In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Relax, the battle is won

Flute

There is a perception in the Australian media (yes, its Flute here again, not Lauren) perperuated mainly by right wing women that there is no need for feminism anymore, if that is the case then why:
* In 1966 there were 32% of women in full time work, in 1999 this had risen to a startling 34%
* Women hold 72% of part time jobs
* There are 60 female members of federal parliament, 164 men
* Breast feeding is still taboo in public places
* Overall, women earn an average of 67% of male wages. If you exclude part time work this rises to just 81%
* In Australia only 1.3% of executive directors are women
* 28% of women have experience sexual harrassment in the workplace
* There are adverts on the TV to tell blokes to stop hitting their partners…
* …Because 23% of women who have been in a de facto or married relationship have experienced violence.

I’d be interested to know how these figures compare with the US.

By the way I see that the Pope is not so ill after all. Maybe he is just worried that because he lives in a fundamentalist state where there is no democracy that the Holy See might be next target on the list of the coalition of the willing. I wonder what its like becoming Pope. One minute you’re just an average Joe cardinal, then as soon as the smoke changes color, you become infallible. Is there some sort of angelly orchestra thing that accompanies this moment of transformation into someone who can never be beaten in Trivia Pursuit? Instead of the catholic church collecting money from parishoners, why don’t they just send the Pope to a few horseraces with a fat wad of cash. Or stick him on the Wheel of Fortune. Or play a few crap games in Vegas. They’re onto him in the casinos, last time I saw a sign saying, “No card counting, no electronic devices, no cameras, no Holy Fathers”.

15 thoughts on Relax, the battle is won

  1. Okay
    1 – Most studies show women are more likely to be the perpetrators of domestic abuse/violence than men (54pc to 46pc). Its just un-PC to say so.
    2 – Perhaps women earn less because they fulfill (at 100%) that vital function of giving birth. Us men are currently unable to become pregnant. Then women take time out to raise children. Women then fail to rise to the top more due to agism than sexism – promote the talented youth.
    3 – The Pope is not infallible all-the-time. Only when he is acting by Papal decree. If you don’t know anything about Catholicism then read up.

  2. 1) A study by Institute of Justice and the U.S. DHSS showed that 95% of perpetrators of domestic violence are male.
    2) Do you really think that a term of child rearing for some women (which men can do too you know) is justification for a working woman earning an average of 80% of a working man. Do you also think that this is justification for women only getting 1% of the top jobs. You say that and then believe there is no such thing as sexism? You have just proved that there is, and you are part of the problem.
    3) A sexist with no sense of humour and unquestioning belief.

  3. Perhaps the %age of women who want to be executive directors or politicians is less than that for men.

    And talking of adverts….ever noticed that it’s usually men and boys who are made out to be the fools?

    There are problems on/for both sides, the biggest being females are females and males are males. Not sure how you overcome that one.

  4. If I was conditioned by society, media, the government and religion to be a breeding machine, I would probably not want a high paying job either. It is a symptom of a large problem.

    Men and boys are made out to be fools in products that are “female” eg diapers, house cleaning products and anything else domestic. It reinforces the female stereotype. Most “male” products are accompanied by a pair of tits.

  5. But is it all conditiioning? Perhaps a lot of it is nature rather than nurture.

    Breeding machine? It ‘s a biological fact that women have the wombs. And if they didn’t want to breed why all the pressure on govts (ie the taxpayer) to provide childcare? Executive director or mother: perhaps it has to be a choice, not two complimentary roles.

  6. Executive director or father, perhaps it has to be a choice, not two complimentary roles.

    And I love the way you say “if they didn’t want to breed”. Priceless.

  7. Flute, how’d you get all the anti-feminists on this post?

    Feminism is not over any more than other civil rights are over. As long as there are bigots, there should still be rights movements. There are still people who believe women are not as good as men, just as there are still people who believe gays aren’t as good as straights, blacks aren’t as good as whites, etc, etc, etc.

    Monjo, I really don’t buy your statistics.

    Flute, keep in mind that your 95% doesn’t account for the fact that male victims of abuse are less likely to report it, so that’s 95% of REPORTED abuse cases are perpetrated by males. That’s why you have to take most statistics like that with a grain of salt.

    The other comments don’t even deserve a response, or Flute’s done a fine job covering. Yay for guest-blogging. 🙂

  8. I am a full-time father because my wife loves her job: it was a choice between that and my continuing as an executive and our children being brought up by childcare centres. My wife, my children and myself have all benefited from that decision.

