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Thoran · 03-08-2004, 01:53 PM

I'm not so sure a Womans History month is needed anymore. There's been a concerted effort over the last 30 years to increase the visibility of womens contributions to history. Textbooks now are very careful to cover womens contributions in the arts and sciences throughout history. Women in the sciences today (I see a lot of this area since I work there) are routinely singled out for their accomplishments based on their gender.

I'm not a fan of praising someone based on irrelevant characteristics (like gender) but I also understand that there was a need to establish that women did and do accomplish a lot in society. The question is... once the visibility is there does the pushing need to continue?

With regards to the international status of women I'm a bit more cynical, A.I. seems to be just one more organization jumping on the P.C. "crusade of the month" bandwagon. What I've seen is that in societies where women have it bad men have it bad
too. What disturbs me is that often reports that seek to justify biased assistance for women never even explore what the men in those regions are facing (sweatshops, forced conscription, violence, etc...), almost like we don't count. International aid is a zero sum game, there's not an unlimited supply and I worry the men of these areas are suffering simply because they don't fit into the right demographic.

[ 03-08-2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

03-08-2004, 01:53 PM	#26
Thoran Galvatron Join Date: January 10, 2002 Location: Upstate NY Age: 57 Posts: 2,109	I'm not so sure a Womans History month is needed anymore. There's been a concerted effort over the last 30 years to increase the visibility of womens contributions to history. Textbooks now are very careful to cover womens contributions in the arts and sciences throughout history. Women in the sciences today (I see a lot of this area since I work there) are routinely singled out for their accomplishments based on their gender. I'm not a fan of praising someone based on irrelevant characteristics (like gender) but I also understand that there was a need to establish that women did and do accomplish a lot in society. The question is... once the visibility is there does the pushing need to continue? With regards to the international status of women I'm a bit more cynical, A.I. seems to be just one more organization jumping on the P.C. "crusade of the month" bandwagon. What I've seen is that in societies where women have it bad men have it bad too. What disturbs me is that often reports that seek to justify biased assistance for women never even explore what the men in those regions are facing (sweatshops, forced conscription, violence, etc...), almost like we don't count. International aid is a zero sum game, there's not an unlimited supply and I worry the men of these areas are suffering simply because they don't fit into the right demographic. [ 03-08-2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]