Letters to the Editor
meeneecat
Published Letters: 37 Editor's Choice: 1
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@stackey-dackey
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Actually it's you that sounds condescending. I don't see what you are saying about tina, her arguments seemed well phrased and not condescending at all, at least to me. Maybe you can direct me to the offending post so I can understand what you are saying. But, again it's you who seems full of scorn and anger for those who disagree with you, as it seems to me like you are the one scolding tina for disagreeing with you.
Second about the exploitation thing, read my long post (second to last post I made here) and the posts by others who don't agree with Glen that prostitution is a victimless trade.
If that doesn't tell you anything I suggest you read Bob Herbert's columns as well. (There's a poster who links to both those columns) But for efficiency sake, I'll repost them:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/opinion/27herbert.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/opinion/19herbert.html
Try to convince the 50,000 victims of trafficking that they are not being exploited. You are insane to argue otherwise. Women being bought and sold like commodities is most definitely exploitative. The absence to give consent, or the inability to say "no" either from force or coercion is not the same as free willed consent. Remember that.
And, L.W.C. or whatever your initials are, you seem equally misinformed of feminist theory. Feminists mostly agree that prostitution is used to oppress women, not to empower them. I don't know where you got this idea from, obviously you didn't talk to any real feminists or look up any feminist theory. Can you direct me to the website, or person whom you got this idea from, (if it wasn't just from personal anecdotal evidence)
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There is no "typical" woman
[Read the article: News roundup: Are modern women miserable? ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All these "miserable women" theories tend to focus on women in their mid 30's to late 40's with 2.5 kids, in a marriage with a mortgage for a too-big house they don't need, two cars, a working husband and maybe a dog. First of all I don't fit that profile at all and I know few women that do. First of all, there is no typical women. These articles always focus on some stereotype or another; the career vs. kids issue, or the "my husband comes home and relaxes after work whereas I cook do chores and look after the kids frustrated woman/mother/wife". The most obvious criticism of this type of thinking is a) women don't NEED kids in order to be happy, AND b) women don't NEED husbands in order to live fulfilled lives, BUT c) having kids and having a career aren't mutually exclusive to happiness.
Secondly, I don't sound like any of the women in these articles and yet I'm perfectly content with my life. I don't ever feel quilt when I don't do the chores, in fact my mate does all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc. I don't have kids, yet I don't feel guilty about it. I'm smart and educated with a masters degree, yet I only work part time because I feel my time is to valuable and because I only work part time, I can spend time with people I care about and do those hobbies that bring me happiness. True, we don't have lots of money, but money is not the key to happiness either. Still, I don't live above my means and never feel the need to ever go shopping or buy a bunch of stuff that will just get me in debt over my head and end up sitting in the corner of a room collecting dust anyway...I don't need "stuff" to make me happy. My mate is supportive and also works part time, and we both enjoy immensely the time we have together when we are not working. I don't put anything, chores, work, whatever over the joy of living life itself and I don't let anyone else let me feel guilty about my life choices. I don't care what other people think of me, or expect from me, I have my own expectations and goals for myself and that's enough.
I don't know why these women are miserable, but I suspect it's because they are trying to live a life that does not fit them. They pay too much attention to what others think and expect of them, and have also been sucked into this consumer culture where "stuff and material things" are valued more than life itself. But most obvious to me, is that not all women need kids to be happy, not all women need to be married with a career and a mortgage to be happy. When will the media stop with this same tired overplayed stereotype. Or would they rather just keep perpetuating this illusion that no matter what women do they won't be happy unless they give up the career and get back in the kitchen. Ugh, These stereotypes hardly describe myself or any of the other women I know, who are yes, happy.