Where to begin...
I actually agree with a woman on this, the whole pamphlet:
The manipulated man.
1. Men are conscripted; women are not.
2. Men are sent to fight in wars; women are not.
3. Men retire later than women (even though, due to their lower life-expectancy,
they should have the right to have the right to retire earlier).
4. Men have almost no influence over their reproduction (for males, there is neither
a pill nor abortion - they can only get the children women want them to have).
5. Men support women; women never, or only temporarily, support men.
6. Men work all their lives; women work only temporarily or not at all.
7. Even though men work all their lives, and women work only temporarily or not at
all, on average, men are poorer than women.
8. Men only `borrow' their children; woman can keep them (as men work all their
lives and women do not, men are automatically robbed of their children in cases of
separation - with the reasoning that they have to work).
Inequality that favours women is mostly explained by a patriarchal society.
1. That's our fault, women weren't the ones in power when deciding that.
2. Same as above.
3. Probably applies to the above as well. Also, men were traditionally seen to be the ones who work while the lady stays at home with the kids. This is men telling men that men should work and women should not.
4. I've mentioned this earlier in my other replies. I think we have a genuine disadvantage but I'd prefer our position than that of the girls who have to endure the consequences. If you want a child, find the right girl or pay one.
5. This was written awhile ago so I will let it slide. Times have changed since it was written. Furthermore, this relates to: #1-3
6. This is just a rehash of previous statements addressed above.
7. This, again, can be answered by a patriarchal society. If men are supposed to be the ones supporting women, it's more likely for a man to fail and become poor as there are no women to support him. This is a result of the working man tradition.
8. I don't even know what to say. It's simply not true. If a woman cannot support her children, or the man can show he can support them far better, the man has a good chance of ending up with them. While there is a slight bias towards women in child custody cases, it's not as ridiculous as it is made out to be in this statement of the author. Men can get part-time custody without trouble. I would also say that it is another benefited afforded to women for having to deal with pregnancy/abortions.
A female conspiracy that seduces men in to making decisions that lead to inequality favouring women doesn't sound right to me. I don't see how it is favourable when there are more inequalities that favour men.
Nothing is more powerful than the market. If women were equally valuable in employment doing the same job for less, they would have replaced men a long time ago.
But the market depends so heavily on impressions and judgements. A mere rumour can cause stocks to crash so I wouldn't rely on capitalism for an example of rational thought and critical thinking. Airlines may be more likely to hire men-at a higher cost-than women solely because of the opinions of passengers. Thus, markets rely on consumers too and we all know how stupid people can be.
One also has to consider the setback from women joining the work force as a norm far later than men and when men are already in established and dominant positions. We had those positions for such a long time that it was once thought ludicrous for a women to have that same job: "how can a woman be a XXXX, only men have ever been successful as a XXXX in the past!".
On the whole, I think inequality favouring women is a result of our (men) idiocy/egos/traditions and so is inequality favouring men. There may be a small amount of manipulation by women where they exploit some advantages but I can't blame them for doing so because they are still, on the whole, more likely to be disadvantaged than us and they're only exploiting our idiocy.
That being said, I'm not a feminist. I've got other things I care more passionately about so I leave this kind of stuff up to people who give more of a shit than I. I'm also not one who thinks words like "c*nt" or "pussy" are sexist/misogynistic. My opinions of equality stem more from other beliefs of mine and is just a natural consequence of those beliefs so as to make them consistent (no point being a scientist and believing in telekinesis). I don't think everything can be equal, nor should be, due to our behavioural differences, but there is still a lot of irrational thought that goes around regarding what women can and can't, should and shouldn't, do. Hell, I even understand the thing about female pilots being less trusted. I know it's irrational to think that, but it still persists to a degree.
I also can't really be bothered arguing about equality, I'd prefer to spend my time arguing about other crap on the internet, but I just wanted to make the point that men still have it pretty f-cking good even though women get to decide things related to reproduction.
) for 9 months and then had to lose 3.4kg through a bodily orifice in one go. Not that I drink regularly or whatever, I'd just want money because I no longer have the freedom to drink when I feel like it.