General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Myth of Male Power - Warren Farrell [View all]Zorra
(27,670 posts)choice, but don't blame me/other women for how you feel.
In reality, no one can make you feel guilty unless you allow it. If many men feel some sort of collective negative feeling about women having had an unequal social, political, economic status throughout most of history, maybe there is some underlying reason for feeling that way. Kind of like how many Americans in the present still feel horrible that our country was largely developed on the backs of slaves. Luckily, some wise, decent folks believed that slavery was unjust and monstrous in its inequality. But, unfortunately, we're still, in 2012, working on gaining full equality for the descendants of people that were legally enslaved in America, and equality for other ethnic and gender minorities as well.
The point is, genuine full equality still takes a very, very, long period of time to become a part of a general cultural consciousness, and a practical reality, after equality becomes the law of the land. You can't change the enculturated, institutionalized effects of history upon a population overnight just by passing a law.
"I want to support feminist causes but when I hear about how "MEN ARE THE PROBLEM" and the like, it makes me back off."
Really?
Then, with all due respect, I suppose it's probably best for all feminists, women and men alike, that you back off from supporting feminist causes, until you have at least a minimal degree of genuine recognition/understanding of how and why the majority of women understand themselves to be almost universally in undeserved, unequal, social, political, and economic positions throughout the globe.
Not all men are the problem.
But many men really are a huge part of the problem.
Here's an example of 10 men who are definitely "the problem"...
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Caption: Nine US legislators standing behind George W Bush in 2003 as he signs the partial-birth abortion ban.
Hint: There are no women in the above photo; republican men are arbitrarily making decisions for us. They fully believe it is their divine right to do so. Almost half the voters in the US often vote republican. Most GOP men consider women to be inferior to men, and do not treat women as their equals.
Even many GOP/RW fundy religious (christian, muslim, and other) women consider themselves to be inferior to men as well; it is almost always their patriarchal religious/cultural background and/or family uprbringing that causes this very sad state of crushed self-esteem and ignorance among affected women.
So you see, it's not all men who are the main part of the problem. It is a general widespread history of global patriarchy that created the general cultural mindset of many men, and even some women, that is still the major cause of the conditions that women find themselves in today.
Far too many men really do remain a huge part of the problem. Some of the active causes of the problem range from outright individual misogyny and institutionalized sexism to ignorance or complete denial of the fact that women do not have equal social, political, legal, and economic status basically everywhere on the planet.
Can you empathize/conceptualize for even a brief moment what it is like to be a woman in Saudi Arabia?
All women, regardless of age, are required to have a male guardian. Women cannot vote or be elected to high political positions.[1] However, King Abdullah has declared that women will be able to vote and run in the 2015 local elections, and be appointed to the Consultative Assembly.[2] Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving. The World Economic Forum 2009 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries for gender parity. It was the only country to score a zero in the category of political empowerment. The report also noted that Saudi Arabia is one of the few Middle Eastern countries to improve from 2008, with small gains in economic opportunity.[3]
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For me to go to any government agency or to the court to buy or sell property, as a woman I am obligated to bring two men as witnesses to testify to my identity, and four male witnesses to testify that the first two are credible witnesses, and actually know me. Where is any woman going to find six men to go with her to the court?! Its hard for me to get my legal rights...the solution is to use ones connections, pay a bribe or be sharp-tongued. --Loulwa al-Saidan, real estate investor[1
Caption: July 4th, 1976: After more than 2,400 years of general global gender inequality, Glinda Goodwich magically ends historical patriarchy, and makes all women totally equal to men instantaneously.
VOILA!