mariomario42 wrote:I can talk about another point: the patriarchy. I see this brought up all the time now as something behind the scenes manipulating every aspect of our lives. I don't believe this. Basically, the patriarchy is a faceless, unnamed, and indistinctive being or ideal that can be attacked whenever.
The Patriarchy is a short hand way of saying the societal advantages granted to men in a society where men are valued more than women. It's not intended to describe some sort of all powerful group of misogynists ruling the world. It is in a sense manipulating every aspect of our lives because it is everywhere and invisible if you don't suffer the effects. The patriarchy is like sexist radiation.
mariomario42 wrote:I'm not sure what you are meaning by this first part, if you can reword. For the societal factors I mentioned was actually about men's role in a family. As a father, you should show your family love by providing things they need. You do this through more money, and working more. With working more, comes promotions by higher dedication to the job. I will not say this is the only one, but with the feminist filter, someone basic like this is overlooked.
To cover what I meant by the equal pay and variances between types of work, when a court is deciding (In England and Wales) if someone has been paid less on grounds of sex the person bringing the claim must provide a co-worker to compare with themselves. (Which is a whole other feminist jurisprudence issue I won't delve into here) To be successful they need to be doing effectively the same job, be rated the same by the company using an internal grading system yet be paid disparate amounts or do work of equal value (An example from one case a male chef who did 3 meals a day for general workers and a female chef who did 1 meal a day for management were held to be of equal value as the female chefs work was required to be of a higher standard). Therefore the differences between the jobs being done is taken into account when discussing the wage gap, women are being paid less than men for doing the same job.
Your example of a “societal factor” is a little confusing but it's irrelevant to the wage gap discussion, the promoted father of your example would be compared to a women who had been promoted to the same level who would most likely be paid less for doing the same job.
mariomario42 wrote:That isn't a fair comparison, but for a very sad reason. Due to false claims, detailed examination is needed to figure things out. With a mugging or robbery, evidence can be found, such as a personal item in the possession of the other. A rape case is word vs. word. and as many cases, actually knowing each other personally makes it even harder than a stranger mugging another. I hate that it's the case, but it's done for valid reasons.
First of all false rape claims are rare and a distraction to the important conversation on rape culture. Secondly I can accept that when someone is accused of a crime they are entitled to a robust defence, however I think that general sexual history (which is brought up in rape trials) is irrelevant and what the victim was wearing is irrelevant to consent yet it is also used to illustrate the defence of consent.
I think consent needs to be discussed and explained far more as it is more complex than people discuss. An excellent video on the matter is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5H6QvNmfjY and I highly recommend it's watched.
AdmiralMemo wrote: And finally, I read that whole article, and get what she's saying. However, it's hard to take her seriously when she's using the ridiculous "zie" and "hir" nonsense.
I would strongly disagree with calling the use of those terms ridiculous. They may be somewhat awkward as they are not yet incorporated into the English language and perhaps they aren't the best words but using slightly awkward English, at least to me, is worth it to make people who don't identify with binary genders feel more comfortable and accepted.
AdmiralMemo wrote: Serious question: Are there any non-intimidating catcalls?
And, real talk, I would really like to know if there is any actually appropriate way to tell a female stranger that she looks attractive. If there isn't, then I guess I just have to suck it up and stay silent. But I would think that most people would want to be told they look attractive.
With the caveat I don't experience this and I'm by no means really entitled to answer, I would say no there aren't any non-intimidating ways to tell a stranger they look attractive as they have no idea who you are and what your intentions are. Also you have no idea of their experiences so even meaning well and trying to pay a genuine complement, you may accidentally cause someone discomfort or fear.
And finally just a general point, yes feminism focuses on the equality suffered by women and it is in the name, but that doesn't prevent someone who is a feminist from supporting the rights of other groups nor does it diminish the validity of feminism, there are many issues that are caused by patriarchy, sexism and misogyny that it requires a specific focus to combat. Not to mention feminism should be intersectional as CulturalGeekGirl stated.
