HRS ( even though I once swore I'd never address a post to you directly again)

How many times have I been abused by a male? Whats that got to do with this? If you read other peoples posts when they are not directly addressed to you you'd have an idea from other threads, anyway.

But, just for a few minutes, why don't you try to forget about bogus statistics and what other disaffected adults with their own grievances say, and try to imagine how different reality is for a male and a female.

How many times have you walked past a building site? Can't remember? Well imagine that every time you walked past one people were yelling out "Show us yer tits, love" or even more intimate requests. Imagine riding in a crowded bus and having someone's erection pressed into the small of your back for the entire trip. Imagine going out with a same sex friend and having a steady procession of strangers interrupting and asking if they could join you? That'd be o.k., you reckon? Well imagine if, each time you declined you were called a moll, a slut, a dyke? Imagine what its like to walk down the street and have cars honk and slow down and shout obscenities at you.

Now, imagine you are only 14 years old.

That's what we should be addressing on this thread. And, right back before all the same old segues into domestic violence and pornography (which, admittedly are all peripheral issues to the main point) that was what some of us tried to talk about.

As to the "why"part of your question? Well that, my friend, is what I and my ilk are all trying to find out.

Robert,

you're right, of course and I am really glad that you want to pull the discussion back to where it belongs. I'm afraid I tend to give up too easily once certain people appear and just let them take the thread down the same old well-beaten paths.

But as I said originally, first we (and I mean we so-called adults)have to admit the problem exists. I know from personal experience not only that it does but how much a part of youth culture it is. And I think that we adults also have to bite the bullet and admit that its a problem pretty much of our making.

Yes, porno and media have a lot to do with it: but its not the kids who are making and producing this stuff. Its us. So while there are probably lots of great parents out there who do involve themselves in their kids lives and their kids friends, we have to face that there are many who do not...and take some responsibility.

I definitely believe we should all be more pro-active with our children's schools. But we can also clamour for more community involvement. Its a given that there are short-comings in the Education system (so lets not get side tracked by the public/private debate) but volunteers for remedial reading programmes, for mentoring, for presentations, acting, dancing or art coaching and for talks are always welcome.

Theres actually a lot that can be done to provide kids with a much wider and more holistic viewpoint as well as providing positive role models. It's one of my constant pleas both as a parent and a teacher. And I've seen what good it can do.

Rommany,
There was an interesting case in New York, where a woman claimed she had been abused by male workers when she walked past the 9/11 site. This made all the main newspapers in NY, with calls for those men to be sacked.

But when the matter was investigated, it was found that the only men working at the site were working in the subway areas, and none of them could see any member of the public. The woman then issued an apology.

So why have you been abused by a male, and is it true.

HRS, I've no doubt you can pull any number of incidents out of a hat to support your case.

Men represent around half the population. Of course there are going to be incidents where they have been unjustly treated at the hands of women.

On balance however, it's way, way out of proportion.

Several points here: while I support any moves to ensure legislation treats genders equally, I'd be opposed to any move to equate emotional or psychological abuse to physical. They're different issues with different approaches.
Psychologically abusing someone is bad, but beating them up is worse. You can't pretend they're the same thing.

Secondly, your claims that women are physically abusing men at an equal rate are foolhardy. Not only that, they're doing your cause damage. I, and others of my ilk, aren't likely to be convinced.

When I was numbering my senate preferences today, I noted a party with a title along the lines of 'equal parenting rights.'

I thought to myself 'are these the sensible types pushing for equal parenting rights under legislation, or do they just have an axe to grind with women?'

Your posts come across as the latter, because quite frankly, I don't think anybody here believes your anecdotes amount to a compelling case when weighed up against both common sense and statistics.

If memory serves me correctly Romany was actively promoting the play "Vagina Monologues" and in this play an older woman plies a young girl with alcohol and has sex with her.

Now if an older guy did this to a girl he would have been castrate, boiled in oil, tarred and feather, keel hauled. Interestingly the laws in NSW and Vic have recently been changed to make this a criminal offense (that is having sex with someone who is too drunk to give consent).

Now for some juicy bits, I have known heterosexual women who have told me about being plied with alcohol and end up having a lesbian affair.

I do have a lesbian friend who has told me about her behaviour where she and her friend would go out and target straight chicks. So I wonder how much of this sexual abuse of girls is by other girls?

Turnrightthenleft,
It seems that you have stopped calling me an “ilk”, and now you are calling me a female hater.

The only thing I have called you is Turnrightthenleft, so I wonder who is attempting to be abusive.

So now all the abuse of girls and women is not physical, but psychological.

But if it is psychological abuse, then it would definitely be expected that girl’s marks at school would be declining, and it would definitely be expected that women would be dieing at a younger age than men due to some type of stress.

However it is the boy’s marks that are declining, and men are dieing at a younger age than woman.

Apart from claims of being abused, there is no other evidence that wide scale abuse of women or girls is taking place in this country.

But it is very convenient to have males stereotyped as being abusers of women and their children.