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>it’s the patriarchy that is ‘doing it to men’. to the military and war to workaholism – are the product of a patriarchy that pushes men into dangerous an unhealthy activities. Under patriarchal systems, male egos become all bound up in the pursuit of physical dominance, which creates a safety hazard for all men everywhere.

The disclaimer that feminism does not criticise men, but the partriarchal system that conditions men to stereotypical behaviours and attitudes, has been in place for half a century. It’s not feminism’s fault that many men refuse to see it as such.

Posted by Killarney, Monday, 7 December 2015 2:54:06 AM

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The White Feather Brigade

Many women liked this idea because it allowed them to help the British army and to take part in the recruitment process, while promoting patriotism and fulfilling duties to the rest of the country. No longer were they powerless as thousands of men, including their loved ones, were dying in battle, but they were able to strengthen the army by recruiting more men and increasing the numbers; which also increased their influence and control in society. However, while the women enjoyed their new feeling of control, resentment towards them was growing. The disgrace that they brought to men that were both rightfully and wrongfully given a white feather and extremist patriotism they displayed decreased the community’s view of them.

- Compton Mackenzie, a solder and author, viewed the White Feather Movement as "idiotic young women who were using white feathers to get rid of boyfriends of whom they were tired." Many people viewed this campaign as very dramatic and not for the right purposes; women taking advantage of the power they were given.

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So what part did women willingly play in this Patriarchal conspiracy?

To concentrate purely on Patriarchy as being the root of all evil, distorts the picture and past. Both genders played a role in it construction.

Lets look at history. Firstly tribes survived by each person playing a role in making a contribution to the survival of the group, then in the farming families each member again played a role in the survival of the family group,

The industrial revolution came along and this is when the majority of the labor force, made up of mostly men and boys leave the home, apart from wars, the industrial revolution shifted the vast majority of males out of the home.

Employed Women and girls were the first to get labor laws to protect them.

The industrial revolution has lead us to the standard of living we have today (positive and negative)

The death toll in industrial accidents were horrendous, not only for men, but women as well.

However one of the problems we face when looking back at the past, is judging the past by today's standards and values. This then creates a perception bias as well as values conflict.

Killarney

We don't live in a society in which men rule in their capacity as fathers, so looks like you're just setting up a false standard.

What's patriarchy supposed to mean? And patriarchy as opposed to what? A society in which everyone is privileged from having to engage in productive activity?

Anyway, please stop evading and actually join issue:

1.
What about your belief that women are entitled to all the protection and support of patriarchy and all the privileges and double standards of feminism?

You believe that, don't you?

2.
If it's about gender equality, provide proof of the activism you have personally taken against the much higher death rate of men at work.
Same with you, Sarah.

Have you sought "gender equality" in that, and if not, why not? Surely from a gender-neutral perspective, people dying would have to be more urgent and important than people getting indoor jobs with no heavy lifing in the opinion industry?

Also Sarah what have you personally done to employ more women opinion journalists with your own money? Provide proof.

3.
"Well, I don’t have that much money, but I’m open to suggestions."

Why should other people who don't even agree with you do it, if you aren't prepared to agree to do it yourself?

Practise what you preach?

Watching the current crop of News readers, Current Affairs, and reporters on air, it has become a game of spot the male.

I think all weather reports are presented by eye candy.

WollyB

You have raised several points, which I don’t have the time or interest in quibbling about. However, one issue I will comment on …

Every time that feminists point out that the patriarchy sends men to war, not women, we get the oh so predictable White Feather Brigade response.

We hear a lot about men being devastated with shame when those nasty harpies handed them the dreaded feather in public. Perhaps a lot were … if so, they were idiots. However, just as many men laughed it off and cracked jokes about having enough feathers to fill a mattress etc.

One example of women pressuring men to go to war does not prove anything – especially as there were just as many women at the time who campaigned against the war and conscription.

JKJ

‘What about your belief that women are entitled to all the protection and support of patriarchy and all the privileges and double standards of feminism?’

Both women and men are entitled to protection and support from the societies in which they live. If you mean that women have been traditionally protected by men from the violence of other men, that’s another issue altogether. The gender violence by men against women should be acknowledged and dealt with as a form of domination (which is the feminist stance) – not as ‘just the way things are’.

‘Surely from a gender-neutral perspective, people dying would have to be more urgent and important than people getting indoor jobs with no heavy lifing in the opinion industry?’

High rates of job fatalities and health risks in certain occupations have been dealt with over the years by the union movement and health and safety authorities. As WollyB pointed out, the safety and health hazards that women faced were addressed in the 19th and early 20th centuries, along with those that men faced (but I don’t agree that they were given priority over men).

The argument that women are protected from dangerous jobs does not stand up to scrutiny when you consider how men have actively excluded women from dangerous occupations – military combat, mining, building etc – which are also among the most highly paid. There are also many health risks in the low-paid caring professions – that are dominated by women. What about the high emotional toll on women working in hospices and hospitals. And when it comes to heavy lifting, try working for a week caring for an elderly person with dementia.

As for what I’ve personally done to change the working status of women, I’ve done heaps. I’ve written articles (under pseudonyms, because of the rampant vitriol targeted at feminist writers) and worked in refuge shelters and rape crisis centres. I don’t have a million or two to donate to women’s’ causes, but then, do you have unlimited wealth to donate to men’s rights?