No, I’m not talking about whether the Equal Rights Amendment should be approved. I’m referring to some statistics I happened to run across while researching another story. NationMaster.com, a site that compiles statistics from numerous sources, provides the following table of the percentage of women agreeing with the statement, “Women should have equal rights,” in a 1999 poll:
#1 Netherlands: 80%
#2 Australia: 77%
#3 United Kingdom: 73%
#4 Canada: 70%
#5 Belgium: 70%
#6 Germany: 70%
#7 United States: 62%
#8 Switzerland: 39%
#9 Japan: 21%
A quick search of the Internet didn’t come up with a later survey (if you know of one, please share), so let’s take a look at this one. Less than 10 years ago, only 62% of U.S. women agreed that women should have equal rights. It begs the question, then, that if the poll were conducted today, would the response rate improve, remain the same, or (pause in shock) skew lower?
This year alone, Hilary Clinton’s campaign created a heightened awareness of women in politics and other positions of power for many Americans, let alone those interested in such topics. From some of the comments I have read or heard, I know there are plenty of people today who still don’t believe a woman should be president of the United States. Do more people now — or fewer — believe in equal rights for women in general?
I know what AAUW’s research highlights. Our Behind the Pay Gap report shows that, just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues earn, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens. How about we start with pay equity at least?
I say both are equal. Men and Women should be treated equal only up to an extend!
God!!! Females keep the world going, if there were no women a few years ago there would be no babies to carry on the world. Also men are equal to females, in all. a topic thought for men, vehicles. The first person to drive a car was a man. However, females are perfectly able to drive, and most car accidents are from drunk men. so men are NOT superior, they may be stronger in someplaces but in others females dominate men.
Actually, womyn DON’T have equal rights to men. Did you know that for every dollar a man makes, a womyn makes 72 cents? and a black womyn makes 62? How’s that for equal rights.
Let’s say a womyn and a man have the same job. A man can get promoted to a bette rjob, but a womyn is stuck where she is. The highest she can get, when, a man with the same job can get higher. Why? Because we don’t have equal rights. Seriously, don’t go of mouthing this stuff if you don’t have your facts right.
I agree and i’m actually going to start a campaign for female rights in western countries. if anyone has an idea on a country that needs the most female attention please comment to me on my post above!!! thanks xxx
wow isn’t this a little sexist. women have had their rights for many years shouldn’t everyone be over this issue by now…
Women have more rights than men. I don’t understand why women want equal rights when they are ahead. Women have complete control of child custody. When a women has a child, she owns the father. If he doesn’t give her his hard earned cash he goes to jail plain and simple. Women also have abortion rights and the right to give up the child for adoption as men do not.
That’s because we give birth to the child, we should be able to choose where it goes. But that’s only one subject, we most certainly do not have more rights.
This discussion makes it clear that our society still has a lot of work to do from the inside out. I am not sure that men and women will ever have true equality if women maintain an attitude of oppressing themselves. I was born into many rights as a woman, and to be honest I thought that the society we lived in today was vacant of this disgusting un-evolved way of thinking. I was under the impression that intolerance was close to extinction within American society; pretty naive of me. The shock I felt when reading this discussion board was almost enough to make me want to become a feminist, which to be clear is NOT a negative thing, just a much more focused approach to actively fighting for a belief.
It should not matter who is smarter, stronger, or better as a sex. What is important as a society is that we use everyone’s strengths to better ourselves as a whole. If anyone will be lost in the shadows of history it will be those who prove they are nothing more than angry, scared and intolerant of equality.
Those who shine a negative light on feminism are the one I am referring to as angry and scared. I feel sorry for you and the lack of knowlege you experienced in your childhood. I hope that with time we can begin to realize that we are a society, we need to work together rather than rip apart from one another.
As the author of the original post, I often come in to read the follow-up comments … and either shake my head or applaud. One of the latest comments about “stupid feminists” led me to paste this post: “I Hate to Break it to You, But You’re Probably a Feminist.” http://t.co/Q8frYrgv It’s a great read!
Why is Feminism holding such a negative outlook to this person that is trying to hurt you by calling you one? Why would it be a bad thing to fight for feminism?
fem·i·nism
[fem-uh-niz-uhm]
noun
1.
the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
2.
( sometimes initial capital letter ) an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women.
3.
feminine character.
Im a women and i think men should have many more rights. I think men are superior in everyway, That is why i always listen to what men tell me what to do. I like being bossed around by men because they are just better than us.
-.- Wow. That’s just stupid. You can like being bossed around by men, sure, go ahead. But womyn are actually better than men. SMARTER too. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100530/NEWS01/705309875
hahah this was definitely a guy that wrote this, no woman in her right mind would ever say anything like that. Women should be treated equally, men are not better than women in any way.
I agree.
I think wemen should not be given equal rights because it will be harmfull for men
Saying that women shouldn’t have equal rights is like saying blacks shouldn’t be equal to whites.
No it isnt were talking about sex, thats race
It’s actually not so different. Both racist and sexist people support discrimination.
Stupid feminists give us women a bad name!
Ofcourse we shouldn’t have equal rights. Men are greater. That’s the simple truth. My mother raised me to be a lady, not some deluded feminists nutjob.
