Reminding my little corner of the world why women as women are beautiful, good and oh so very necessary to the success of The Dance.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
OK. I give in. I'm an Egalitarian. I admit it.
I believe in gender equality. Spengler's Universal Law of Gender Parity states that in every corner of the world and in every epoch of history, the men and women of every culture deserve each other.
Oy vey! That word -- deserve -- one could spend some fruitful time plumbing the depths of that one in this context.
Goldman (or Spengler?) has put his finger directly on the complementarity (if you will) of God's judgment on man and woman at the Fall. Our sinful parents deserved each other in the judgment meted out to them (and, through them, to us).
I don't know Goldman. Christian? Jewish? Biblically literate?
Spengler's law fails to take into account the greater social power men enjoyed and continue to enjoy in most times and places. For example, I don't think women in Saudi Arabia or under the Taliban "deserve" what they are getting or have any influence whatsoever over the horrifying way in which they are treated by the patriarchs of their society.
I do think there is more mutuality of influence between the sexes in societies, such as our own, where women enjoy more freedom and social power. But I don't share the Spengler/Goldman cynicism. That is, I think that my mother's generation's insistence on equality and respect has led to greater equality and respect between men and women than any other time in history. As a result, a woman my age can enjoy fulfilling relationships with men as well as women in all aspects of life -- with a husband or boyfriend, but also with male classmates, mentors, co-workers, employees, bosses, and friends.
I do think my generation has the men we deserve and I am very grateful for it.
I am afraid you and I are bound to disagree again.
I think the growing social pathologies of most large cities - the increasing number of families headed by single mothers below the poverty line as well as the number of men incarcerated in our prisons who grew up without the influence of a father in the home -- these things indicate we have anything *but* an increase in equality and respect between men and women.
And I think Spengler is spot on - we deserve each other in this, too. To be blunt, if women weren't so willing to spread their legs for irresponsible men, there wouldn't be so many fatherless young men crowding our prisons and so many husbandless women queing up for AFDC, WIC, Foodstamps, etc.
The sort of inequality your mother's generation fought against is precisely the inequality which protected women and children from irresponsible men.
6 comments:
Oy vey! That word -- deserve -- one could spend some fruitful time plumbing the depths of that one in this context.
Goldman (or Spengler?) has put his finger directly on the complementarity (if you will) of God's judgment on man and woman at the Fall. Our sinful parents deserved each other in the judgment meted out to them (and, through them, to us).
I don't know Goldman. Christian? Jewish? Biblically literate?
;-))
sad but true.
Spengler's law fails to take into account the greater social power men enjoyed and continue to enjoy in most times and places. For example, I don't think women in Saudi Arabia or under the Taliban "deserve" what they are getting or have any influence whatsoever over the horrifying way in which they are treated by the patriarchs of their society.
I do think there is more mutuality of influence between the sexes in societies, such as our own, where women enjoy more freedom and social power. But I don't share the Spengler/Goldman cynicism. That is, I think that my mother's generation's insistence on equality and respect has led to greater equality and respect between men and women than any other time in history. As a result, a woman my age can enjoy fulfilling relationships with men as well as women in all aspects of life -- with a husband or boyfriend, but also with male classmates, mentors, co-workers, employees, bosses, and friends.
I do think my generation has the men we deserve and I am very grateful for it.
Maggie,
I am afraid you and I are bound to disagree again.
I think the growing social pathologies of most large cities - the increasing number of families headed by single mothers below the poverty line as well as the number of men incarcerated in our prisons who grew up without the influence of a father in the home -- these things indicate we have anything *but* an increase in equality and respect between men and women.
And I think Spengler is spot on - we deserve each other in this, too. To be blunt, if women weren't so willing to spread their legs for irresponsible men, there wouldn't be so many fatherless young men crowding our prisons and so many husbandless women queing up for AFDC, WIC, Foodstamps, etc.
The sort of inequality your mother's generation fought against is precisely the inequality which protected women and children from irresponsible men.
Kamilla
I am a big believer in the old saying that those who would give up freedom in order to achieve safety deserve neither.
>I am a big believer in the old saying
Stravinsky said there is no freedom without boundaries.
Someone else said "Water, it's powerful wet stuff."
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