Sunday, February 13, 2005
What has the women´s movement achieved that remained today in our lives?
This question popped up in some anti-women´s movement comment some time ago and it´s been on the back of my mind ever since. Aside from the obvious issues, that it was a "certain women´s movement," scattered all around the globe, that multiplied and replicated and metamorphised in the different ways, so it becomes rather ludicrous to talk about only one women´s movement - what exactly has remained as changes from the women´s movement? This is a kind of stream of conscience reply.
1) The first most outstanding change achievements are in :
a) the public sphere: employment, education, laws/legal rights, divorce/contraception - tearing down discriminatory structures/barriers, making women study and work en masse.
b) raising awareness and making visible the types of violence in the interpersonal sphere where great numbers of victims are female, specifically: rape, child sexual abuse, battering.
2) The creation of the concept of "sexist" and the critique where all of that applies in society - a critique that is very loud and visible at the same time that culture continues to be very sexist (continuous clashes, conflicts). The whole question of neurotic beauty standards, valuing women for looks/sexiness only, eating disorders, is a good example of a major cultural clash that rages on.
3) Impacts on attitudes in personal/family relationships. Different forms of partnership attitudes between couples - whereas the only option before was the man as the breadwinner and the woman as the housewife/mom, now couples can work out other arrangements that can make some people happier, and let both fulfill more needs. The father/daughter relationship sphere: dads that help their daughters achieve much more in their lives, other than a confined role of housewife in a stunted and stifled female mold.
Other important changes, but not having such a grand impact:
4) The women´s movement raised the issue of why was it that men´s public labor was remunerated, but women´s mother and housewife work was not. That prompted a more recent counter-reaction to feminists´ idea that women who stay at home were not doing anything very important. Specifically, the "value the stay-at-home mom movement" brought a renewed awareness regarding the value of mothering and what a privilege it is for women to stay at home and do just that (when it is a choice).
5) Although there are more women in politics, it still seem to encounter more problems than several other professions.
Problems:
1) The whole contraceptive/abortion rights problem.
2) The feminist movement being quite highjacked by the disgusting homo women and their fanatical, dysfunctional homo agenda. Feminist is almost a synonym to being some fanatical dyke nowadays.
3) Some "feminists" who were nothing but irresponsible, egotistical, unethical brats, and who, in the name of freedom, fed a lot of the violent, dysfunctional sexual culture we have today. Although there were some benefits from the so-called sexual revolution, it quickly deranged into a detrimental and harm-causing set of attitudes and behaviors.
4) If men work outside the home, and women go out to work, who will take care and raise the children?
Some thoughts on what´s going on in society nowadays.
I see a lot of women going into and exploring and becoming what was previously male forms of attitudes and behaviors only. Examples: sports (with all the sports jock culture that sports have), corporate rat race mentality, unethical/dehumanized and/or violent sexuality (pornography, crude entertainment, hook-up culture, date-rape, sleazy sexual mindsets, pro-homosexuality), alcohol/drugs, military/police,
But men hardly go over to what was a more female prescription of attitudes and behaviors (I don´t mean to say making men effeminate or having homo disorders!)
In my view, on the whole, society has become more sexist and egotistical in this new jock-like way, while permitting some privileged women to have some very interesting and fulfilling alternatives. It is interesting to note also that a lot of not very educated traditional stay-at-home women continue behaving almost exactly the same way compared to 50 yrs ago, as if there had been no women´s movement in the world.
And the question regarding marriage - are people being able to have better marriages today than 30 or 50 years ago? I don´t have an answer. We can certainly look at individuals and see a whole range of good and bad experiences, but generally speaking, I don´t know if there´s been a change for better or worse or none at all, that is, thousands of problems remain.
I also think there seems to be great disparity at the "what do women want?" versus "what do men want?" question. Quite often, it doesn´t seem like the answer matches up very well. And that is a recipe for a lot of strife and unhappiness in society.
.
1) The first most outstanding change achievements are in :
a) the public sphere: employment, education, laws/legal rights, divorce/contraception - tearing down discriminatory structures/barriers, making women study and work en masse.
b) raising awareness and making visible the types of violence in the interpersonal sphere where great numbers of victims are female, specifically: rape, child sexual abuse, battering.
2) The creation of the concept of "sexist" and the critique where all of that applies in society - a critique that is very loud and visible at the same time that culture continues to be very sexist (continuous clashes, conflicts). The whole question of neurotic beauty standards, valuing women for looks/sexiness only, eating disorders, is a good example of a major cultural clash that rages on.
3) Impacts on attitudes in personal/family relationships. Different forms of partnership attitudes between couples - whereas the only option before was the man as the breadwinner and the woman as the housewife/mom, now couples can work out other arrangements that can make some people happier, and let both fulfill more needs. The father/daughter relationship sphere: dads that help their daughters achieve much more in their lives, other than a confined role of housewife in a stunted and stifled female mold.
Other important changes, but not having such a grand impact:
4) The women´s movement raised the issue of why was it that men´s public labor was remunerated, but women´s mother and housewife work was not. That prompted a more recent counter-reaction to feminists´ idea that women who stay at home were not doing anything very important. Specifically, the "value the stay-at-home mom movement" brought a renewed awareness regarding the value of mothering and what a privilege it is for women to stay at home and do just that (when it is a choice).
5) Although there are more women in politics, it still seem to encounter more problems than several other professions.
Problems:
1) The whole contraceptive/abortion rights problem.
2) The feminist movement being quite highjacked by the disgusting homo women and their fanatical, dysfunctional homo agenda. Feminist is almost a synonym to being some fanatical dyke nowadays.
3) Some "feminists" who were nothing but irresponsible, egotistical, unethical brats, and who, in the name of freedom, fed a lot of the violent, dysfunctional sexual culture we have today. Although there were some benefits from the so-called sexual revolution, it quickly deranged into a detrimental and harm-causing set of attitudes and behaviors.
4) If men work outside the home, and women go out to work, who will take care and raise the children?
Some thoughts on what´s going on in society nowadays.
I see a lot of women going into and exploring and becoming what was previously male forms of attitudes and behaviors only. Examples: sports (with all the sports jock culture that sports have), corporate rat race mentality, unethical/dehumanized and/or violent sexuality (pornography, crude entertainment, hook-up culture, date-rape, sleazy sexual mindsets, pro-homosexuality), alcohol/drugs, military/police,
But men hardly go over to what was a more female prescription of attitudes and behaviors (I don´t mean to say making men effeminate or having homo disorders!)
In my view, on the whole, society has become more sexist and egotistical in this new jock-like way, while permitting some privileged women to have some very interesting and fulfilling alternatives. It is interesting to note also that a lot of not very educated traditional stay-at-home women continue behaving almost exactly the same way compared to 50 yrs ago, as if there had been no women´s movement in the world.
And the question regarding marriage - are people being able to have better marriages today than 30 or 50 years ago? I don´t have an answer. We can certainly look at individuals and see a whole range of good and bad experiences, but generally speaking, I don´t know if there´s been a change for better or worse or none at all, that is, thousands of problems remain.
I also think there seems to be great disparity at the "what do women want?" versus "what do men want?" question. Quite often, it doesn´t seem like the answer matches up very well. And that is a recipe for a lot of strife and unhappiness in society.
.
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