A student writes:
I don’t think we will ever achieve any greater gender equality than what we have now. I’m not naive enough to believe that full equality can be possible. It is useless to expect women ever to enjoy an even playing field. Even what we have at this point in terms of equality is very likely to slip away.
This is very sad coming from a very young woman.
When I read it for the 1st time, I read
“It is useless to expect women ever to enjoy an even playing field.”
AS
“I don’t think women enjoy a truly even playing field.”
Wonder who the student thinks is mainly against equality, who will vote for it to slip away.
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Perhaps males should be sent to war. Historically this does seem to lead to greater egalitarianism as women take over civil roles.
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Is it really worth it though? Causing intense and extreme suffering, pain, mutilation, stress, death, and rape in another nation really worth it? Is it solving anything, or is it just dumping the trash in the neighbors yard?
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That’s a funny reply. Have the past few years of invading Iraq and Afghanistan been worth it? I think that is not for me to answer.
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The first and the second great feminist revolutions in the West did take place in the aftermath of WWI and WWII. However, then it was necessary to get women physically out of their houses. Today this has been achieved. Now it’s necessary to get them out of the house mentally. And this will take a very different set of events and kinds of activism. At least, that’s what I think.
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Typically the contemporary Western women feels insulted if she experiences any unexpected bumps along the road of life. These are an affront to her sensibilities. I think that “feminism” is often used, by US women, as a justification for coddling her.
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“Typically the contemporary Western women feels insulted if she experiences any unexpected bumps along the road of life. These are an affront to her sensibilities. I think that “feminism” is often used, by US women, as a justification for coddling her.”
– Absolutely. As my student said recently, “The conquerors killed, tortured the indigenous people and hurt their feelings.” People can’t distinguish between these actions.
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There is regrettably also another level of obscurantism to all this, whereby women who HAVE experienced significant injuries are said to have had their feelings hurt. For instance, a woman was raped in the Australian army and somebody wrote in to say it’s too bad her feelings were hurt, but she should have got on with the job.
So both sides are making the difference between reality and illusion harder to discern.
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Women have all the paths open nowadays. For living examples see Merkel, Sheryl Sandberg, the Polgar sisters, Christine Lagarde… It’s up to them as individuals to do what they want. No specific changes from society or help is needed.
Her pessimism has nothing to do with gender. She’s just learning about life like the rest of us have. She will figure it out at the right time.
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Most of my student are from the most disadvantaged classes. That is the part of society where any change takes the longest to arrive. Of course , even there things are much much better than before. But it will take a while to get to equality.
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The real obstacles for women these days are not legal or physical or anything like that. The obstacles are those of mentality. Too many women still pursue a relationship as their only way of having a social identity. Too many still choose to hide in the private sphere from the demands of the public sphere. Laws can be changed but changing mentality is not the same. This is where I see my role as a feminist.
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Yes, it’s mental and only she as an individual can make the change! Negativism is temporary and it’s way better than indifference. With role models like you in her life I’m sure she’ll find her way out. Not easy by any means, but the only way to be sure to be ready for the next level is finding your way at the current. Like Sandberg likes to say, guidance comes to you when you try hard.
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Yes, learning you are not a special snowflake is always a painful lesson for kids.
And how do we define “equality” in this discussion ? Equal before the law ? With the same starting opportunities ? Or maybe something else ?
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She mentioned the level playing field so I’m guessing starting conditions.
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What do you think about this definition of feminism? (in Russian)
http://taki-net.livejournal.com/1539417.html#comments
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It follows from the definition that women aren’t people and that humiliating and oppressing women is a good idea because it benefits actual people.
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Meet Hassan Rohani – Iran’s new president
Rejecting Ahmadinejad’s combative approach in world affairs, 64-year-old Rohani seeks ‘constructive interaction’ with international community while still maintaining nuclear program; Rafsanjani likely to play major role behind the scenes
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4392609,00.html
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My grasp of Iranian politics is very poor but I have read in a couple of places that this will be a positive development. Let’s see! I used to hang out with this group of Iranians whose families had been exiled after the revolution, and they were all very progressive, amazing people. A non-fanatical Iran existed before and will exist one day again, I’m convinced.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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