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can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?
As of late, the gender discussion seems to dominate the mainstream discussion on social justice. The alarming trend that I have noticed is that it has become a real battle of the sexes where one side accuses the other of causing its demise, which means any progress for one gender is seen as a loss for the other. I am proposing that we start to reframe the gender debate in a way where we can honestly address issues faced by men without saying "men just don't have as bad", in a way where we can address female issues without saying "women complain too much, get over it.
We must remember that progress in gender justice is (or should be) a benefit for all not a sum zero battle. Often, we get caught up if tallying up a score on who has it worse, rather than finding ways to address issues for both sides, simultaneously.
What will you tell your sons or your daughters when they come to you for advice?
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David Hamilton 50+
Basically, it seems like the dream used to be to give every working woman, and working member of a minority, the benefits, that at the time, were reserved for white men. It seems like the glut in the labor market, created by the feminist movement, and the civil rights movement, through no fault of their own, was used by corporations, to force us all to meet somewhere in the middle.
I think this is why you see so much anger amonst, let's be honest, uneducated, white males in the south. They basically say "My daddy farmed a small plot of land, and fed a family of four... Now in my town, no one can feed a family of four on one job... What the hell did we do?". I think we need to have a bit more sympathy for that often incoherently expressed argument. While I must admit lots of people who think like that are racist, and or sexist jerks too, we shouldn't listen to them too much.
If a woman wants to work 40-60 hours a week to have a career, that income should be enough to feed a family of four... same as a man... same whatever color you are... We seem nowhere near that in modern society, and the big winners... are corporations. We're making more stuff than we used to because of automation... So what's happening to the good jobs?
The problem is that most men see this as "We got screwed"... Instead, we should look back and say "Nobody won... Somethings wrong here. I also think we need some full time parents to raise children, and take them to museums, and art galleries, but that decision should now be gender neutral.
Ata Shirazi
Lee Miller 10+
David Hamilton 50+
No where in America can you work a 40-60 hour week and raise a family, unless you have a top tier degree. In almost every family the man works that long, and the woman works that long, and the child is raised by the television... We have robots and computers why do we work twice as much for less stuff?
Liz McLellan 100+
Sex trafficking, rape, domestic violence-- though not limited to women - the persistence of invisible walls and ceilings, tokenism, differences in pricing and coverage, pay gaps, lack of sufficient representation in halls of power commensurate with numbers... the list is really long...of goals women and feminists seek to address...along with the fact that the middle class (or what call the working class) is being carved out so that there are two classes....those with infinite security and those with none.
Globally - out of the reach of the concerns you point out - extreme poverty is the lot of most women and men....both pay a heavy heavy price. The price women and girls pay is quite different though...