Read Between the lines: It is cultural misogynism
March 28, 2011, 9:13 pm
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After a long time, I think that it was the article I read which awoke this need to write once more on cultural references and semantic reactions that tell the tale of a deeper, subconscious, unconscious interpretation and expression of, in this case, sexism and misogynism. Before I start the amateurish analysis of Scott Adams’ text, I have to say that I do and do not consider myself a feminist. Once again, the meaning of words and their interpretation with the weight and burden they carry for each of us needs to be clarified, needs to be determined. I am a feminist in the sense that I believe I am not inferior or superior to any man just because they are a man and I am a woman; I am equal, I am human just as a man is. I am a feminist in the sense that I refuse to indulge and mindlessly accept the beauty “ordonnances” given to women about their bodily hair, the way their genitals are supposed to smell and how they should act in the presence of a man regarding their intellectual capacities. Men do not define and filter everything in this world. On the other hand, I am not a feminist because I strongly believe that the minute a woman utters the words “women rights” women stop existing in the realm of human beings, therefore not having to speak about “human rights” anymore. I am also not a feminist in the sense of the hysteric term of the word (it is a cliche to say that feminists are hysterical, but I have experienced it first hand, they can be). There has been male oppression, but there is much that has been done, albeit there still is so much more to be done.That said, I will move to respond to Scott Adams’ text on men and women (to him, in that order) posted and deleted on March 7, 2011:
The topic my readers most want me to address is something calledmen’s rights. (See previous post.) This is a surprisingly good topic. It’s dangerous. It’s relevant. It isn’t overdone. And apparently you care.
Let’s start with the laundry list.
Nothing to say here, by reading the introduction one could not tell what is to follow.
According to my readers, examples of unfair treatment of men include many elements of the legal system, the military draft in some cases, the lower life expectancies of men, the higher suicide rates for men, circumcision, and the growing number of government agencies that are primarily for women.
Still nothing, I actually agree with all the above (although women do serve in the military and fight wars in many, many countries not to mention clitoridectomy in the “barbaric” countries where it is performed as opposed to “civilised” America and last but not least the lower life expectancy of men who work their entire lives while women stay home all day after having given birth and are “naturally” taking care of children).
You might add to this list the entire area of manners. We take for granted that men should hold doors for women, and women should be served first in restaurants. Can you even imagine that situation in reverse?
Yes, I can. In fact, most Scandinavians can. These countries are closer to equality of sexes than anywhere I had been and seen before. Does this mean that it is the women’s or the men’s fault that American culture not only preserves this kind of behaviour, but also keeps feeding it with stereotypes on advertisements and the constant bombardment of beauty standards both for men (as to what to like) and to women (as to what to do to be liked)? Is it women’s or men’s fault that women are put (and like being put) in the feeble, protected and cared-for part of society where being a ditz is cute and even feminin and men feel reassured and safe by such a behaviour?
Generally speaking, society discourages male behavior whereas female behavior is celebrated. Exceptions are the fields of sports, humor, and war. Men are allowed to do what they want in those areas.
I do not see this at all. You mean in public male behaviour is discouraged? Men in long-term relationships do not swear, curse, fart, get drunk, fight, kill, make dirty jokes etc. in their homes with their girlfriends, wives, boyfriends, partners in general? And I assume that these are the behaviours you are talking about since these are the only ones I can retrieve from the the three fields you suggest above. Why are these male behaviours to begin with? Are these “naturally” male behaviours? Or have they been entrenched into society and culture as identifiers of the sex in question?
Add to our list of inequities the fact that women have overtaken men in college attendance. If the situation were reversed it would be considered a national emergency.
Inequities? Women are more than men globally. How is this an inequity? This is merely demographics.
How about the higher rates for car insurance that young men pay compared to young women? Statistics support this inequity, but I don’t think anyone believes the situation would be legal if women were charged more for car insurance, no matter what the statistics said.
According to a previous paragraph, men are pushed by cultural status quo to behave in a specifically “male” way. They are supposed to (well, in combination with out-of-control hormone flow) to act silly and manly, get drunk and drive to prove they are no chickens to their other male friends, dare each other etc. What is an insurance company to do? Reckless driving is more common in young male drivers. Women on the other hand are passive drivers to the point of stupid and completely unintuitive, which also makes them prone to accidents – remember that it is both high speed and low speed that can create accidents, so I will give you this one Adams!
Women will counter with their own list of wrongs, starting with the well-known statistic that women earn only 80 cents on the dollar, on average, compared to what men earn for the same jobs. My readers will argue that if any two groups of people act differently, on average, one group is likely to get better results. On average, men negotiate pay differently and approach risk differently than women.
