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Complex Numbers #491840 added March 2, 2007 at 5:26pm
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Something that's been bugging me...
... ever since my entry a couple days back about false accusations of rape.
I've been accused of "hating women" because of this and other attitudes I have.
Much as I'd like to say "so what?" the fact remains that I prefer the company and association of women to that of men, so if I do indeed hate women, that means I'm pretty much a broad-spectrum misanthrope, probably well on his way to becoming either a mental patient or a reclusive eccentric (depending on how much money I can accumulate before I finally snap).
Thing is, I just don't see it. Oh, sure, I've been known to objectify women, and I make no apology for that (seeing as we all objectify each other to one degree or another); but so what?
Is it that I point out gender inequalities, whether those inequalities seem biased in the favor of men or women? Because I have issues with how people think it's okay for women to joke about violence against men, but not vice versa? Because I've said that if they're going to draft men, they should draft an equal number of women to achieve parity? Because I feel that as the distribution of men and women in society is roughly equal, our representation in government should also be roughly equal? Because I don't like the idea of President Hillary Clinton? Because I think divorce laws are biased against men, especially fathers, and I don't hesitate to point out these inequalities when I see them? (Incidentally, this wasn't the case in my own divorce, so it's not a personal matter.)
Social issues are more complex than all this, of course, and the older I get the more I realize that there's not a damn thing I can do about them, and when I try, I just waste time I could be spending playing a video game. And as with the divorce inequity, it just doesn't affect me personally. And I'm not sure I can adjust my attitudes, or want to; I'm just getting a real dichotomy of opinion here.
Heinlein (who has also been variously accused of either hating women or pioneering the creation of strong, capable and independent female main characters in science fiction) once wrote that pursuit of equality for women does a disservice to women, because they are naturally superior. Much as I like Heinlein, I don't agree with that. I don't think any one demographic is superior to another (ideologies excepted). Is that where I've gone wrong?
I don't hate anyone, in truth. Not even Bush.
Aw, fuck this. I'm going to go find guy stuff to do. Whatever that is. As long as it involves beer. |
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