductive organs may get cancer. And breast often metastasises in the ovaries :(
Resolving cancer is complex, depending on staging, it can require very different treatment, to consider both quality of life and possible life expectancy.
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I’ve said it before:
I have nothing against women—they’re almost the same as people …
But on a more serious note I was all for full equality long before it became popular.
As for ‘transgenderism’ it doesn’t worry me if some confused soul wants to wear whatever, but I am adamantly against letting ‘guys’ use Lady facilities.
The answer must lie in defining Law in terms of the Citizen, regardless of gender; a simple subject made complex by analysis and ‘good’ intentions— let’s get back to basics.
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Actually your jokey point raises an interesting one. If we treat everyone as people, there would be no issue. We don’t.
I won’t go into the detail of (radical) feminism, but it isn’t about equal this, that and the other. Although sure that’s a part of it. It is primarily about changing the system, which will never happen. Feminists are like Rhett Butler fighting a lost cause.
Agree. I have no interest in who wears what. I wear men’s shorts. They have better and larger pockets, and are more sturdy. Plus they aren’t a stupid price for a flimsy scrap of cotton. Does that mean I should use the men’s toilets? I think not. Equally so, I do not want men invading space ear-marked for women. Go and fight for gender-neutral toilets tyvm, instead of annexing mine.
The UK and USA have totally bought into the trans agenda. ‘I feel like a pink sparkly girl’ now trumps ‘I am a biological woman who has periods, can get raped, and pregnant’. Ridiculous.
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I saw a cartoon (Punch? Who knows …) where the traditional two unit toilet blocks in the park were replaced by threes, labelled—
“His”
“Hers”
“Undecided”
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Back when I were a lass, employers only had to provide male and female toilets for employees over a certain number. I mean why not just say, five employees = one toilet, ten employees = two toilets? What’s the flipping problem?
It’s only when we get into department stores/airports/office buildings where there is more than one toilet, where we here the trans MUST be able to use women’s toilets. Do I want to be in a confined space with a man I don’t know?
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Point noted (and it’s a good one~!).
Now perhaps you should forward you query to every politician you can reach. (I had a debate by mail once with a lady politician in NZ who was pushing desperately for women in the armed services. As an old dog and stuck in my ways I didn’t think it a good idea for the navy—my counter suggestion was by all means let ’em go to sea, but in their very own ships.
But it seems the modern ship now is actually designed to accommodate both … and I still think the small-ship naval environment not good for damsels. Time will tell …
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Another old dog here. Politicians don’t listen to individual comments.
One of my former RN pals was not keen on women in the navy. I’m not saying he was sexist but …
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Me neither. I was one of the very first to prefer women to be not the opposite sex but the adjacent …
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… and the more adjacent the better (Spouse agrees, but she is a bit territorial sometimes).
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Thank you for this video. It shows the misdirected anger at Feminist for all the issues trans women face, and also so much of Jane’s argument was based on personal perception and individualization of the issue, and an almost complete misunderstanding of Bindel. I haven’t really read any of her stuff somehow, that will be my next literary project. As for women’s rights that are slipping, you talk about abortion rights in the US, you can add birth control to that, too. The Christian far is gaining a tighter hold on Sociedad policy, all while liberal feminists focus on trans gender identity issues and no platform feminists like Bindel. It is actually a little scary.
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There should be no such thing as Women’s Rights — it should be simply Human Rights (and universally applied).
Now try to get that notion past the gatekeepers~!
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Well,I have to disagree with that, because men are humans too, so women’s issues risk being bogged down in generalizing as human rights. If men were, say, being trafficked at the same rate as women I might agree but they are not, so we do need women’s rights. It is kind of like why there needs to be Black Lives Matter instead of All Lives Matter, because all lives are not equally valued. ☺
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As with giulia, I also disagree. I think you are missing the major part of what feminism and class oppression is about. (I did warn you, I think.).