Why is that? Is it in men’s nature? They just happen to do that because they were just born knowing how to bargain while women do not have that skill… Being a big part of the culture world, does culture even mean anything to you Adams? Yes, they do approach risk differently than women (that’s why car insurances are higher for men) but I think that the same statistic will also show you that the bargaining for a woman’s pay even STARTS lower. Check it again…
Women will point out that few females are in top management jobs. Men will argue that if you ask a sample group of young men and young women if they would be willing to take the personal sacrifices needed to someday achieve such power, men are far more likely to say yes. In my personal non-scientific polling, men are about ten times more likely than women to trade family time for the highest level of career success.
Fine, fine, I will leave megalomania and the gorilla-style chest-bumping-for-success to men. You are right, men do want to be up there. It is also in their nature and it does not lie in the fact that they are being interviewed by a man (solidarity forever), or women being interviewed by men in contrast to placing women to interview women and asking them if they want to reach for the stars… I will half-give you this one, ok?
Now I would like to speak directly to my male readers who feel unjustly treated by the widespread suppression of men’s rights:
Get over it, you bunch of pussies.
Pussies? That is a very interesting choice of insult. I take it you do not mean kittens and I have the feeling you used the specific word on purpose. Now, if a man is called “dick” it is offensive, but not as offensive as being called “cunt” or (in this case) “pussy”. Feminising a man is a great insult and I do not need to tell you this, you do not need a lesson from me, I am sure. To compare, hint or straight out relate a man to anything feminine is after all these years something striking a man’s ego like no other! Of course, no one would call a woman a “dick”, but they would still aim to insult her by calling her a ”cunt” or a “pussy”. Insults feel graver when female. And do not mistake this as empowering, try and see where this is on all aspects and levels of society and culture, how far deep and back it goes instead of uncritically accepting it. Question it, and then accept it!
The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It’s just easier this way for everyone. You don’t argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn’t eat candy for dinner. You don’t punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don’t argue when a women tells you she’s only making 80 cents to your dollar. It’s the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles.
The only thing I can think of saying here is: You mum should have exercised her birthright and flushed you down the drain. Seriously. She wasted so many years of her life raising… this? I guess someone should have beaten the sense out of her too.
How many times do we men suppress our natural instincts for sex and aggression just to get something better in the long run? It’s called a strategy. Sometimes you sacrifice a pawn to nail the queen. If you’re still crying about your pawn when you’re having your way with the queen, there’s something wrong with you and it isn’t men’s rights.
Are we talking about sex? I think we are talking about sex now and I have to say that in all mammals it is the female that will choose to spread its legs (and the male that will rape it if it won’t) to whomever she chooses. Read it, it is common knowledge (what? too hysterically feministic, huh? I guess you are right…)!
Fairness is an illusion. It’s unobtainable in the real world. I’m happy that I can open jars with my bare hands. I like being able to lift heavy objects. And I don’t mind that women get served first in restaurants because I don’t like staring at food that I can’t yet eat.
Unfairness is a reality. It will continue to be a reality as long as people do nothing and swallow whatever they are served uncritically. Even if they do give it the time of day and think about it for a while and then realise that it is too big for them and why bother, it is quite clear that these people are not really involved in the well-being of society as a whole but only after their own ease of mind. And yes, this indeed is the way of the real world and we are told to accept it, we are told that it is good to be individualistic. Of course, if we step out of our hotel room and resort when we travel the world we will see that not all societies are in fact this way and what we thought was the real world was only our microcosm. Adams thinks like the jokes Europeans always say about Americans, that Americans think they are the only country in the world and their reality is the only one there is. Scott Adams certainly thinks this way I believe, and out of altruism and concern for his mental state I would strongly recommend some time out of that resort when he takes trips abroad.
If you’re feeling unfairly treated because women outlive men, try visiting an Assisted Living facility and see how delighted the old ladies are about the extra ten years of pushing the walker around. It makes dying look like a bargain.
Hehe, good one…!
I don’t like the fact that the legal system treats men more harshly than women. But part of being male is the automatic feeling of team. If someone on the team screws up, we all take the hit. Don’t kid yourself that men haven’t earned some harsh treatment from the legal system. On the plus side, if I’m trapped in a burning car someday, a man will be the one pulling me out. That’s the team I want to be on.
Women are far more empathetic than men. A man is more likely to say “nah, screw it” than a woman in times of distress such as the one mentioned above. Plus, I have to say that one of the first images I had of Denmark on the first day I got off the bus to get to my dorm was a construction crew of men and women working on a building construction site. Big ladies and big gentlemen. All equal, all doing the same chores (must sound like hell to Adams). If you are ever in a car accident and a woman like that passes by, you should refuse her help. Just because she is on the opposite team, no other reason.
