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Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:00 AM

Dudes try "dating Darwinism"

An author argues that angry young men are becoming assholes to try to get women.

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  • Thursday, November 20, 2008 02:02 PM

    A view from the second wave -- feminism was never about any of this, so feminism need not fix it.

    Feminism was about things like being able to get credit in your name rather than your husband's. It was about being able to actually get a car in your own name rather than your father's. Believe it or not, feminism was about women actually getting to serve on jury duty. It was about equal pay for equal work. It was about getting the police to actually come when your husband was beating you. It was about having police actually file charges against the guy who raped you even if you weren't actually a virgin. It was about reproductive rights, including the right to use birth control. It was about changing laws so that women who didn't keep the house to their husband's satisfaction could not be involunarily committed to mental hospitals for that reason. It was about not having non-medically necessary hysterectomies.

    Women have advanced a great deal. The children in a divorce settlement are no longer treated like property to be awarded to the parent with the bigger income. Overt discrimination in employment can actually be complained about and the complaintant has at least a modicum of protection against retailiation. Women now are in every professional role. Someday WE WILL have a woman president.

    Feminism really has never said anything about dating much. There is no particular reason that feminism should.

    When men complain that men want casual sex more than women do, this feminist's response is, "So?"

    What you guys seem to want is some sort of dating manual. However, even with a dating manual that would draw upon fairness and courtesy, people would still behave in individual ways.

    What feminism gave to women and (inadvertantly) to men was more freedom than ever before. What you do with it, within the bounds of law, is up to you.

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