Feminism

[Palinka (RIP)]

My facetiousness got the better of you, eh?

No (as many of my posts passim should prove). However, it may have got the better of others, so when it comes to a rather serious issue (what is your take on threats of rape?), it seems that clarity was necessary.

[peetie44]

My facetiousness got the better of you, eh?

No (as many of my posts passim should prove). However, it may have got the better of others, so when it comes to a rather serious issue (what is your take on threats of rape?), it seems that clarity was necessary.

My "take" on threats of rape over the internet is that they (and the threatening party's e-address) should be reported to the police immediately.

[Palinka (RIP)]

My "take" on threats of rape over the internet is that they (and the threatening party's e-address) should be reported to the police immediately.

So, not something to be facetious about, then?

[peetie44]

My "take" on threats of rape over the internet is that they (and the threatening party's e-address) should be reported to the police immediately.

So, not something to be facetious about, then?

Only if one is quite plastered and in a rhetorical mood.

[Palinka (RIP)]

Only if one is quite plastered and in a rhetorical mood.

Fair enough.

[Palinka (RIP)]

Now here is something really disturbing...

[GSG]

Unfortunately this is not rare. I don't know of a woman with a significant online presence who hasn't had to deal with men telling her to shut the fuck up, and many who have had threats of rape and death. This may sound like something to ignore because most men are decent individuals who would never say stuff like that but think about how scary it must be to receive one such threat and then imagine what this woman must be experiencing. All this for having an opinion. The triumphantly fabulous Mary Beard has had similar and her crime appears to be having the audacity to be a clever woman in her fifties who doesn't feel the need to pretend she's in her twenties. Bollocks to this shit. Bollocks I say!

[Patchez]

Any chick that can pull her weight in any maintenance capacity is ok with the rest of us gruntz. The key words are , pull, and weight.

That and she better be able to drink.

[Frankennietzsche]

Here's an article on the Feminist Yog-Sothoth. I post this article about it instead of the original because the comments/discussion are apropos to this discussion.

http://io9.com/feminist-yog-sothoth-wil ... 1016744654

[Resident Asshole]

Pile it on, I expected nothing less. Frankly I've already said my piece and that's fine that many disagree. What's funny is I drink all the time with people who disagree with me and they give me more respect than the people here.

Perhaps that is because they actually know me. I won't even address the abortion except to say that yes indeed, most abortions are done out of convenience. I am not mistaken on that and it is a travesty because yes I do know how hard abortion is on women, I know several who are still mentally disturbed from it. My point was that less need for abortion, not easier access is the real answer.

Anyway Palinka to answer your (quite frankly) rude and assuming question, the only reason why I post here and my wife does not is that I can get on the board at work and she can't.

To insinuate that I try to control her is both ignorant and undeserved. I do not need to explain myself any further except to say that she and I discussed this very subject at length when we first started dating so I doubt that I influenced her views on the subject. And what I said about my wife kicking feminists' asses was a total joke people. Seriously, wow. Fucking relax and have one on me.

[GSG]

I am truly sorry if you feel upset or annoyed by the comments made in response to your comments (and there is no sarcasm here) - I can only speak for myself but I don't want to see anyone feel victimised for their opinion however much I may disagree with them. However, I hope you can also see why the way you phrased your opinions provoked such ire. Implying that women should have their decisions made by men and that abortion is just convenient contraception for 'sluts' (even if that wasn't what you meant, that's how it came across to myself and others) is pretty inflammatory and if you express a strong opinion, you must allow a strong response. I hope you didn't mean them like that and I will have that drink with you. If you say it's ok of course...

[Screwball]

I still say he is one of them christians.


I love the word "bollocks". I shall be using it instead of "bullshit" for now on.

[Palinka (RIP)]

Pile it on, I expected nothing less. Frankly I've already said my piece and that's fine that many disagree. What's funny is I drink all the time with people who disagree with me and they give me more respect than the people here...

What Lolly said.

Perhaps that is because they actually know me. I won't even address the abortion except to say that yes indeed, most abortions are done out of convenience. I am not mistaken on that and it is a travesty because yes I do know how hard abortion is on women, I know several who are still mentally disturbed from it. My point was that less need for abortion, not easier access is the real answer.

You and I can have an opinion on this once we have wombs (and you need to learn what fact means; sorry having" god on your side" doesn't make you automatically right. Less than 1% of abortions, in the West, are for birth control.)