Women should not have equal rights because they don’t have equal duties.
And where they have equal duties they perform worse than men. Just look how the economy/schools/politics is going downhill the more women are involved, as opposed to, say, India and China (which have aborted 100s of millions of female fetuses) which are growing stronger and stronger. Russia is one of the worst countries to live in BECAUSE they have 15% more women than men.
Why do you think nobody buys American cars, yet Japan is leading when it comes to cars, camcorders, electronics etc? Because they have the correct attitude to equal rights (see your stat above).
Actually the whole ranking shows the lower the % the more famous the country is for its standard of living or for its worldwide impact. Canada and Netherlands play no role globally.
Men outperform women in nearly every field: Economics, science, art, new inventions, common knowledge, prediction of society, sports, logic, …
What happened when Norway introduced a women quota to stock market company boards?
20% WORSE performance despite a market growth of 13%. Mind you 20% ON AVERAGE, the more quots they had to hire the worse was the fall.
Even in areas considered typically female (children, clothing, cooking) men outperform women. How many great female painters do you know? How many great music bands do you know consisting only (or mainly) of women? How many great female fashion designers do you know? How many great female comedians do you know? How many female Nobel prize winners do you know?
Women mean also a higher burden on society: Single parenting mothers are the metastasis of society by PRODUCING future criminals (80% of rapists, 85% of juvenile criminals stem from single moms), car driving women cause more accidents per mile, women have more health problems AND live longer etc…
It’s obvious that women should ONLY have the same rights, when they have the same duties AND cause the same burden.
END OF STORY.
I know that my post (although all these FACTS are known) seems OUTRAGEOUS, but it’s only outrageous because you have been brainwashed by feminists and by political correctness.
Yet all women know that no mobile phones would exist, nor satellites, nor rockets that bring the satellites into orbit were it not for men.
There wouldn’t be cars, nor computers, nor the internet, nor washing machines, nor 99% of art.
That’s why women need “uterus quotas”: Because without this artificial help they could hardly ever compete with men.
In other words: It’s bizarre when most of society’s development (science, engineering, art, body work,..) lies on the shoulders of men yet women have the equal right to vote. Most new laws affect men much more directly than women, yet women have an equal say in it.
One theory why men have a higher sex drive is that women (with all their disadvantages) have to COMPENSATE somehow for the problems they cause.
Thus one way FOR NATURE to hide women’s detriment is to “EMULATE WORTH” by turning a woman into a sex object and at the same time making men long for sex objects.
And everybody knows this: Women think nearly of nothing else but sex-related issues:
* Being pretty (= initiating sex)
* Sex and husbands (= result of initiating sex)
* Kids (= result of sex)
* Cooking (= result of having kids)
* Sex and the City
Women’s brains circle all the time around sex, kids, problems with their partners, female competitors in their vicinity (catfights, b*tch sessions).
When was the last time you heard women talk about the newest political developments in other countries? When was the last time you heard women about designing/enhancing a new machine? Or how society will look in 10 years from now?
That’s something that nearly doesn’t exist in a woman’s mind AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT. Women think about sex-related issues most of the time.
When giving testosterone to women they get FAIRER (= not so mean) and they are less emotionally influenced by facial expressions (= they are less overwhelmed by emotions).
Of course SOME women are better than SOME men *duh* This is a statistical no-brainer.
But in the larger scheme of things women will become pretty obsolete (except the warm-hearted, non-feministic women) as soon as scientists develop the artificial uterus and engineers develop a realistic fembot.
No malebot could ever replace a man. You would have to design a malebot that writes new songs, directs new movies, invents new machines, can repair the car and is funny on top of that. Women usually are none of these things thus fembots can replace a great number of women’s functions pretty easily.
Don’t give me nonsense replies like “I am shocked! Judging by your post feminism has still a loooong way to go!”
No, I write what I write BECAUSE of feminism, not DESPITE of feminism. Feminism has reached its zenith and is on its way down exactly BECAUSE of completely misjudging the different values of men and women.
This is the most ridiculous post I have ever read. Nothing you are saying is true. I know you enjoy using all caps at times to emphasize your points, but that still does not make anything you are saying more true. There is less difference between men and women intellectually than there is between men and other men or women and other women. Men are physically stronger in the upper body where women live longer, give birth, and have a higher tolerance for pain. Neither is superior, neither is inferior, but you are in idiot. That is the only fact I gathered from your post. Your suggestions about testosterone are ridiculous, as is your promotion of female genocide. Nothing you have said has any rational basis in fact, which I am sure you would ascertain if you would read. You are basing your sad little opinion on pathos borne assuredly out of rejection by women rather than any kind of logic. I’m sorry you’ve clearly been spurned by women…sounds like you fully deserve their derision.
There are many famous inventors, painters, and scientists that are women. If you actually went to school, you’d see how stupid, idiotic, and ridiculous your post is.
Trent and Ileara you are kidding, the both of you need to experience the real world! Everything knn said is100% correct. Women don’t want equality they want more rights and less responsibilities. Everything that has been said about women not being able to fulfill their duties but demanding more is also true.
