I'm going to have to stick up for Bronwyn here. Though, I don't agree with the general thrust of the article. I don't think that the issues discussed are an issue for feminists per se. Women now have the choice to behave stupidly and self-defeating, no father or husband to safe her from herself. Men have had that luxury for eons.

The issues discussed I thought are really about society's attitude towards sexuality, for both men and women. I have sons and therefore see society's mores and some odd ideas about love, sex and physical attractiveness affecting both boys and girls. This is not only affecting girls/women.

But regarding feminism in general, it is without a doubt that feminism has opened up choices for women in society. It is ludicrous to suggest that our society was not directed by men for men until relatively recently. Women only had those supporting roles as approved of by the men in her life and/or her community.

Women and men nowadays can heap scorn on the feminist movement, but that is only from the viewpoint of ignorance or loss of memory of what it was like for a women. It is only a relatively recent phenomenon that women are admitted to University for instance. Now a women can be judged as a person first. But that is something that many are still getting used to.

Both men and women are still on the look-out for that manipulating Eve using her feminine wiles to get us kicked out of Paradise and getting away with it. But the truth is I think that all of us, men and women, can relate stories from the workplace and private lives that reflect sexual manipulation/abuse by either gender.

"It is ludicrous to suggest that our society was not directed by men for men until relatively recently."

Because most of us (generalization) operate from a english anglo saxon/celtic background.

I for example was bought up to be 'chivalrous' towards women, even when they treated me badly.

Around the 15th century a law was introduced that any child born to a married woman was the prodigy of the husband, regards of the fact he was not present at conception and for example away on a crusade.

"Great Britain, which passed its first support law, the first Poor Relief Act in 1601, 1 which made the parents, grandparents and children of the poor responsible for their maintenance. This statute was subsequently reinforced in 1662 2 and 1718 3 ."

"Criminal legislation was enacted against deserting husbands in 1740"

Yep it certainly was society directed by men for the benefit of men, there were certain labour laws introduced to protect women and children, but not men.

During the industrial revolution industrial accidents killed many men, which then had a flow on effect of thier families experiencing many hardships.

One of the problems at interpreting history is that we interpret history from the perspective of our modern value judgements, and this current period of time will future historians some really big headaches, (that is if all the data is preserved like OLO and there is not a techicological black hole which makes all this inaccesible to future historians).

Any woman in todays(western)society not freely doing what she wants needs to quit charging. I can not think of anything as a man that I can do that women as a sex are exempt from. Oh wait. Dying or being mutilated on the battlefield. Yes, I forgot there for a moment my superior station in life.
The real historical problem at the root of western society is early colonialism and a lack of "White" women from the onset. This perpetuated and reinforced the male view of placing a higher value on white women. "Placing woman on a pedestal" and man as protector of that value. This has always been mens cultural mistake and developed an unfair and racist view of the native women. White women therefore became a valuable commodity only because of their colour. Where in fact the native women with their genetic disposition and knowledge had a lot more to contribute to each burgeoning nation. If white women had to have come to these colonies and have had to compete with the native women as they should have, our society would have been more richer and much more dynamic. Feminism has knocked white woman off that pedestal and each successive generation of men are freer to mate outside the earlier boundary of white male seeks white female.
The only thing wrong with feminism is that they are not willing to take the responsibility for their decisions and rather hold men the reasons why they are the way they are.

aqvarivs

“How am I to view a statement that assigns individuality and competitiveness as male only values, that women are not to be considered as individuals nor are they to be competitive?”

When I referred to “individuality”, I was not focusing narrowly on the degree or otherwise of individual choice. I was using the term more broadly in the sense of a society centred on the values of individuals striving for themselves and the strong advancing while the weak suffer, as opposed to a society based on the principles of collectivity where people co-operate and work together to enhance conditions for all members of the group.

I believe that there are, loosely speaking, male and female values. I know there are many exceptions and that you can’t generalize, but I still see it as a useful idea. It's not a male bashing exercise, it's not a superiority thing, so please don't see it that way. There is evidence out there though to support this idea. Anyone who has spent time working with mixed groups of children in a problem-solving situation and watched how they interact will understand what I am driving at.

The values I would describe as male values are those of individuality, competitiveness, power-play and aggression, while the values I consider to be female values are those of co-operation, consensus, empathy and compassion. Feminism to me has always been about creating a world based on the latter rather than the former. I had always hoped that as more women attained positions of influence that they would help create a fairer and more harmonious world. If anything, I think the reverse has happened. Women are out there competing and ever more aggressively and many are doing very well for themselves as a result, but I can’t help feeling that humanity as a whole is the poorer for it.

"while the values I consider to be female values are those of co-operation, consensus, empathy and compassion."

Having read the research into the bullying behaviour of girls the above statement bought a smile to my face.

I often hear about female compassion and empathy and when I see it happening, it happens in a conditional way.

Daphne Patai wrote that after her experiences within the women's studies classroom she nolonger believes that having more women in power will led to a more compassionate and safer world.

Bronwyn,

This isn't a personal attack. I simply wonder in what world you live in. The disadvantaged are rewarded immeasurably by the advances produced by the strong advancing. It's the freedom gained by the individual that has lead to this worlds scientific, medical and technological leaps and bounds over the last two hundred years.
Your socialistic attitude may be admirable in a society not having to fear being dependent on another for it's existence but, I doubt it would be once those dependent on others tax dollars for their existence begin to demand from the "haves" parity for the "havenots".
Those horrible "male values" are the only thing keeping the world afloat at the moment. Take them away and Palestine and Sudan and Saudi Arabia, and Australia, and every other society would collapse immediately.
The collective. My God. The collective are not innovators or developers of ideas. They exist as I do, to work for someone to bring product or service to the rest of the community. Yes they profit. And so do I. And together we give back to our community by ability. Not by our dependency. Communism failed. It never was going to work out anyway. You can make all the labour camps you want but, you can not stifle imagination nor enslave it to the benefit of someone else with out reward.

It's as hard to find a good woman as it is probably to find a good man. Once you do. You don't equate her to the rest of the mob. You love and cherish her and have children and get up each day and go out and work even harder to bring back more. Your driven to be your best and to acquire the best for your family. That is what it is to be a man and every thing else stems from that.

Including any charity. I give to give people a hand up not to create another dependency. To motivate, to allow an opportunity for development of self. To educate so they can then contribute and by extension help elevate someone else.