I realize I might take some heat for lumping women, children and the mentally handicapped in the same group. So I want to be perfectly clear. I’m not saying women are similar to either group. I’m saying that a man’s best strategy for dealing with each group is disturbingly similar. If he’s smart, he takes the path of least resistance most of the time, which involves considering the emotional realities of other people. A man only digs in for a good fight on the few issues that matter to him, and for which he has some chance of winning. This is a strategy that men are uniquely suited for because, on average, we genuinely don’t care about 90% of what is happening around us.
And you are part of this mass, this herd of sheep, you do not stand out in the slightest!
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Filed under: Politics | Tags: behavior, behaviour, comment, commentary, culture analysis, female, fury, ilektra, individualism, macho, male, mandragou, misogynism, response, Scott Adams, semiotics, society
The topic my readers most want me to address is something calledmen’s rights. (See previous post.) This is a surprisingly good topic. It’s dangerous. It’s relevant. It isn’t overdone. And apparently you care.
Let’s start with the laundry list.
Nothing to say here, by reading the introduction one could not tell what is to follow.
According to my readers, examples of unfair treatment of men include many elements of the legal system, the military draft in some cases, the lower life expectancies of men, the higher suicide rates for men, circumcision, and the growing number of government agencies that are primarily for women.
Still nothing, I actually agree with all the above (although women do serve in the military and fight wars in many, many countries not to mention clitoridectomy in the “barbaric” countries where it is performed as opposed to “civilised” America and last but not least the lower life expectancy of men who work their entire lives while women stay home all day after having given birth and are “naturally” taking care of children).
You might add to this list the entire area of manners. We take for granted that men should hold doors for women, and women should be served first in restaurants. Can you even imagine that situation in reverse?
Yes, I can. In fact, most Scandinavians can. These countries are closer to equality of sexes than anywhere I had been and seen before. Does this mean that it is the women’s or the men’s fault that American culture not only preserves this kind of behaviour, but also keeps feeding it with stereotypes on advertisements and the constant bombardment of beauty standards both for men (as to what to like) and to women (as to what to do to be liked)? Is it women’s or men’s fault that women are put (and like being put) in the feeble, protected and cared-for part of society where being a ditz is cute and even feminin and men feel reassured and safe by such a behaviour?
Generally speaking, society discourages male behavior whereas female behavior is celebrated. Exceptions are the fields of sports, humor, and war. Men are allowed to do what they want in those areas.
I do not see this at all. You mean in public male behaviour is discouraged? Men in long-term relationships do not swear, curse, fart, get drunk, fight, kill, make dirty jokes etc. in their homes with their girlfriends, wives, boyfriends, partners in general? And I assume that these are the behaviours you are talking about since these are the only ones I can retrieve from the the three fields you suggest above. Why are these male behaviours to begin with? Are these “naturally” male behaviours? Or have they been entrenched into society and culture as identifiers of the sex in question?
Add to our list of inequities the fact that women have overtaken men in college attendance. If the situation were reversed it would be considered a national emergency.
Inequities? Women are more than men globally. How is this an inequity? This is merely demographics.
How about the higher rates for car insurance that young men pay compared to young women? Statistics support this inequity, but I don’t think anyone believes the situation would be legal if women were charged more for car insurance, no matter what the statistics said.
According to a previous paragraph, men are pushed by cultural status quo to behave in a specifically “male” way. They are supposed to (well, in combination with out-of-control hormone flow) to act silly and manly, get drunk and drive to prove they are no chickens to their other male friends, dare each other etc. What is an insurance company to do? Reckless driving is more common in young male drivers. Women on the other hand are passive drivers to the point of stupid and completely unintuitive, which also makes them prone to accidents – remember that it is both high speed and low speed that can create accidents, so I will give you this one Adams!
Women will counter with their own list of wrongs, starting with the well-known statistic that women earn only 80 cents on the dollar, on average, compared to what men earn for the same jobs. My readers will argue that if any two groups of people act differently, on average, one group is likely to get better results. On average, men negotiate pay differently and approach risk differently than women.
Why is that? Is it in men’s nature? They just happen to do that because they were just born knowing how to bargain while women do not have that skill… Being a big part of the culture world, does culture even mean anything to you Adams? Yes, they do approach risk differently than women (that’s why car insurances are higher for men) but I think that the same statistic will also show you that the bargaining for a woman’s pay even STARTS lower. Check it again…
Women will point out that few females are in top management jobs. Men will argue that if you ask a sample group of young men and young women if they would be willing to take the personal sacrifices needed to someday achieve such power, men are far more likely to say yes. In my personal non-scientific polling, men are about ten times more likely than women to trade family time for the highest level of career success.
