Quote:
Originally Posted by Kobi
Hi JustJo,
Glad you dropped by.
I will try my best to answer your concerns....
1. the issue is not why did Liam personally transition to male. Of course one transitions, even I agree, to be true to who they are. Not a problem. In transitioning, certain priveleges are automatically granted to someone who is or perceived to be male. Which leads us to point 2.
2. Just because women are strong and can do it all does not mean they are not looked down upon as a gender...gender meaning perceptions in the world of male-female. The Bill of Rights for The USA.......we hold these truths to be self evident....all MEN are created equal. Not all men and women, not all people, all MEN. Does that bother you as a woman?
Does it bother you that women and children were once considered property of the men in their lives much like farm animals? Does it bother you that women have been trying to pass the equal rights amendent for 100 years without success? Does it bother you that women rushed to the factories during WW2 so men could go off and fight and when these men returned the women were expected to go back to their wifely duties because men needed the jobs? Does it bother you that women still receives less pay for doing the same job as a man? Does it both you that women still comprise the bulk of the service workers in this country and males the significantly higher professional and technical ones? Does it bother you to know women in the world are mutilated everyday (cliterectomies and such) by other women because their male dominated culture think women ...well they think many unpleasant things.
It is not about being stronger and more resilent. Even men might attest to that. It is about being seen as an equal to their male counterparts and for the male counterparts to be willing to pass laws and do away with male customs that keep women from achieving this.
Soapbox. Kobi. Down.
|
Hi Kobi,
I don't feel like you're on a soapbox...I feel like you're stating your mind and your heart, and I'm always in favor of that.
To the other points...yes....ALL of that bothers me. I'm 48 years old...and it frustrates me beyond all description that the ERA never passed, and everyone seems to have let it all fall by the wayside.
It bothers me that I had to go back to college for 4 years to get an MBA so that I could make the same "decent" living that a whole lot of men can make with a high school diploma.
It bothers me that while women are gaining with regard to pay equity, we are still nowhere close...and probably won't be in my working lifetime.
Lots of things bother me. Racism bothers me. Sexism bothers me. People talking to me like I'm an idiot bothers me. People who drive slow in the left lane bother me. What we're doing to our environment bothers me.
Here's the other thing though. I have to live in the world every day. If I rant at everything that bothers me every day, then I will literally die. My health can't handle that.
I value peace. I value compromise. I value getting along with others as much as possible. I value speaking my own truth and letting others speak their own too.
I don't hate men. That's an interesting position for me. I have never, in my lifetime, been able to count on a single male person for anything. I was raised by a single mother. My grandfather was a child molester that I had to defend my 4 year old cousin from when I was 16. I was gang raped at 14. I have been ripped off, lied to, molested, raped, used, belittled, humiliated, coerced and disregarded - by men.
Here's my other reality. I am the mother of a son, and I live in a world that is composed of men as well as women.
I will speak my truth, live my life and push my own agenda as far as I can, but I choose to do it without trampling over others as much as I possibly can. That doesn't mean I'm not angry. It doesn't mean I don't see injustice.
Here's what I also believe. Change ...REAL change...is slow. Very slow. That sucks, but it's reality. My son doesn't believe the crap about women being "less than" that his father and grandfather believe. In large part, that's because of who I am and how I live.
I honestly don't believe that I will see equality and the end to misogyny in my lifetime. That's a shame. However, I will do my part by living as an example of a strong, resilient, capable woman...and I will raise a son that is one step closer.
That's where I come from. It's different than where you come from, or from most (or maybe all) of the others who have posted here. I think we all have to do it in our own way. It doesn't mean that my way is more valid than yours...or vice versa.
