Letters to the Editor
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Mireille C
I'm not sure what precisely is against my own interest or even what that interest is. I do know that intentionally speaking over everyone's head is patently counterproductive. Jargon is, at the end of the day, the language of wonks by wonks for wonks about wonks. As an economist I live this wonkery.
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Legos legos legos
I agree with the reader who questioned whether Roiphe has children. It isn't that picking up the legos is so bad. Its picking up the legos and picking up the legos and picking up the legos and picking up the legos...
My husband is really quite helpful but even in our marriage I occasionally resent being the one who "owns" the housework. Trying to work a full time job and take care of children and keep the house clean is grinding and it is still relegated to women by default in most households.
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Both merelymortalmale and Cordelia525
are spot on. Very few, if any, attractive women or women who have anything on the ball are feminists or would be excepted into the club. It was so funny to see the turnout of 7-8 people outside Augusta Nationa protesting the Master's with Martha Burk only demonstrated how really limited their membership is and how full of shit they are.
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roiphe's books
I haven't read her newest yet, but I just thought I'd mention her second book,
Still She Haunts Me
, is the worst piece of speculative "historical" fiction I've ever read. Way to do basically no research into the subject! I realize this is sliiiiiightly off-topic, but it kind of bugs me, as a rabid Carrollian, to see the same misinformation over and over.
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What happens when women enter traditional male fields?
What happens to MEN entering traditional male fields? Any hazing ensue? Probably. Watch "On The Waterfront".
Much of it, I suppose, is good-natured. Tough, dangerous jobs require trust. You don't want the newbie meat-cutter stabbing you by accident. You don't want the pilot getting hysterical during turbulence, either. So mettle gets tested.
Are there better ways to train people? Sure. Let's just admit, though, that a lot of men entering male fields aren't coddled. It's not a cakewalk. The myth of the "all-male club" is just that. There's a lot of competition.
Let's also admit that men entering traditional female fields are hazed, too. Just look how divorced fathers get maligned for wanting equal time with kids. Or male nurses (who, I think, cannot examine females alone) getting chided by women.
Let's also not forget the benefits women get AS women: guys helping the "little lady" lift things, move things, deal with irate customers, etc.
Further, let's admit that women sometimes use sexuality to get ahead and/or get out of trouble. Many drug reps, for example, are female, hired for their looks.
Even further, let's admit that sometimes women cry harassment to punish men or get money. The h yper-sensitive sue for things like a male boss having a picture in his office of his bikini'd wife on the beach with their kids. How'd she fare as a longshorewoman?
People entering non-traditional field often meet resistance. Just like whislte-blowers. It's not fun, but hardly misogynistic. There is some wisdom in avoiding kitchens if you're sensitive to heat.
Guys face resistance, too. Go to any college campus that's holding a "gender" event. Question Femthink and you'll be hissed, booed, yelled at by coeds who swear they seek dialogue, respect diversity, and honor "other voices." They will tear you a new one while complaining that they are not "welcomed" in traditional male courses.
The hypocrisy will choke you.
"seems like what all you men want for women to choose as a career is (while her looks and youth last): sex worker."
Depends on how she looks. And her skill set, of course. :>)
"If you want to be desirable to men, aspire to a porn star career."
Like Rosie? Oprah? Phyllis Diller? Who? In what field? Besides, who cares what a crane operator looks like?
"how men will find you sexy and desirable 'cause you have a well-paying job where you get your hands dirty, use your mind, technical aptitude, etc."
Whereas men who wear Mr. Rogers-like sweaters while sitting at bars sipping Pink Ladies, who tell women who approach THEM that they're studying librarianship to work part-time while raising kids, are considered... studs?
Again, feminists see only the burdens women face, never the benefits enjoyed. They also only see alleged male benefits, never burdens.
"girls who wear glasses don't get passes"
Men without money don't attract honeys.
"stop acting like you don't see what our culture communicates to women."
We've heard endlessly about female tribulations. Federal laws have been passed to rectify things. It's time now to balance things with legislation to help males.
For every female difficulty there's a comparable male one. If feminist were serious about equality they would have admitted that long ago. But they didn't because they can't. They are narcissists who can't admit others matter, too. After 4 decades folks are tired of maniacal femonologues.
Maybe society should hand feminists helmets, guns, keys to heavy equipment, etc. and say: "It's your turn, ladies! Come back when you've filled half the national military cemeteries and have all our roads, bridges, ships, etc. in good working order. Then you can start creating new, hi-tech businesses. In the meantime, the guys will be home with the kids watching NASCAR rallies."
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Step Down Current Broadsheeters
And make way for Michelle1971.
She brings the clearest most intelligent ideas to this forum. Salon editors: you could line your pockets a little more if you got rid of these victimologymongers. cough traister caugh.
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Mirielle C - Great Comments!
Thank you. Your comments were very compelling and thoughtful. I didn't think you were attacking anyone. When you hit too close to home, suddenly, the creeps start logging in as "anonymous" to defend their indefensible selves.
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Your ticket to flowerland
. So if men now do housework, cook, and support women...what are women doing for men in return? Do they tweak sparkplugs in the family car, repair leaks in roofs, mow lawns, investigate strange noises at night?
Yes, actually, we do.
I don't know where the heck you grew up, but my mother worked just as hard physically as my father, and my grandmother worked just as hard as her husband. Both women looked after livestock, tended gardens the size of most people's lawns, helped build houses and barns, hauled hay, hauled wood, butchered animals, put up enough food to last their families through the winter, etc., never mind cooking that food, cleaning the house, doing paid work, looking after the kids, etc. A few years ago, at age 60, one of my mother's friends was up on the roof with my mother (also age 60) and a few others, reshingling the whole thing.
I have no idea what world you've been inhabitin,g where women sit there like delicate little flowers while men do the heavy lifting. I sure didn't grow up there. I grew up in a world where 60-year-old women do roofing and yard work, and where women are (gasp!) research scientists, successful business owners and computer programmers.
Really, all you have to do if you want to live in flowerland is accept the position of stay-at-home-dad. The key is to marry someone who makes more than you do, now possible thanks to feminism, and talk her into having kids. Then quit your job to look after them. Don't forget to smile when you pick up the Legos!
If you find this option unacceptable, then it's time to take a long, hard look at why.