But anyways. Men are not oppressed. They are, due to our societal system, in a position of power, whereas women are not. When, we have got rid of that concept, and the gender binary (you still with me?) maybe we can look at human rights. Right now, feminists want different. Men already have rights. Lots of them. Let’s think about some.
The right to grope and molest women without being charged for sexual assault because no-one takes it seriously.
The right to demand a woman carries to term if HE requires.
The right to penetrate a woman and plead ‘I’m a really good swimmer and daddy is rich.’
The right for a defence lawyer to say she slept around, went out late at night, worse scanty clothing so I could have sex with her.
Oh, and she was drunk but she consented.
Do you want me to go on?
Come on Argus, you ain’t that stupid.
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Ouch …
A long way to go for some, I think. Make it soon. The real pity for folks like me is that I am an idealist.
But it gets worse—having to live in a world packed with people who lack ideals.
It’s because of my own impotence that I am so bloody cynical—but where else on the Titanic can a realist go, but to the bar?
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Aren’t we all idealists? But, in the case of women and feminism, we have to sort the problem before we can float with pretty ideals.
Personally I’d have gone to the lifeboat, but the bar would be a good second.
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Being a Lady you’d have been guaranteed a place in the boat.
Being a (yeuch~!) male of the species, the bar would have been a more realistic option and a lot less painful …
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A woman. Did all the women get places? I thought not. And, nothing wrong with going down with the bar. Prob free by then anyway.
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I read a fair bit about it. Fact, fiction, conjecture, CYA etc.
Now the latest seems to be that the ship was secretly on fire for weeks before even putting to sea on the final voyage. Yeah, sure …
Did all the women get places? No more than all the kiddies either—plenty of room at the bar, though. And free for the taking: ya gotta be flexible (set your sails to the wind).
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Read that too about the fire. Weird. My dad worked in engine rooms, wouldn’t hv suited him.
But yeah, I’ll take a gin and tonic.
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Thank you giulia for the visit and comment. I have some empathy with Bindel as my parents were working class, although they paid to push me up the educational ladder. Actually my mother was a nursery nurse/teacher, but women are always defined by their partner.
Indeed, birth control in america is slipping just as much as abortion. To me, it is a dire situation for American women. Women should concentrate on issues that affect women. Trans can do whatever they want. But not in my space. I won’t even get into the Xtians.
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It’s funny, I don’t really remember studying Bindel in women’s studies at college, and this was ten years ago before what I call the rise of the trans patriarchy.
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Back in my dinosaur daus there weren’t any such radical studies as ‘women’! Think the first one that was controversial was peace studies. Post, well post everything really.
So obviously my studies have been self-taught. Still, they serve well enough.
We can read around the classics, (ie feminist authors), but the basics are easy to grasp. Women get a raw deal. Wherever they live. Just, some get a more shitty deal than others. Not good enough that women get raped going to collect water, or go outside to the toilet in a refugee camp. This. Needs. To. Stop.
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Well, my women’s studies would probably be considered somewhat of a dinosaur given it was closer to radical feminism than what passes for feminism these days. And you would think the basics would be easy to grasp but apparently the basics are changing as liberal mainstream feminism robs feminism of any real power to create change.
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Liberal fems don’t even know what they are talking about. It’s up to us to change the parameters. Perhaps we can.
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That’s why the more blogs the better. It’s a start, and I’ve realized how many women/ feminists share my concerns and frustration.
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It’s surprising to *not* be a lone voice. I get a bit racked off with the white feminist thing, as if I could single handedly solve health care and education in Asia, Africa, South America. Of course I’m aware of the issues (although your water post was brilliant), but I can not sort them. What I can do, is what I have been paid to do for years, and that is write. Write so that people understand the problems. And that’s what I aim to do.
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A notion that apparently worked for Lysistrata …
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https://thegaybreakupblog.wordpress.com/
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It’s great to see a post really being backed up by facts and figures. Very interesting read! 🙌🏻😊 x
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Just wanted to say Hello!
I don’t agree with you, but I still enjoy reading your posts from time to time!
Have a good one…
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