PEOPLE NEED TO SPEAK THE TRUTH.
No, YOU need to experience the real world. Look at all those women out there that had to raise their children themselves because their boyfriends (or husbands) didn’t want to take on ANY responsibility.
It goes to show, in a way, that it’s not always only men who oppress women.
The fact that this is even being discussed is repulsive to me. when i was a little girl grown ups would look me in the eye and say, “you can be ANYTHING you want to be with a little hard work”. I never expected so many chauvinist to be shamelessly expressing their beliefs that men are better than women. In fact now that i am in high school i see how terribly mean boys can be. I literally hear a comment a day about how women belong in the kitchen. It makes me want to cry so bad because i just feel so limited and yes, I might get some mean comments for this post but i am an extremely proud feminist who doesn’t limit herself because a few stupid boys tell her to go home and make them a cherry pie after i get a chemistry question right!
If you think that women won something when they got equal rights then you are wrong. Women lost, thats because now the government can tax the whole household instead of half it. So now you can work instead of staying at home doing nothing. Yeah you ruined the simplicity of your own lives.
I don’t want to stay at home “doing nothing”. I’d rather educate myself. If it weren’t for feminism, I wouldn’t be working on my Ph.D. right now. So I often think about how feminism is the reason I have the ability to study in depth the subjects that matter to me rather than being *forced* to stay at home, whether it was good for me or not.
With that said, just the fact that you labeled staying home as “doing nothing” demonstrates a significant disrespect for the amount of work and care it takes to keep a household and raise a family.
As a woman I accept that men are the stronger and more important sex. Women who want equal rights are just in denial. feminists have already brain washed most women.
Men may be stronger physically, but, we are equally strong otherwise. More important? Definately not!
How is it that men are “more important”? That’s pretty convoluted. As for being the stronger sex, you may want to rethink that one. Men are physically stronger but women live longer and have a higher tolerance for pain.
You never heard of Palmitoylethanolamide? Men could have babies if they had the right instruments, because your body can make a natural painkilling medicine.
And for the more important sex part, yes you see that everywhere you just aren’t aware of it. Think of the higher payments on jobs, and that most women still work part-time. And that they aren’t allowed in the Special Forces of the army.
Aren’t allowed in the special forces? get your history checked you idiot
I dont know, if they were to have equal rights, women would HAVE to sign up for the draft. Im not sure if they would want that…
Sure. And how often do people get drafted nowadays? Besides, women are in the military. There is no reason they couldn’t be drafted and serve a significantly important role. I can’t see women fighting on the front lines but undoubtedly, they have many skills. But again, chances are there isn’t going to be a draft, so that’s a pretty weak argument for keeping women oppressed.
Men and women are different. Therefore should not have equal rights!
what country are you even in? men and women are equal in every aspect. sure they are physically different, but mentally they are the same, just as smart as any man. They should be paid just as much, but sadly in the US they art, but even so, equality is the key to a succesfull and prosperous nation. you dont want half the population against their own country! thats all i have to say.
Woman are equal in every aspect? Women get pregnant, men don’t. Why should a boss pay equal pay to someone when they can potentially take more time off. It’s also proven that men have higher IQ than us and have stronger strength.
Why should men be mentioned as equal in the Constitution but not women? In other words, why doesn’t it say that all men are created equal and all women are likewise created equal? Why were women negated from any consideration?
Some men have a higher IQ and some men have a lower IQ. Women simply tend to hang around the middle a bit more but the difference is so small that it’s almost insignificant. One could argue that such differences may be attributed to the way the IQ tests are written. Also, IQ tests don’t test emotional intelligence and other valid forms of intelligence. To take these tests as solid proof that men are smarter than women and its written in stone would be completely foolish.
Men are stronger but women live longer and have a higher tolerance for pain. So if women live longer than men, based on your logic, shouldn’t they have equal or greater rights than their shorter lived counterparts? After all, women *are* superior when it comes to the lifespan.
It looks to me like you’ve just bought into the male-centered argument that gives the most weight to male advantage and doesn’t acknowledge female advantage, e.g. physical strength makes men stronger and physically more superior but no one bothers to mention how women live longer, have higher tolerance for pain, or can create human beings in their body and give birth to them. It’s all perspective. Instead of drinking the kool-aid, why not think for yourself?
If you are working in the building section as a man, you are not likely to live long, but if you are a women and do the household, it’s logical you live longer.
Im a woman and have a 115 IQ. So all men have a higher IQ than me?
sorry im a freshman in high school and i have an iq of around 150. most people (guys and girls) are around 100-110. not saying im smarter than an adult whose been through college because im not. but your iq isnt really that big of a deal
strange that you are considering yourself worth less than men. I can not say that we are equal, but I know that I don’t want to be put in the box of ‘being female’ people are so much more than their sex. I want to go to college, I want to have a good job, I want to have equal chances, and definetely I don’t mind working hard for these things. Whatever medieval ideas some people might have, I surely disagree, and I’ll prove them they’re wrong by making my own example
And I thought I was the only one who thought of this argument. Yes , that is my theory too. If women have rights , like not being fired for being pregnant, they also have to pay for those rights .. nothing is free in this world. Any employer with half a brain will not hire women in any position where she would be irreplaceable or hard to replace. The pay gap is nothing but insurance the employers hold for the money thrown out the window when she just happens to get pregnant… The IQ argument doesn’t stand very well … the more important fact is that men have much less risk adverseness thus making them far more effective at money related jobs.