Fine, fine, I will leave megalomania and the gorilla-style chest-bumping-for-success to men. You are right, men do want to be up there. It is also in their nature and it does not lie in the fact that they are being interviewed by a man (solidarity forever), or women being interviewed by men in contrast to placing women to interview women and asking them if they want to reach for the stars… I will half-give you this one, ok?
Now I would like to speak directly to my male readers who feel unjustly treated by the widespread suppression of men’s rights:
Get over it, you bunch of pussies.
Pussies? That is a very interesting choice of insult. I take it you do not mean kittens and I have the feeling you used the specific word on purpose. Now, if a man is called “dick” it is offensive, but not as offensive as being called “cunt” or (in this case) “pussy”. Feminising a man is a great insult and I do not need to tell you this, you do not need a lesson from me, I am sure. To compare, hint or straight out relate a man to anything feminine is after all these years something striking a man’s ego like no other! Of course, no one would call a woman a “dick”, but they would still aim to insult her by calling her a ”cunt” or a “pussy”. Insults feel graver when female. And do not mistake this as empowering, try and see where this is on all aspects and levels of society and culture, how far deep and back it goes instead of uncritically accepting it. Question it, and then accept it!
The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It’s just easier this way for everyone. You don’t argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn’t eat candy for dinner. You don’t punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don’t argue when a women tells you she’s only making 80 cents to your dollar. It’s the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles.
The only thing I can think of saying here is: You mum should have exercised her birthright and flushed you down the drain. Seriously. She wasted so many years of her life raising… this? I guess someone should have beaten the sense out of her too.
How many times do we men suppress our natural instincts for sex and aggression just to get something better in the long run? It’s called a strategy. Sometimes you sacrifice a pawn to nail the queen. If you’re still crying about your pawn when you’re having your way with the queen, there’s something wrong with you and it isn’t men’s rights.
Are we talking about sex? I think we are talking about sex now and I have to say that in all mammals it is the female that will choose to spread its legs (and the male that will rape it if it won’t) to whomever she chooses. Read it, it is common knowledge (what? too hysterically feministic, huh? I guess you are right…)!
Fairness is an illusion. It’s unobtainable in the real world. I’m happy that I can open jars with my bare hands. I like being able to lift heavy objects. And I don’t mind that women get served first in restaurants because I don’t like staring at food that I can’t yet eat.
Unfairness is a reality. It will continue to be a reality as long as people do nothing and swallow whatever they are served uncritically. Even if they do give it the time of day and think about it for a while and then realise that it is too big for them and why bother, it is quite clear that these people are not really involved in the well-being of society as a whole but only after their own ease of mind. And yes, this indeed is the way of the real world and we are told to accept it, we are told that it is good to be individualistic. Of course, if we step out of our hotel room and resort when we travel the world we will see that not all societies are in fact this way and what we thought was the real world was only our microcosm. Adams thinks like the jokes Europeans always say about Americans, that Americans think they are the only country in the world and their reality is the only one there is. Scott Adams certainly thinks this way I believe, and out of altruism and concern for his mental state I would strongly recommend some time out of that resort when he takes trips abroad.
If you’re feeling unfairly treated because women outlive men, try visiting an Assisted Living facility and see how delighted the old ladies are about the extra ten years of pushing the walker around. It makes dying look like a bargain.
Hehe, good one…!
I don’t like the fact that the legal system treats men more harshly than women. But part of being male is the automatic feeling of team. If someone on the team screws up, we all take the hit. Don’t kid yourself that men haven’t earned some harsh treatment from the legal system. On the plus side, if I’m trapped in a burning car someday, a man will be the one pulling me out. That’s the team I want to be on.
Women are far more empathetic than men. A man is more likely to say “nah, screw it” than a woman in times of distress such as the one mentioned above. Plus, I have to say that one of the first images I had of Denmark on the first day I got off the bus to get to my dorm was a construction crew of men and women working on a building construction site. Big ladies and big gentlemen. All equal, all doing the same chores (must sound like hell to Adams). If you are ever in a car accident and a woman like that passes by, you should refuse her help. Just because she is on the opposite team, no other reason.
I realize I might take some heat for lumping women, children and the mentally handicapped in the same group. So I want to be perfectly clear. I’m not saying women are similar to either group. I’m saying that a man’s best strategy for dealing with each group is disturbingly similar. If he’s smart, he takes the path of least resistance most of the time, which involves considering the emotional realities of other people. A man only digs in for a good fight on the few issues that matter to him, and for which he has some chance of winning. This is a strategy that men are uniquely suited for because, on average, we genuinely don’t care about 90% of what is happening around us.
And you are part of this mass, this herd of sheep, you do not stand out in the slightest!
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