[Gray Ghost]

You guys make me smile and laugh. You are acting as if I'm telling lies when I am clearly telling the truth. There are millions of women that are the princess type and the damsel in distress type in America. Don't give me this whole "independent woman" tone.

You let your own personal feelings and possible hatred of me blind your logic and judgment. I clearly said that if women are going to be on the same playing field as men then there can't be any babying, favoring, special treatment, or coddling.
That means that if a woman is physically and mentally able to do something, she should attempt to do it before she goes into damsel in distress mode and gets a man to do it for her.

I never said all women are like this. You clearly misunderstood that as usual.
I said some.

[TheAngel]

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost (View Post) You guys make me smile and laugh. You are acting as if I'm telling lies when I am clearly telling the truth. There are millions of women that are the princess type and the damsel in distress type in America. Don't give me this whole "independent woman" tone. You let your own personal feelings and possible hatred of me blind your logic and judgment. I clearly said that if women are going to be on the same playing field as men then there can't be any babying, favoring, special treatment, or coddling. That means that if a woman is physically and mentally able to do something, she should attempt to do it before she goes into damsel in distress mode and gets a man to do it for her. I never said all women are like this. You clearly misunderstood that as usual. I said some.

I don't know you knew millions of women. Damn, you'd think it would be easier for you to get a date if that were the case

[Cristofle]

Oh, please do give me this list of millions of women that you personally know to be princess, coddling types.

[sunnykerr]

Okay, so obviously some comments have been made to get attention here... one way to respond to that is to give in and give attention. The other is to ignore what really doesn't merit a response.

Women's rights aren't about one person clearly getting it wrong. The topic is much larger and we shouldn't get distracted by a transparent need for attention.

Huge Rally in Pakistan for Women's Rights Tens of thousands of women rallied in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi Sunday to call for improved rights and gender equality. Organizers of the event called "Empowered Women - Stronger Pakistan" said more than half a million female activists and supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) political party took part, while local media reported up to a million participants. The exact number could not be independently verified. The women, waving MQM flags under a huge portrait of party leader Altaf Hussain, shouted slogans in his support. Hussain, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, addressed the crowd via phone. His speech focused on the liberation and empowerment of women, which he said could make Pakistan one of the strongest countries in the world. Hussain condemned the so-called "black laws" used against women that condone or fail to address honor killings and repeated domestic violence.

Source

A thousand to 1,500 women were called "an impressive crowd" when they converged on the Capitol building to protest Virginia's planned laws about abortions.

Can you imagine what you would call 500,000 to a million women converging to support a politician who apparently supports stronger laws to address domestic violence and domestic murder?

That's so inspiring. The women of Pakistan could really change their government, if they continue to make their voices heard like this.

[TheAngel]

My dad has a couple good friends from Pakistan and it's amazing to see the differences in culture. But the wife is a doctor over here. She is a pediatric specialist and when she goes back to Pakistan to visit, she has to be very careful about what she does and says and she basically just stays in her family's home the whole time. I know that there are women in the US who are discriminated against, but we're still better than most when it comes to rights and equality. I can't imagine being a young girl growing up in some of these places. And putting your life on the line when you do speak out about inequality.

[Cristofle]

That's heartening to see- as we've said, as much as I don't believe in imposing our culture onto others, there ARE problems in that region when it comes to women's rights, and I fully support the women in the region who are standing up to demand more for themselves. Honor killings shouldn't happen anywhere. Domestic violence shouldn't happen anywhere. Those aren't cultural crimes- they're human crimes.

This blog post certainly describes how I feel on my more bleak days:

I don’t want to be a feminist anymore.

I don’t want to be a feminist anymore. Like a five-year-old, I want to close my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears, stomp my feet on the floor and scream “No! No, you cannot make me, I won’t, leave me alone!” I am, simply put, too tired. So very, very tired. I am tired of fighting with my friends. I am tired of arguing that someone groping and slapping my butt isn’t “what I have to expect”, just because I’m at a bar, and the one attacking my butt has a drink in the other hand. I am tired of hearing “boys will be boys” and “when you’re dressed like that …” and “that’s just what guys do”. I am tired of trying to drown those sentiments in loud, repetitive no’s, screamed over and over again, till my throat is sore and my voice weak – just to hear them repeated, as soon as exhaustion threatens to silence me. I am tired of being afraid. I am tired of seeing someone writing something offensive, sexist, racist, ageist, ableist, somewhere online. I am tired of seeing those writings getting likes and lol’s, and SO TRUE’s. I am tired of being consumed by confusion and anger, typing, typing, typing and typing a seemingly endless response, including research, links and statistics, and then hesitate clicking “submit”. I am tired of knowing that I hesitate because I am afraid of the flood of responses that will come. I am tired of knowing that I will be bombarded with lighten up’s, stop whining’s and get a sense of humor’s for so long, that I will start to wonder if I am indeed wound up too tight, a nagger and humorless. I am tired of the fact that I’m afraid of being called a ****, even though I don’t find genitalia insulting or demeaning.