Equal rights…… Yes I agree to equal rights. However an issue was brought up the other day concerning a video of police being attacked. It seems fine for a woman to take the role of a police officer BUT if she is attacked as MANY police are attacked it seems that something MUST be done about it?
Equal rights includes equal responsibility and actions that are taken by others. IF women have a problem with the fact they will more than likely be attacked for doing the job of the police then maybe they should think more clearly about what they are actually asking for?
You know, you are exactly right all women want to be equal and so they should be treated like equals. but you know what the problem doesn’t just rely with women it is that stereotype that was drilled into the heads of both women AND men trust if i did something illegal or wrong i would want the exact same punishment as a man but sadly that isn’t how are culture is… but i wish it was!
I didn’t bother reading every single post so i won’t have picked up on all the points and someone may have said these things already but;
Simply the opinion “women may be less attracted to men” is a pretty feeble excuse for unequal rights.
Also someone said man created most of the things we used to become civilized, this is not provable. Women may have contributed a great deal. We refer to our whole species as “man” in some cases so when “man” as a species is said to have done something it also refers to women as well.
Just because some women may not be bothered about rights, it doesn’t mean others aren’t.
If men had been oppressed and treated as if they were an inferior species, they would now be fighting for more rights and unhappy with the situation and many men are now perfectly happy for women to have equal rights. I ask this question in all seriousness, how would you feel if you were unequal to women? (addressed to any male debaters here.)
Women, even though it is against the law in some countries, are paid 89% of the wages of a man doing the exact same job with the exact same company and exact same qualifications.
It is unfeasible for women to have unequal rights, as we now by law have them, because the entire women population and a vast majority of the male population would be in uproar. It is the sort of vile oppressive totalitarian thing done by power-hungry maniacs. The suffragettes would have fought for nothing.
And may I ask, what could possibly be “fair” about unequal rights?
I feel (this is only my opinion) that some men wish for the “good old days” when they were more dominant.
(only SOME men)
A recent opinion poll directed at women about the statement ‘women have equal rights to men do you agree?’ % of women who agreed.
Australia 25%
Netherlands 20%
Switzerland 14%
Belgium 12%
UK 9%
USA 8%
Canada 8%
Germany 7%
think about that. women feel they are inferior…
…when they are not, just treated like they are.
I do not believe anyone can argue egual rights. What I do see is the fact that women themselves do not support it unless it benefits only them. Through out society are examples where they do not want equal rights because there is a gain or control issue at stake.
Where they themselves use their sex to their benefit.
True equality I dont believe will ever be achieved because of greed/control etc.
I believe that women should not have equal rights……they complain about how they don’t have them, but if you look at all the things they are doing in today’s society then you would realize that women have just as many, if not more rights then men do in today’s society. if they feel the need to complain that they don’t have enough rights then maybe women shouldn’t have any rights….maybe we should go back to the days when women were looked down upon and were forced to do what they were told when they were told without question. to all you women out there that read this, you know i am right and maybe you should just be happy with the rights you already have instead of pushing it.
You’re truly an idiot.
Amen Josh!
WOMEN should have EQUAL rights. If they have equal or more rights , as you say , then why on Earth would they ” COMPLAIN ” , as you put it. They must have a reason… and if you’re thinking they want to gain power over us then you’re WRONG because they ARE NOT “complaining ” for more rights , they’re complaing for E.Q.U.A.L rights.
Put yourself in their shoes for once , eh ? Think OF their situation. I’ve no doubt you would COMPLAIN if you aern’t getting any EQUAL RIGHTS.I’d love to see you in that situation. Josh is RIGHT … you truly are a idiot. Actually ” idiot ” is an understatement.
How could you not see what is happening. We as men want nothing but to gain as much control as possible…
AND ” PUSHING IT ” …. their not the ones pushing it , it’s US and you know it . We’re pushing our luck trying to control women , we’re pushing our luck on trying to keep them below US and sooner or later , it will have to end ONE way or another !!!
Doubtless you really are a idiotic fool…
i dont deny that we as men are trying to gain control, but if you take a look at history, men have allways been in control. china has allways had women subordinate to men, and some of their empires lasted over 1000 years, compared to the united states 300 years.
most people have everything they need, a house, food, clothes, all that stuff. but people complain all the time. if you want a wii, you dont say you want a wii, you say that everyone else has a wii and you NEED one, i dont deny that women dont have equal rights in everything, but they do in some things, and sometimes equal rights is just a label.
dude ur totaly right.
Women are only campaigning for the rights they are entitled to as human beings, they are not pushing it.
You are a real moron, we are not still living in the 17th century! You cannot go back in time and opress and crush women’s spirit and free will just so you can be dominant.
You make me feel sick the way you say it as if it’s no big deal, and I don’t think any woman on the planet would think you’re right!
I agree with MDH
You are so blind.