    Children or career: a choice not a right. If you can’t bring them up then don’t have them.

  9. Of course the 95% is probably flawed but it is from a government department. Issues of self defence also get merged into the “men are victims” side of things.
    Thanks for the comment Avi, I’m having a great time doing this. I don’t know why all the misogynists are “picking” on me. Insecurity perhaps?

  11. Ron, it’s a lot more acceptable to say that someone should make the choice between being an executive and being a parent; however, you pinpointed women in your argument.

    I agree that it’s probably not the best idea to have your kids raised by a stranger, but neither is it a good idea to keep women out of high-up jobs just because they might have babies eventually and they HAVE to stay home for them.

  12. Flute: whether the man or woman raises the child, its the woman who is protected by law (in most countries) to be able to take a long time off work at a high % of her pay, and also to not work for the last 6 weeks of term. For most couples it is economically better for the woman to be the one to give up work for a while.
    And unless the woman’s job pays really well – which for most women at 20-30 it does not – it stays better for her to become a full-time mother than go back to work. Also, knowing my ex-gf who had 4 children, she was so protective of her children, that I was the first person she left her baby alone with.. and he was over five months old by then!
    But having these children actually has given my ex an economic advantage (she’s in the US) as she now has completely free higher education through all the grants and will soon be earning over $100k a year.

    Regarding statistics: http://www.menweb.org/throop/battery/studies/oleary-etal.html
    Regarding some interpretation to injuries sustained: http://www.menweb.org/throop/battery/injury-young.html

    I gave you these links at your weblog too Avi. Referring to my ex-gf again. She has been abused by and abused every man she’s ever been with. She even admitted to me she started it. She even hit me a few times, without response.

    Flute: ever considered that MANY female bosses refuse to employ women of child-bearing age? Is this sexist? Perhaps, but then they do employ women staff, they just choose older women. (They also will foten profile men and not employ any man who is the main carer for his children). Small businesses are impacted by Government red tape. You can’t be expected to be given equal chance to get a job, and then disappear for six months.
    This isn’t sexism, its realism. I love women and think you are all wonderful. Most of my friends are women. To call me sexist, perhaps you’re the sexist Flute as you fail to see that men and women aren’t the same?

    Regarding the Pope. You attacked Catholicism. It is true that the Catholic church could be seen as ‘sexist’ as there’s never been a woman Pope. But how many male nuns are there? I’m not Catholic, you just assumed I were.

  13. Monjo, isn’t it time to break the women get paid less because women are likely to rear kids because women get paid less cycle?

    And yes, I am a sexist, but recognizing a problem is the first step of solving it.

    As far as there not being a woman pope, you missed out cardinals, bishops and priests. Why can only a man can celebrate mass?

  14. The issues here about women’s working lives are detailed quite wonderfully in a book called “The Price of Motherhood” by Anne Crittendon. She explains these points everyone has brought up in great detail, and if you’re committed to finding answers rather than arguing spotty facts, this is a good place to start.

  15. Ill stick it on my birthday list – or register at the libarary – Lauren 🙂
    flute: in Germany early last century the retirement age was after the average age of death. There is a similar feeling we (UK, EU) need a policy like that today. Average age of deaths is about 77 in the UK (75 for men, 79 for women), so retirement would be at 80. Such a change would surely benefit women more than men. However, I am not sure if the raise children/paid less is a cycle. OECD figures suggest that even for women with no children in the UK aged 25-54 only 8 in 10 work; whereas 9in10 men work (fig doesnt show men with vs men w/o children). Women with 2 or more children are about 6 out of 10 in work; though 63pc of those jobs are part-time.
    There is some good news, in 2003 men’s f/t earnings went up 2.2pc, versus women’s 3.3pc. Men had a 0.9pc decrease in earnings for p/t work, women had a 4.2pc increase.
    Unfortunatly, I did not find much data about how this changes based on age. What I did see about accounts thouh was that 52pc of accountants under-25 were female. 49pc between 25 and 35; but only 9pc over 55 – hence why male accountants earn a lot more than female accountants. Only time will tell if today’s female accountants still make up about half the profession when they reach 40/50 and beyond.

    Going back to the Catholics again. As a secularist I agree 100%. However, when the CofE allowed women priests and bishops it caused a lot of controversy – amongst women as well as men.

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