There's more, but those are two of the biggest points I agree with. I stopped going to clubs years ago because I don't want to be groped by men I don't know or see such heartening sights as the "bare ass bologna toss" (where women get up on the stage, pull down their pants, and allow men to throw bologna at their ass to see how much sticks. I can't express how much I love shows of self-esteem and respect for women- by either the women themselves or the men who choose to participate), but it was frustrating to be told I have to expect that if I want to go out and have a few drinks and dance with my friends.

And I've certainly gotten the "nag" "humorless" and my favorite "Feminists can't really understand humor" because I don't find sexism and misogyny funny.

[TheAngel]

I always wonder if men would be OK with people saying/doing/thinking these things to their sister/daughter/mother. And if so, what kind of people they are and if not, then why it's ok to do it to someone else's sister/daughter/mother.

[Avatar]

Cristofle: I don't know why, but I found that link to be incredibly sad. Also:

Originally Posted by Cristofle (View Post) "bare ass bologna toss" (where women get up on the stage, pull down their pants, and allow men to throw bologna at their ass to see how much sticks.)

What the... this is a thing? In what world is this even remotely funny?

[Cristofle]

Oh, yes, that is quite popular in some of the clubs in Columbia, SC. My roommate did that one night. She was like "You told me I wouldn't do it! You dared me!" No, honey, I said DON'T do it. There's a difference. LOL.

[sunnykerr]

Yeah, I'm feeling very old suddenly, hearing about something like that.

I don't know. I've always been supremely untrendy when it comes to things I feel are degrading.

Maybe that's why the romantic life has been rather slow of late but, you know what? It's just not worth it to me. What's the point of listening to anyone when they don't realize the words they use and the things they suggest are completely offensive?

[Gray Ghost]

You guys remind of me snobby arrogant teachers and professors that are critiquing a paper that I've written. You're checking everything I say and if you find anything that you don't like, you're gonna lash out on me and point it out to me.

For example, I could say that the earth is round and you would say no and tell me that I'm lying or something. It's pointless.
You guys also remind me of a high school clique. Immature to the max.
I should just leave and let you guys continue to AGREE on EVERYTHING and not ever have any type of disagreement or differing opinion. That's what you want anyways. You have an agenda and I pose a threat to that agenda and you don't like it.
Honestly, if you would just be honest with me and admit that, I would probably leave for good and never post on here again. I just want some of you to be humble and honest for once. You have an agenda that has a certain view point or bias and I threaten it because I don't blindly agree with you on everything.
Do you accept this challenge?

[Sternbetrachter]

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost (View Post) You guys also remind me of a high school clique. Immature to the max. I should just leave and let you guys continue to AGREE on EVERYTHING and not ever have any type of disagreement or differing opinion. That's what you want anyways. You have an agenda and I pose a threat to that agenda and you don't like it.

I think it's not that you pose a "threat" or anything but the tone in your posts that is - at least to me - extremely annoying and offensive
I just read your last post in the Abortion thread and don't understand how you can honestly expect a good debate going on after your post (the Gregory House one)

I've been reading these threads for months and they are certainly more interesting when you post but sometimes, your posts are neither funny nor sarcastic but merely condescending (IMO)

[Avatar]

* Mod notice *

People (including myself), let's not call each other names. I know this is a contentious topic, but the FF Rules still apply. In particular, let me direct you to this:

Be respectful. Not everyone is going to agree with you at all times. It’s perfectly fine to disagree with someone as long as it is done respectfully, but do not attack other posters. Please treat other members with the same respect and courtesy that you would want for yourself.

In addition, let me also direct you to the N&P board rules.

I trust everyone will abide by these rules in the future.

**

'Miss' officially banned in France "Miss" is officially out in France. The office of French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday the term would be struck from official documents, along with that of "maiden name" or "married name" for women. The prime minister's office said it would be writing to all ministries and regional senior officials to ask them to ban such wording. Instead, authorities are to use the term "Madame" (Madam), equivalent to the male "Monsieur" (Sir), and drop all reference to the husband's name unless it is that officially adopted by the woman. A number of women's organisations last year launched a campaign to do away with "Miss" in official documents, arguing that it was discriminatory to force women to state their marital status. Solidarity Minister Roselyne Bachelot, responsible for women's rights, welcomed the move which she said "ends a form of discrimination." Source:http://www.france24.com/en/20120221-...-banned-france

It's not a big thing, but I don't have to state my marital status when I sign an official document, so it's only fair that the same is the case here.

[Sternbetrachter]

sorry

[Avatar]

Don't worry about it. I wasn't talking to you in particular, but just felt the need to remind everyone, including myself, that the debate should be respectful.