Perhaps you should take a look at it from a woman’s point of view. How would you like to be paid less for the same amount of work as a man, be viewed as mentally and physically inferior, and whenever you spoke up for yourself, a person like you justified the blatant sexism in today’s society by saying “well it’s better than it used to be.” I admit, it is much better. But how can you say that it is not our goal, as a society, to improve ourselves? To have the optimal world, equal rights are absolutely necessary. Women are half of the world; who are you to deny them their rights?
If you think about it, oppression makes women the stronger sex and privilege makes men the weaker, more pampered and spoiled sex. I know men will balk at this in general but it’s true. Women are forced to grapple with oppression every day of their lives. Women are treated unfairly in a myriad of subtle ways that men often fail to recognize due to their privilege. Women are told they are inferior and treated as such and must overcome many obstacles in order to simply function in the world. Men, meanwhile, have a number of advantages. You have to admit it men that you are glad you’re a man. That’s because you’re enjoying what you know to be male privilege. But you know, privilege often makes for laziness, doesn’t it? Think of the rich kid who has everything and never has to work for it. All they want is handed to them. Meanwhile, kids down the block are struggling to make ends meet. Well, that privileged kid is surely thinking thank goodness my family has money and more often than not, unfortunately, that rich kid thinks he or she is better than the neighbor that isn’t so privileged. That’s why they call themselves “elite” and why they practice elitism. However, if you’ve ever been a privileged person, you will know how easy it is to not do much for yourself when everything is handed to you. Your advantages can cripple you. Meanwhile the ones who have to struggle to survive gain all sorts of insights, experiences, and internal strengths you’ll never know about because you never had to lift a finger for it. If you’ve been privileged, you might even know that feeling of being locked in a gilded cage. Well, it’s the same way with male privilege. Men are essentially spoiled with all of their advantages in life. They’re made stupid by it. On occasion, some men rise above their privilege and become feminists, speaking out for women in ways that touch genuinely acknowledge female oppression and hope to change it. They are rare. Most men are living in the dark, failing to recognize how their own privilege sabotages them.
Institutionalized equality is a good idea because it will create more balance between the sexes. The differences between the sexes can undoubtedly be negotiated at that point. Chances are lots of women will still want to be submissive at home but the nice thing is that opportunities will be equal on the outside and that’s a good thing.
i would just like to say that women have come a long way but we are still not equal to men i feel that the reason for this is because it is so ingrained in our society that the woman should take care of the house. Although i strongly wish that congress would approve the equal rights movement.
I think women should stay at home where they belong . Its a proven fact that when the women went to work the family started to fail
Ugh! And I thought Neanderthal man went the way of the Stone Age. Are you kidding me? What “proven facts”? Do you mean the fact that some men can’t stand competing on their own merits (or lack thereof) against women, people of color, immigrants? Next you’ll be saying that women in the workplace are the reason for the recession, the failure of Wall Street, the war in Iraq, and global warming. Why do you think so many world socities are not economically viable? Half of more of their citizens — WOMEN — are kept at home, behind closed doors, denied basic human rights, and the ability to contribute. Welcome to the 21st century Larry. Women should be equal partners in the world, society, the workplace, and at home.
Women are also critical to the health of the US economy accounting for 28% of non-farm businesses generating $1.9 trillion. Chew on that proven fact for a minute.
If women were not working those jobs men would then so your point is irrelevent
If it were men working the jobs the revenue probably would have been closer to 3 trillion
explain the siberian penninsula to me, since they discovered oil, they have had a great economy, but the dominant religion puts women below men
Larry, thanks for your opinion. It’s folks like yourself that make the work of AAUW so rewarding.
@ larry
Likewise it would be much more beneficial if the male sex took their job as fathers more seriously as a whole and got involved in raising their children, instead of keeping them at arm’s length, which is typical. Men are perfectly capable of working as a team with their female counterparts in raising their families and I say this because children would benefit most from it. Boys often grow up surrounded by females and their father or other male role models are often being privileged somewhere.
Males and females are symbiotic. You can’t take men out of the equation and blame women for everything, e.g. for the failure of the nuclear family. Men and women work together and if one changes to free itself from oppression the other should be flexible and adaptive.
Equal Rights is not up for discussion it is God Given. The founders of our Government gave rights to ALL Americans and never said just because you are a woman you will be granted less rights. This is just a bunch of garbage. Women must have equal rights, we work, we raise families, we take care of our elders, we pay taxes, we own property.
There is NO bargaining chip here, we want our rights and we will have them.
And if men choose not to give them to you then what are you going to do. You forget women will always be weaker and less effective as combatants which is what everything really boils down to.
Those “God Given” rights by our white founding fathers were secured by America’s military. Men who fight and die to allow you to think you have equal rights.
The second this country fails or white culture starts to recede to the point the white man loses control women will lose their equal rights to another culture that doesn’t share our value system.
@adennis
Men don’t have so much power anymore. It may have been true in the past when physical strength was required for survival and dominance but nowadays technology has created a whole new world in which we live. We rely far less on physical prowess and far more on intelligence. Now we even employ robotic combatants on the battlefield. Your argument is based in fear. It’s fear of something that currently does not exist, so it’s an irrational argument.
