> So I label this meme "bullshit" and go on my happy way. I get along
> fine with men because I do not put a relationship on a level at which
> I use my "femaleness" for empowerment. The problem I have is with those
"femaleness" is a very powerful meme. It just shouldn't be used for
it's own sake. Use it to spread your message, whatever that may be.
> males who are unable to see me as essentially "human". There are many men
> who, for whatever reason, see women as the
> static "other". Because of this reason many women subscribe to the
> notion that they are objects without question.
"human"... I've always thought that the way we are going about equality
here in Ontario is all wrong. The government has legislated hiring
quotas. paraphrase "when a company hires x individuals, x% must be
women, x% this race, x% that race, x% gay, etc. The wrong way to go.
I see that as perpetuating the differences, rather than nullifying
them. It is literally forcing the companies to *pay*attention* to the
race and sex of the potential employees.
It would make more sense to me to *blind*fold* the companies. Give them
the resumee's, sans personal information. Let them hire on ability,
rathar than on race and sex.
We are all human, after all. If you can do the job, you'll get hired.
If not, you won't. Your sex doesn't matter at all.
> I will finish up by saying I don't know exactly how to define
> the strengths and weaknesses of this meme for society at large. I know
> what the strengths and weaknesses are for myself. I don't want to be a
> clone and therefore I don't see anything special in total "equality". I
> figure as long as the minority rights activists keep up their end of it, I
> personally do
> not need to fear oppression beyond simple manipulation. Anyway, I
> personally like the
> challenge of imagined superiority. Keeps things interesting.
Another view. (memetic diversity)
I think emphasis should be on the individual. Each of us is a God. It
is our individuality that makes us human. And a woman cannot deny her
womanhood, any more than a man can deny his manhood. The point is to
use that, rather than be used *by* it. Focus on your strenghts, use
what you've got. You must *be* the change you wish to see in the
world. If being a woman seems a disadvantage, *change* that.
And remember, our glory as human lies not in perfection, but rather in
our *imperfections*. They are what make us human; they are what give
meaning to our lives.
ERiC