Anyway Palinka to answer your (quite frankly) rude and assuming question, the only reason why I post here and my wife does not is that I can get on the board at work and she can't.

So, you are ok about stealing from your employers?

To insinuate that I try to control her is both ignorant and undeserved. I do not need to explain myself any further except to say that she and I discussed this very subject at length when we first started dating so I doubt that I influenced her views on the subject.

I was just going by your post, "Letting a man makes the decisions does not make you a lesser person."
Actually, the definition of that is "slave".

And what I said about my wife kicking feminists' asses was a total joke people. Seriously, wow.

Oh...You were just joshing...Well, then, so was I when I called you a homophobic, misogynist idiot. So, no harm done...

Fucking relax and have one on me.

Thanks but I'm allergic to Roofies...

[Mr. Viking]

Perhaps that is because they actually know me. I won't even address the abortion except to say that yes indeed, most abortions are done out of convenience. I am not mistaken on that and it is a travesty because yes I do know how hard abortion is on women, I know several who are still mentally disturbed from it. My point was that less need for abortion, not easier access is the real answer.

I am in a situation whereby, if I were a woman I could not support a child. i would rather have the option to abort if for some reason other contraception failed. To dictate to me that I cannot undergo a safe and well proven procedure to avoid having the child based on morals which i do not share seems grossly unfair. Laws should not make moral decisions. As for the sanctity of life, I believe in it, but taken to an extension, when does life begin?

Does the use of any contraception preventing life from getting a chance to begin not have the same effect as removing the support from the fetus so it does not grow to maturity?

Do you wish a child to grow up in a situation where it is resented by its mother?

Never mind the horrible situation where a woman has become pregnant after being raped. Can you imagine the shame and the difficulty if that woman then has to raise this child, being reminded every single day of what happened to her?

There is also the unfortunate Malthusian difficulty that there are so many children being born every day, and some are left unsupported. Effective birth control has been shown to be one of the most effective tools in reducing poverty. Is it not better for a child to be aborted than to live a short and miserable life of pain and hunger?

Abortion is a legitimate tool for controlling birth. if you have a moral objection you can decide not to have an abortion. To make that decision preemptively, and on somebody else's behalf is unfair, and seems like a shameful and immoral decision to me. I morally disapprove of many things, but I do not eek to have them legislated against, because I take the grown up rout of avoiding them.

Abortion empowers women by allowing them to make a decision about their own body,. Pregnancy is not something to take lightly. It is a defining point in anybody's life and all efforts should be made to ensure that children are only born when it is convenient. There is no shortage of them. To force women to carry any child they have degrades them, reducing them to breeding stock, whereby they must carry out an arduous task by default.

If you do not care about these issues, go ahead and don't have an abortion, carry the child, but please do not dictate to others without knowledge of their circumstance based on moral. Remember though, that somebody else having an abortion has no negative affect on you apart from your ego. It could even benefit you, because there is one less mouth to be fed, one less competitor for your job, your property, or your beliefs.

I do not intend any response as an attack, I take issue with your belief, not with you

[Mr. Viking]

Do you believe that women are paid less due to lesser ability, or due to a sexist agenda?

I can see why women might be payed less as manual labourers, because women are generally not as strong as men. This is silly though, as I get payed no more as a labourer than other men, despite being fitter and stronger than many of them.

As for office workers, I think it must simply be that the people running the business do not think women are as valuable as men. I myself have felt this on occasion, however this is usually out as a result of having been scorned by a woman, so is irrational.

I study Physics, and the lack of women in science and engineering worries me. Half of the population is disinvolved in carrying out the work that defines our world. How can we be comfortable when only half the available effort has gone into the design of our energy plants, of our medicines, of our transport.

There is the thorny issue of pregnancy, and the leave apportioned to it (at least in this country). Why should it be illegal for an employer to ask if a woman wants to have children? The woman is entitle to six months of leave on full pay, which is a considerable cost for the company to bear, especially as they then have to hire somebody as a replacement on top of that. It is not unreasonable to ask somebody if they are planning to take extensive holidays, or if they are prone to making life changing decisions.

And why does the woman get this leave, but men don't tend to? A man should be just as involved in his child's life as the woman. The model whereby the mother does most of the care is backward and unhealthy. She's already abstained from alcohol and other pleasantries for 9 months, or longer if breastfeeding. The father should be responsible enough to allow her to take a break and live her life rather than having her life defined by offspring