In any case, don’t forget that it’s not just men that “fight and die”; it’s women too, albeit in smaller numbers. You’re kind of a jackass for not giving those women any credit for dying for our country.
Irregardless, it’s interesting the way so many men cling to being front line combatants in war as rationalization for oppressing all women at home. Do you realize how many women have died in childbirth, especially in the past, giving birth to our nations children? What would we do without children? Are women’s deaths any less important? Of course not. You just give death on the battlefield more credibility than death due to childbirth. Just because you have been indoctrinated to think that way by the patriarchy doesn’t make you right.
Women are more than half of our democracy. It’s not really up to men anymore to keep or give away rights. The only reason things haven’t changed faster is because so many women don’t believe in their own equality. In a way, that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes slow growth is to the best advantage. Eventually women will get there and the world will be a better place for it.
Talking about God now? Women are the reason we were kicked out of the Garden of Eden! And actually the FOUNDERS of our government gave equal rights to MALE WHITE PROPERTY OWNERS. Equal rights for women were no more established by our founding fathers than they were for blacks! lol
Women were the reason we were kicked out of eden? really? do you have any proof of this? Its just part of a religion, just like any other, that has been the basis and justification for men oppressing women for thousands of years. And then you ‘lol’ at how the founding fathers gave no rights to women OR black people? Do you find that funny? Do you really think that people should be descriminated against because of some detail of their birth that they have no control over? Just because someone is a woman or in any way different to you it doesnt mean that you have ANY right AT ALL to make them feel bad about themselves for being WHO THEY ARE. Oh, and one last thing. I’m pretty sure that laughing at women being oppressed is going to mean that you are NEVER going to be loved by ANYONE, which means that you are going to have to make your own sandwhiches. So maybe you should stop laughing at the oppressed and learn to do things for yourself.
If you actually bothered to do ANY historical research about the bible you’d know that “adam” and “eve” never had a gender until after the garden. In ancient hebrew the names mean “person” or “people” So i suggest you get your head out of your ass.
Women deserve equal rights because, the only difference between men and women is that men have a penis and women have a vagina, and did you know every baby starts out female, then the ovaries drop to form the testis. If you look at chromosomes, the XY is a mutated XX. I am NOT saying women are superior to men, I just think its a little crazy to treat women differently than men when we are so alike.
In GENERAL men are stronger but thats not always the case, humans vary greatly. Women can be a lot bigger than men or a lot smaller, it depends on the person. The reasoning behind women not being able to hold direct combat jobs in the military is ridiculous, smaller, quicker people can out maneuver stronger, larger opponents and like I said before women can be just as tall and in some cases stronger than the average man. The argument that men would overreact to a woman being injured is a problem with our foundation of equal rights, if we taught men to treat women the same, there would be no difference in reaction from a woman getting injured and a man getting injured.
Why should women be paid less than their male counterparts, when they are expected to take care of the house, raise the children, AND work a full-time job? Women do more work for less. Men should raise the bar and help take care of children more than they do, and raise women’s pay to EQUAL men’s pay for the same amount of work. As for the abortion right, its the woman’s body, she is the one who has to carry it for nine months, the woman should take into account the father’s opinion but the fact is he doesn’t have to do anything for the baby until its born and even then a lot of men don’t step up and raise their child equally with their female partners.
There are more women in the world than men, but women are still not treated equally. Men have been oppressing women for millennia and it has been integrated into our society, so much so that sadly, some women have started to believe that women are the inferior sex. It makes me so sad that women can believe that lie.
I think we all agree that men and women are not the same, and that this is a good thing. However, the core of the matter to me is one of choice.
Maybe I want a lower paying job, but maybe I don’t. Maybe I want to stay at home and raise my children, but maybe I don’t. Maybe I want to be with a man who is “powerful,” but maybe I don’t hold a traditional view of what power is.
My point is that we can’t all be equally free as people if we are not held to the same standards, and not afforded the same privileges.
And I think we all agree that everyone should enjoy the same standard of freedom… don’t we?
Men and women are not the same, one has a penis and the other a vagina. So what! I work as hard if not harder than any Man I know. I step up the the plate when responsibility knocks, I don’t take off and leave my problems behind. I pay taxes therefore I deserve my rights. I do not hate men I just to not prefer to be compared to them.
We must stop the gender wars and just treat each other equally. No more and no less than equality for all. We have got to stop looking at people as different when we are all born to love and live equally.
Ok… My view is going to seem really controversial, But please hear me out.
I do not agree with women having equal rights.
But this is not because I don’t think women could do a mans job, because I know for a fact that they can, and even sometimes better.
I disagree that women should have the same power as men due to the laws of attraction.
Women are genetically born to be attracted to “strong” “masculine” “powerful” men.
But these days things are taking a twist. While women are gaining more and more power, men are giving more and more power away… and because of this, women are finding it more difficult to find the “right” man, because they already have just as much power as any man does.
As long as men keep giving more and more power away, women are going to feel less and less attracted to the males.
As far out as my comment might seem. I have done lengthy research on this subject. And it worries me to say the least.
