Motivation: One day, I am simply browsing the Internet, looking up news, reading some humor/satire, and in general, expanding my knowledge about the world. And then I stumble upon this website called Intellectualwhores.com. Seemed humorous, so I looked around and found
this guy's article, "Me and Germaine Greer, or How I Realized I was a Feminist! I was astounded to say the least. After reading the article in its entirety, I can be reasonably certain in my conclusion that this person, while s/he may physically be a male, s/he is in no way a man. The arguments made in his article range from debatable to absurd. And I felt it would be a good chance for me to speak out on the issue of feminism on my own blog.
Before I Begin... Looking back on this editorial now that I have written it, I realize it contains a LOT about my worldview. While the main emphasis is on feminism, you can probably get a good understanding of where I stand on a lot of other issues. That said, feminism is without question a hot topic. It is a topic that lends itself naturally to polarizing people. In general, that polarization breaks down to men on one side and women on the other. But before I start my dismantling of the aforementioned article, some issues need to be addressed up front, right here. For starters, if you are going to read any of this series of posts, please read all of them. This is
NOT in any way shape or form an attack against women. Heck, let's face it. Women are great. They are the perfect complement for men. Some things are inherently missing from most men, and women possess these qualities. But it also works the other way. Another thing: The article in question deals with what is probably the more extreme form of feminism. The kind that would say women should rid themselves of men altogether and should rule the world (exaggerated for journalistic effect). I do believe that women should be held in equal respect in ALL walks of life. Women and Men should be held to the same standards. But in the end, we all must realize women are better at some things and men are better at others. And this goes back to what I just said about women completing men and vice versa. This type of feminist thought doesn't bother me. But it does bother me that they would call themselves feminist. Feminism is a derisive term. Yes. Fight for equality. But don't fight for it under the banner of feminism. Because when you say feminism, you bring along with you the stereotype of the extreme feminists as well.
About Equality: I repeat: I do believe that women should be held in equal respect in ALL walks of life. And by equal, dang it, I mean EQUAL. Perfect Example: Military. Women ARE treated unequally in the military! THEIR REQUIREMENTS ARE LESS than the men! They get more time to finish courses/runs, have to do less pushups/pull-ups/etc/etc/etc. What a bunch of bull. You want to be in the military with the men? Fine by me. But then pass the same tests!
But Pug, then there will be far fewer women in the military than there already is. Guess what, I don't care! I also don't care if they lower the male requirement while raising the female requirement. The facts are that to maintain a successful military, physical strength and conditioning plays a crucial role in the ability of our military in general to be the best in the world. And few people will deny that men are,
in general, better at this. Men are designed to be the physically stronger sex. But if a woman is exceptional and can match the men, then so be it. Let her in!
And, I don't know the facts well enough, but I would guess it is true that equally capable women get paid less than
exactly comparable men
sometimes. This is wrong. And anyone caught discriminating in this way ought to be held accountable. But I ask... how the heck do you enforce this? How do you prevent the employer from choosing a less qualified man over a woman? You can't. The only thing that will change this is by a gradual change in the general attitude of all men in society. Changing someone's prejudices in nigh to impossible. This lesson has to be taught to children early on in life. And then, as these children grow up and take leadership roles, hopefully they will make proper decisions. One last thought... do some women get paid less for comparable jobs because, maybe they're not interested in the money first and foremost? Perhaps they favor other work incentives such as flexible hours, benefits, childcare etc before they consider the pay of the job... just a thought (coming from channel surfing one day).