More On Gender Roles

This is a highly intelligent post. Thanks for sharing !

this is an excellent post. it's true - women now are expected to be able to do it all "like a man" (or, even better than him) & feminists promote this idea that women are strong & independent (which a lot of them are, just like a lot of men are), while at the same time wanting society to be sensitive to women's "feelings" & promoting the idea that women are fragile & therefore deserve special privileges.
& women are considered weak if they choose to focus on the role of mother & nurturer (to which they are biologically geared) & are considered role models if they are ruthless, hard, successful & provide for their family (even if it means their kids are neglected).
feminists have made being feminine a trivial & silly thing, while promoting the idea that masculinity in men is shameful (& even brutal, barbaric & evil).

however, i don't thinks sports & careers are a "male" or "masculine" thing. i just think it's wrong for a woman to put her role as a mother second to these things (& pretty much everything else).

I do not believe that both sexes are fighting to be men, but are fighting for their own interests. It is not masculine to want to be a CEO; it is just a personal goal that was "traditionally" a man's dream (which was inappropriate for a woman to want to aspire until feminism).

Cypress: Take a look at the videos in this story.

EP Link

Germany, Sweden and Australia are considering banning urinals. Apparently a man standing to pee is oppressive to women. At least that's how feminist feel.

Feminist don't want men to have anything of their own. As bad as hate go all "tin foil hat" on everyone, with everything I have seen with regard to feminist, there is only one logical conclusion. Feminist hate men. They don't care about equality. All they want is to hurt men. I mean what other conclusion is there for forcing men to sit to pee. There is no other logical conclusion. All they want is to inflict pain and seek vengeance for a perceived slight.

Yes, I have been noticing this very thing for a long time. At some point I asked myself, 'how is it that feminism is on the one hand screaming that women are superior, but on the other aspiring to claim the "power" men have, not by bringing to the fore all of women's "superior" ways of approaching life, but strangely acting just like men?'



I don't give a damn if women are race car drivers, boxers, or professional wrestlers, but what does bother me is that men have no place to call their own these days. Universities are even going to co-ed showers! It will be interesting to see what happens when a coed gets raped in that scenario, and make no mistake, it WILL happen.



But more generally, I think this 'we can do anything men can do' philosophy reflects a deep insecurity that American women feel about their identities. I live and work in the Middle East and am lucky enough to have traveled to many parts of the world. One thing that struck me about many women I have met and worked with from other countries was something I hadn't seen in the US for about 20 years: they loved their husbands, their children, and men in general. In fact, some of these women commented that American men are 'so politically correct', and sort of laughed at my reticence to just state my opinion as a man. I had come 7000 miles from home to find women--at last--who appreciated my masculinity. How refreshing!



So, at the root of this sort of 'penis envy' behavior is, in my mind, an adolescent approach to gender relations. When we are teens it is normal for women to look at the world as a competition between the sexes. I don't care what millennium we live in, teen males are far more aggressive about pushing the envelope than females. Young women see guys 'showing off' and they want part of that power. But, just as men need to develop mature perspectives about women (~ age 30), American women need to grow out of this childish competition with men. The European and Asian women I have encountered, on the other hand, tend to never bring up the subject, and tend to see American women as being beautiful but immature.



What is feminism reacting to that it has to insist that men have no place to their own? I think this is an adolescent reaction to basic differences that are never going to change: a) men are bigger and stronger; b) men are risk takers; c) men don't have to deal with periods or pregnancy; d) men are far less concerned with their appearance (dress) or their bodies; and e) men age more 'gracefully'.



Ironically feminists never seem to see the advantages in being female: a) never have to do the heavy lifting or get stuff off the top shelf; b) generally live longer because they are smart enough to avoid stupid risks; c) with a little help can 'create' their own family; d) set a good example for proper dress and physical fitness; and e) live longer (& get all the loot).



I remember when droves of women 'went to work' in the late 70s. It took about 4 years to begin to hear that these same women complain that ‘work sucks’; all the fantasies about the power men had 'at work' were simply untrue. I think it's good that women found this out, but wonder what happened to all the feminist promises of creating a 'perfect world' once women got into power.



I have seen many women in power and they all seem to be frustrated and unhappy. I have seen entire departments, for instance, in universities occupied by women. Contrary to the myth of feminine 'superiority' as leaders and communicators, I have never seen one single example of such a situation--where women were largely or totally in control--where some magical world of peace and contentment exists. In fact, I never saw any differences that made working in those circumstances any better at all, for men or women.



So, why do women want to be men? It is simply a power issue, but it's power on a man's terms. That is, American women don't see how much power they actually have as women and have traded that in for what they consider 'real' power. I can remember a woman commentator angrily saying that Patty Smith (a feminist rock musician in the 80s) had completely 'sold out' after she got married, and became all 'girly', betraying her feminists sisters by acting all 'lovy dovy'. Imagine how horrible it must have been to find someone who loved her and wanted to have a family with her. What a nightmare! Patty Smith found true power--marriage, family, and a legacy. Is this perfect? No, but it beats the hell out of what I have generally noticed happens to women who focus too much on masculine power: being miserable and alone.



There was a movie called 'I think I love my wife', where a man is called on the carpet by the big boss after letting an affair affect his work. The big boss says, 'you can lose a lot of money chasing women, but you'll never lose any women chasing money'. If a man is single, this is true. But if he is married, chasing the almighty dollar--which essentially what women are doing when they act like men--is responsible for more unhappiness than anything else in life.



Women would do well to use their generally wise minds to see this reality, and try to achieve more harmony with actually being female.



I think we would all benefit if the constitution had one more inalienable right: For men and women to always have their inviolable space, where they can feel free to act like men or women without interference or judgment.