Fraser
Fraser, you certainly present a unique point of view, thanks for sharing it with us. I know personally I’m more attracted to a man who believes in equality. I see that as a reflection of their having higher self-esteem and more “power” per your definition. Other opinons?
wait till you have had a real man and then you won’t say the same thing.
Haha. Is this a man correcting a woman in regard to what type of male she is attracted to? That’s funny.
I don’t find it attractive if a man thinks that my rights should be tied to my attraction to men.
I’d be interested to see your “research” on this subject.
My experience is similar to Christy’s. The women I know are attracted to men who believe in and work for equality — they see it as reflecting more self-esteem and less insecurity about power. And they don’t seem to have problems finding the “right” man either.
On the other hand, I also know some men who insist on hold power and privilege for themselves, and don’t want to share with women. They’re the ones who have a hard time finding the “right” partner — and no surprise: these days, most women are tired of seeing themselves as second-class citizens.
jon
“Women are genetically born to be attracted to “strong” “masculine” “powerful” men.”
How in the world can you prove such a thing?
can you prove it false
Really, that’s your excuse for disagreeing with womens’ rights? Because you think we won’t be ATTRACTED to males anymore? What nonsense. You talk about instinct, but forget that women, like men, are driven to have children. And we can’t do it on our own. I am completely disgusted with your opinion. You talk as though you know exactly what women want. Most women are “attracted” to men who give them their equal grounds. Who listen and understand them. Who see them as their equal, not push them around like cattle. Push US around like cattle. I’m sorry if you can’t find a date because you have power issues. But for God’s sake, keep it out of politics!
@Fraser
I totally disagree with your sentiment. While women are attracted to the dominant male during ovulation, they are attracted to the beta male at other times of the month, at least according to what little research there is out there. The theory goes that while they are in heat, they want the alpha male seed but while they are not in heat they want the reliable beta male guy to raise their kids with them. I don’t know if that theory means much but it’s out there in the scientific literature.
A lot of women who are very powerful in the world love to come home and play the submissive role in bed with their man. It’s a relief to give up control in the bedroom. I think many of these women have very hot sex lives.
i think women should have equal right and roles as men, because what a man can do a woman can do better , women have got the brain they have got the wisdom to be great people. at what time is women going to have the same right like men , at what time are women going to be havin the same privilege like men. let ‘s do things right so that the world will be a better place for our generation to come
so while we argue about womens rights, women get to call men stupid, not as good as doing stuff. if women want equal rights, they arent better, but just as good.
Thanks for sharing these views Lucy.
I recently read another perspective, “Love in the Time of Layoff: Her Expendable Career” by Deborah Siegel, from the National Council for Research on Women’s blog. (http://www.ncrw.org/ncrwbigfive/love-in-the-time-of-layoff-her-expendable-career) Deborah talks about the “luxury” of child care vs. women continuing to work, all part of the equity equation.
It is interesting how some people think it would be a terrible thing. I worked in IT for years, earned much less than my male counterparts, was divorced, had a child and mortgage and was expected to cope. I do not think that by giving equal rights to women would actually improve their lives and those of their children. The control of women is not a new thing but seems to be one that men are scared of the consequences but not all men now feel that way and can see the benefits.
The control of women is instutionally accepted because of the fear of losing continued services that they provide, mother, wife, child carer etc.
Men are starting to question this:
‘All men know they do it, so they think it is normal behaviour and reinforces the inequality of women. This is reinforced by the media making men’s needs, desires etc more important than women. Hence they develop a competitive/survival mindset presenting a personal/social and political problem, without the integration of feminist analyses of gender relations and sexual politics. Adam Edward Jukes.
Thought I would share his views with you.
Women should have equal rights if they are doing an equal job. This does not mean that women and men will always do things exactly the same, so measuring equal has to take this consideration into account.
i believe women should have equal rights and pay because they can do as many things as we can…. they already have equal rights already so i dont need to go off of that… now they should get equal payed harder cause they work harder then the men and they have to deal with a lot of harrassment…. i think its bull that they r treated as if they are lower then us men and it sickens me…
Jon, Do you mean equal rights or equal pay? I thought equal rights were supposed to be for all Americans, even this is a hope toward which we should work? Or, do you think we need to go back to the days of women having no rights?
Gender should not determine pay for a particular job if gender does not effect how well the job can be done.
i agree with justin women should not have equal rights just be treated fairly if they are equal was it that men built and created most of the thigs we use
Just an FYI the reason why women did not contribute to many inventions is bc of the lack of rights to an education. And whatever women did contribute to society had to be hidden and pass threw her male family (father, brother, husband, son)…
Women are not in any way equal to men. Today women are unfortunately taking on more then necesary. Woking full time jobs, having a family and sometimes as only the only provider of care and finance, paying to recieve education, paying equal taxes, higher health care, etc… The list goes on. So they are not only stuck with burdens of all society like men but are also stuck with those of women!! Still today men refuse to relate to nor take responisbility to share these burdens. Women should have equal rights just for this fact alone!
I will attest to the impact of Justin’s comments on the audience at Christy’s session – since I was there. Heads shook in puzzlement, looks of amazement – among the women AND MEN who were there.
