Some people harbor such strange ideas about radical feminism. It makes irrational or unreasonable demands, for instance. Take abortion on demand. Men can have no problem with undesired embryos growing inside, so it is easy to say they don’t want their taxes to support murder, rather more military spending and quicker capital punishment.
Abortion is a personal decision. No one has the right to interfere with the woman’s choice when to bring a new life into the world. It is not as though the nation has a dire need of future soldiers, so every pregnancy must be carried to term as a patriotic duty. Religious fanatics may define that as a moral duty, but the fact remains women do not benefit by forced motherhood. Since motherhood is essential to human survival, it is best that social services make it possible for women to be healthy willing mothers, when they decide the timing is reasonable.
Child care strains the notion of the happy housewife. It is woman’s right to choose how she employs her time. Looking after home and children are public services, so deserve respect and fair compensation. While parents are best qualified, others can give quality care to children. Running the household is only one valuable service women can perform, so it is best that women be encouraged to develop all their talents regardless of family status.
Sexual harassment is another area of vast confusion. Women want their privacy respected. There are inoffensive ways of expressing interest and hostile ways. People know the difference. If a man resents women at work, that is his problem. Creating a hostile atmosphere for women is not good for the company, but the culprit’s ego gets a kick and existing hierarchy is not threatened, unless it were held responsible.
Affirmative action is retreating under attack, as the issue gets clouded by tricky turns of phrases playing on public fears. Equal opportunity means white men do not get the majority of the top jobs, in business or politics. Anyone who says America is a land of equal opportunity has to be ignorant, lying, or kidding. Equality in America is a joke, and powerful people want to keep it that way. The experiment of affirmative action was a first step in a good direction. That some white men would lose out on good jobs is a small price to pay for an integrated society that respects all kinds of people for their talents and merits.
The idea of a woman President is not such a joke these days. Leadership is falling apart all over, as society progresses mostly in raw numbers, less in the quality of life. Male leadership cannot claim credibility, let alone to monopolize it. The idea of leadership itself is suspect, but to think women cannot match male qualifications for any political office is just fond imagination. The glass ceiling may have kept women down, but those days are numbered. Even among radical feminists, few think women should reverse roles, treat men as sex objects, to be used, ridiculed, expected to look pretty with war paint and heels. Feminists by and large envision a fairer society, where everyone gets the recognition deserved for effort and talent. Power can be shared. Domination is wasted energy, macho illusion of family leadership.
The notion that radical feminists are man-haters is an ancient charge men hung on women who dared challenge male dominance. It is an improvement on executing them as witches, but dismissing the anger and actions of feminists as man-hating is to trivialize everything feminists value and protest. The fact that men are in control is reason for anger and protest. The many ways men contort power to the detriment of women, Nature, and other convenient targets furnish more reasons. Men ignore such issues at their peril, since the health of all life is at stake. Their leadership does not inspire confidence, but the economy ho-hums.
Abortion is a personal decision. No one has the right to interfere with the woman’s choice when to bring a new life into the world. It is not as though the nation has a dire need of future soldiers, so every pregnancy must be carried to term as a patriotic duty. Religious fanatics may define that as a moral duty, but the fact remains women do not benefit by forced motherhood. Since motherhood is essential to human survival, it is best that social services make it possible for women to be healthy willing mothers, when they decide the timing is reasonable.
Child care strains the notion of the happy housewife. It is woman’s right to choose how she employs her time. Looking after home and children are public services, so deserve respect and fair compensation. While parents are best qualified, others can give quality care to children. Running the household is only one valuable service women can perform, so it is best that women be encouraged to develop all their talents regardless of family status.
Sexual harassment is another area of vast confusion. Women want their privacy respected. There are inoffensive ways of expressing interest and hostile ways. People know the difference. If a man resents women at work, that is his problem. Creating a hostile atmosphere for women is not good for the company, but the culprit’s ego gets a kick and existing hierarchy is not threatened, unless it were held responsible.
Affirmative action is retreating under attack, as the issue gets clouded by tricky turns of phrases playing on public fears. Equal opportunity means white men do not get the majority of the top jobs, in business or politics. Anyone who says America is a land of equal opportunity has to be ignorant, lying, or kidding. Equality in America is a joke, and powerful people want to keep it that way. The experiment of affirmative action was a first step in a good direction. That some white men would lose out on good jobs is a small price to pay for an integrated society that respects all kinds of people for their talents and merits.
The idea of a woman President is not such a joke these days. Leadership is falling apart all over, as society progresses mostly in raw numbers, less in the quality of life. Male leadership cannot claim credibility, let alone to monopolize it. The idea of leadership itself is suspect, but to think women cannot match male qualifications for any political office is just fond imagination. The glass ceiling may have kept women down, but those days are numbered. Even among radical feminists, few think women should reverse roles, treat men as sex objects, to be used, ridiculed, expected to look pretty with war paint and heels. Feminists by and large envision a fairer society, where everyone gets the recognition deserved for effort and talent. Power can be shared. Domination is wasted energy, macho illusion of family leadership.
The notion that radical feminists are man-haters is an ancient charge men hung on women who dared challenge male dominance. It is an improvement on executing them as witches, but dismissing the anger and actions of feminists as man-hating is to trivialize everything feminists value and protest. The fact that men are in control is reason for anger and protest. The many ways men contort power to the detriment of women, Nature, and other convenient targets furnish more reasons. Men ignore such issues at their peril, since the health of all life is at stake. Their leadership does not inspire confidence, but the economy ho-hums.