Happy 100th International Women's Day.

pow wow

A friend is teaching in East Africa and Women's Day is a HUGE deal out there. She lives in a pretty small town but all the women get dressed up and take part in a parade that the Mayor observes from a viewing platform (not entirely unlike what you'd see at a St. Patrick's Day parade!) followed by a street party that everyone participates in. It's a big day out and is combined with health awareness initiatives for malaria, HIV etc. She's emailed a few pics for me to share to demonstrate!







I hope everyone had a great day.

goose2005

Stheno wrote: »

Which pretty much backs up the original assertion that women are more likely to be murdered by a former/current partner, this is not the case for men, so it's an example of gender inequality? I.e. that women are statistically more likely to be murdered due to being in a relationship with a partner than men are?

No, because (say) that four times as many murders of men take place as murders of women; and 12.5% of murdered men are killed by partners, then the figures would come out equal. Moreover, I don't see what that has to do with equality - how do you legislate against hatred or revenge?

WindSock

I look forward to a time when this designated day is abolished.

WindSock

donfers wrote: »

well then i'd suggest you speak out against the man hating bitter radicals who call themselves feminists, yes i'm sure many will protest that they do that but not enough do it often enough and thus that perception remains firmly embedded in the thought-processes of those who would otherwise be sympathetic to many of feminism's stated goals...do nothing and say nothing about the man hating bitter radicals and it may be perceived as tacit acceptance of their ways (and even if their end goal is worthy the means of achieving that need to be re-evaluated)

those who shout loudest are unfortunately heard the most and they do the feminist cause a great disservice and they need to be made aware of that

Yeah I guess the same type of people think all Muslims are terrorists. Thankfully there are enough right thinking people around that know those people are asses and the Muslim community don't have to constantly defend themselves to everyone.

WindSock

WindSock wrote: »

I look forward to a time when this designated day is abolished.

To clarify what I mean by this, this day always reminds me of this interview of Morgan Freeman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

And what I mean is it would be great that we don't have to have just a day for the achievements to be recognised as they and the human struggles worldwide will be regarded on any other day.

Count Duckula

I'm a little late to the party here, but am I the only person that dislikes the word "feminism"? Perhaps it's because I'm a man - actually, it almost certainly is - but the word itself rankles with me a bit. A bit pathetic on my part, I know, but I can't help but think to myself that it's a movement designed for the benefit of women and only women, purely because of the name.

I'm a big believer in equality of the sexes, and I don't think that anyone should ever be judged on their abilities or prospects based on their gender (or their orientation, age, creed or race, but those are separate issues), and so my heckles raise a little bit when the word itself seems to reinforce those gender groupings by its very appearance. I know it means equality of the sexes, and that's something I very much believe in, but at its core what it seems to be saying (through it's roots in the word feminin - the same place feminine and female come from) is that women need to fight to be considered equal as men, and men need to consider women their equals.

I had this rant in another thread, but as long as you're drawing these lines and groups, then I think true equality is out of reach. So many men will object to being told that they need to accept women as an equal but separate group, because through implication it suggests that they're taking part in the oppression of women. This may be true through societal attitudes in general, but no one likes to be accused of something.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, in my opinion, the best way to achieve quality of the sexes would be to blur the lines between those sexes. It should no longer be about all women having equal rights to all men as two distinct but level groups, but instead about every human being having equal rights to every other human being.

And, yes, I'm well aware that it's silly to get worked up over the appearance of a word (not even the meaning of the word - that I agree with - but the word itself!), but I think through its very existence it will start to hold back any equal rights movement.

panda100

Count Duckula wrote: »

I'm a little late to the party here, but am I the only person that dislikes the word "feminism"? Perhaps it's because I'm a man - actually, it almost certainly is - but the word itself rankles with me a bit. A bit pathetic on my part, I know, but I can't help but think to myself that it's a movement designed for the benefit of women and only women, purely because of the name.

I'm a big believer in equality of the sexes, and I don't think that anyone should ever be judged on their abilities or prospects based on their gender (or their orientation, age, creed or race, but those are separate issues), and so my heckles raise a little bit when the word itself seems to reinforce those gender groupings by its very appearance. I know it means equality of the sexes, and that's something I very much believe in, but at its core what it seems to be saying (through it's roots in the word feminin - the same place feminine and female come from) is that women need to fight to be considered equal as men, and men need to consider women their equals.

I had this rant in another thread, but as long as you're drawing these lines and groups, then I think true equality is out of reach. So many men will object to being told that they need to accept women as an equal but separate group, because through implication it suggests that they're taking part in the oppression of women. This may be true through societal attitudes in general, but no one likes to be accused of something.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, in my opinion, the best way to achieve quality of the sexes would be to blur the lines between those sexes. It should no longer be about all women having equal rights to all men as two distinct but level groups, but instead about every human being having equal rights to every other human being.

And, yes, I'm well aware that it's silly to get worked up over the appearance of a word (not even the meaning of the word - that I agree with - but the word itself!), but I think through its very existence it will start to hold back any equal rights movement.

I completely agree that every human being should have equal rights to every other human being. We should be striving for quality of life for all human beings rather than equality.
Why would any women want to be equal to a man in Irish society...mass unemployment and emigration, high depression rates, enormous pressure to conform to a specific type of masculinity...the list is endless. I agree that there needs to be a blurring of the line between genders, instead of being treated as two distinct groups. However, that is very difficult to do in a society that strives on the division of the genders. Tbh ,I see this division getting worse and worse in Irish society.Men and women are treated so differently from a really young age and really brought up to conform to gender norms.

I do think it is a bit silly to get worked up over the appearance of the word 'feminism', but its completely understandable why you are. It's a word that has been completely vilified in modern society because its a movement that has been so successful in creating equality, civil rights and tolerance, in a world that tries so hard to resist all these things. Feminism is about creating an equal society for both men and women. I'm involved in feminist groups and I have been active in campaigns on men's issues. The reason that women's issues so often come to the fore internationally is the ongoing struggle for gender equality, where basic rights such as voting rights are still to be won.

Morag

Feminism is the translation of féminisme, which is a term coined by french utopian socialist and philosopher Charles Fourier.

Notre société aspire à un nouveau féminisme.
Our society is aspiring towards a new feminism.

That women would no longer be held to a mode of behaviour which was considered feminine and if they deviated from it they were lessening themsleves or aping men.

Count Duckula

That's kind of my point though - if the movement is now less about addressing wrongs against women and more about equal rights for both genders (though I'm not saying they're equal; I'm well aware they're not), why are we still using the word 'feminism', which has its roots in the women's rights movement? Men's rights are inherently excluded by the word itself. I think that's half the problem - a lot of men object to the word because it makes them feel threatened, almost ganged up on. It's a powerful movement by a group they are not and cannot be part of, for the benefit of that group.

Morag

Feminism is not just about equality, it's also about empowerment and encouragement of women to avail of those rights were they have them.