I wonder if Justin has a daughter. How might he explain that for equal work – she’s not going to get the same pay as a man? How is that fair?
Justin – I’m currently attending a conference, where the 5,000 attendees are learning the latest trends in the non-profit world. I actually was asked to be a speaker, focusing on “Tools of Engagement” for members/donors. As I was sitting waiting for the opening of the conference yesterday, enjoying the benefits of free wireless, I caught your response here to my earlier blog about Equal Rights.
I ended up quoting from your comments as the opener of my session that afternoon, showing the power of blogs, freedom of speech and why the work AAUW is doing today is still so very much in need. Thank you, I had numerous individuals inquiring about joining AAUW when my session ended.
Justin –
What classic warped tunnel-visioned logic! You believe that women should be treated “fairly” but not be given equal rights? What could possibly be “fair” about not having the same basic rights?
And you get an F in logic for somehow deducing that so many societal ills are the result of women gaining a voice. You preach for “common sense,” but there is no common sense in the notion that equal rights for women means that men lose something. That is the mindset of someone who believes they can only succeed in life at the expense of others, rather than in cooperation with others.
Sad!
the same BASIC rights does not mean EQUAL rights
I respectfully disagree.
By giving women equal “rights” under the law of the land, respect for men has nearly disappeared. Marital problems and divorce rates are at an all time high, STD rates are getting scary, kids are bringing guns to school and killing their classmates and teachers (not because of video games, but because they can’t stand those idiots). If women didn’t have as much say as men – corporal punishment would still be acceptable. Misguided people (mostly women) pushed for that one. In today’s world, men are against it too. Maybe because they got their ass beat when they were a kid. Apparently they didn’t kill anybody though, now did they?
The problem is – we base everything off this mathematical system. We seriously live by it. Logic has been disproved many times and this so-called perfect system is just as flawed as any other.
When something “technically” good (like equal rights) comes into the picture, it also causes a lot of bad. Same deal with racial differences and resolutions. I agree, equal rights could have been a great thing — ONLY if women were grounded enough to actually live that lifestyle correctly. Equal rights have really messed things up for us – but of course it’s helping big business grow. It more than doubled the amount of consumers in the world… Everyone is putting money first — money may just be the root of all evil.
The bottom line… Everyone is so focused on living their life the way they want to live it, they forget who gave them life, and why they are living in the first place. Life is a test and we all sin. There is no doubt things will keep getting harder. WE MUST HAVE COMMON SENSE. We need to dig down deeper to reach a much higher level of understanding on all matters. We must truthfully determine the long term repercussions of seeking change prior to making such a formal decision. Too bad uncle sam and big business together keep us so blinded it is near impossible to really live this way.
If equal rights are so good, why does it come with so much bad? And no, I’m not racist either. I have many friends of many colors. It’s not a matter of equality. It’s a fact that we are better off separated (Tower of Babel is a perfect example). Just as sex is fun, we are better off if we wait until marriage. These weren’t necessarily rules, these were suggested limitations to show us how to live our lives harmoniously.
I love women – and I believe women should be treated fairly. I do NOT however believe rights should be equal.
(editor’s note: typo fixed at the request of the comment author)
Justin, you asked “If equal rights are so good, why does it come with so much bad?”
Simple answer. You’re scapegoating women, blaming our current social ills on women’s equality. There is no basis for that at all. It’s all in your head.
men and women should have equal rights
Lehigh, you’re so right, as is evident by AAUW’s research, “Behind the Pay Gap”. If you don’t have time to read the entire report, a quick read of pages 2 & 3 gives a summary of the myriad of reasons impacting the differences between men and women’s salaries in the workplace today.
Women often need to leave the workforce to care for elderly parents or family members or a good friend. They may have taken early retirement if they were able to or they may have just resigned from employment. Returning to the workforce after a period of caregiving is extremely difficult especially when it was extended and the person is dealing with grief due to the loss. The woman is probably older and will face ageism also. The job she finds will probably be lower paying.
Returning to the workplace after having a child is a good example, Karen. Supporting family friendly work policies is certainly something needed and is one of AAUW’s advocacy issues (http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/fmla.cfm).
To follow up with Karen’s question – what other personalized examples do others have?
Since I will soon be a grandma, one question I have, is how women fare after returning to workforce after having a child.
As an employer in a small business, that is a concern for us and we had good employees successfully return and stay with us although we do not offer benefits in addition to medical insurance but planning together worked. We also had a stream of women who took the job already pregnant without our knowledge who then left when they were full term as it had been their advance plan.
The research I have read has not given me answers on whether women see a drop in their income if they are out of workforce due to childbirth for longer than 6-8 weeks and do not return to same job; has anyone seen anything about that as a factor that might skew the pay gap statistics?
Women who support education as an answer for knowledge as well as earnings seem to be more likely to also support equal rights although in my large, spread out state (CA), in the more rural areas, there is a more conservative approach evident that in the larger metropolitan areas.
The challenge is to target specific local benefits reaped from more progressive issues rather than presenting them in a more general manner. We who support equal rights must personalize it with examples from our own community of why it makes a difference that benefits us through sharing specific personalized examples to provide positive reinforcement of successes .