Then why not stop whinging and write something? The Age loves men's issues, but they don't get as many freelance submissions they get from women. I'm sure OLO is the same.

OLO does have too many feminists stories. And WAY too many Christian/atheist battles.

Instead, you're bashing your head against a brick wall telling feminists like me what we think - e.g. "That women have been denied the opportunity to be firemen, and the patriachy doesn't respect women enough to put them in danger or let them be heros the same as men." I simply disagree with your characterisation of feminism, and if this article was written then I missed it. Besides, such a simplistic argument wouldn't interest me. I ignored the hoo-ha about the Bra Boys cause I didn't think much of the analysis. I'd rather defend the articles I admire, like Audrey Apple's about Zoo, and argue with people I respect, like you. (Obviously I'm being completely hypocritical here cause I also frequently barny with HRS. Who is, by the way, the only poster on OLO who I believe has an actual problem with women.)

In another thread, you felt the sexual belittling of men is greater than it is from women because, even though women cop more, men have it worse because the speeding ad comes from the government. When I say I just want equal representation in government, you say men have it worse because women are consumers. Whenever I try to empathise with your complaints by pointing out a woman's life also sucks sometimes, I get, "but it's worse for us." At least metaphorically, you're passing up an opportunities to find common ground in order to be the biggest victim.

Anyway. I appreciate you don't find the argument about the number of men who died in WWII and how that affected the post-war world compelling. But it interests me. If bone cancer started killing 3 men for every 1 woman I'd find that appalling - horrifying in fact - and want someone brainy to work out why.

Vanilla,

I don't believe I am articulate enough to be published. How do you know The Age loves men's issues? I know I'm too cynical, but I cant even get published in The Herald letters. I think it's because I don't use the phrases 'Beggars Belief', or 'De Rigueur'.

'I get, "but it's worse for us." At least metaphorically, you're passing up an opportunities to find common ground in order to be the biggest victim. '

That's not my intention to say it's worse for us. I intend to illustrate that womens issues are accepted and validated everywhere, often with no real critique, whereas men's aren't. I'm all about the gender politics landscape, not competing about the merits of actual gender specific inequalities.

I don't agree 'women cop more', or 'men have it worse', I always say men and woman each have their own unique crosses to bare, and both men and women should be held responsible for 'society'. That's what gets me about Yvonne. She argues men make society so are totally to blame for everything. I don't say 'men have it worse because women are consumers', I was just trying to explain just because more men are in government, they don't create society. They are elected by both men and women, and media is funded by advertising, and women DO make more purchases than men.

I'm sorry I've been a little too selfish with my word quota to acknowledge your arguments enough. I wasn't aware you were using examples to empathise, I thought it was you who was trying to create some sort of competition. I do thankyou for being the first feminist I have argued with who hasn't trotted out misogynist and seems to accept that women have shaped societal attitudes as much as men.

I have taken on board your mocking of an Evil Feminist Conspiracy, and that you don't attempt to pin everything on the patriachy.

*How could that be so?*

Lets face it girls, we let you think that you are ahead to
make you feel better :), but when the crunch comes, its
another story.

I have yet to see women rush out to put out the next
bushfire. They make sandwiches, its the fellas that
do the hard yakka. You would be lost without us..

Whitty, it beggars belief that the SMH letters editor should ignore you! I would have thought letters like yours would be de rigueur on the letters page!

Anyway, you speak great sense. We always agree in the end. Where is HRS? I need someone to have a proper fight with.

Yabby: "You would be lost without us.."
Too true. And you'd be lost without us. Who else would cut up the oranges at half-time?

If climate change is made by people, then consumerism and materialism driven by over population are the culprits.

Majority of retail floor space is occuppied by womens consumables.

Hmmm, chicken, dont drop the eggs and dont shoot yourself in the foot.

Otherwise, agreed, life is, always has been and forever will be harder for women. Men just dont figure. In the us and them of gender politics (translation... not men) its all about them and they're angsty them-ness.

Funny how fat cat first worlders who have it all, have resorted to whining by transference and appropriating the hardships of poor people, who are in large part poor so that the first world fatties can keep consuming. Pathetic really.

Now, hand over the list of demands and concessions and tell us to fix it.

Oh, yeah and how many men get marched off to war to face death compared to women. Alas, men make war so that doesnt count. Where's a womans 'intellectual' curiosity over that. And 90%+ of work place deaths are men. And 90%+ of criminals, prisoners and victims of crime are men. And laws tend to criminalise 'masculine' behaviour. And majority of drug addicts and alchoholics are men. So on and so fowarth. Nary a whimper of intellectual curiosity amongst women on that.

BUT... women suffer more.

Or is it a case of, they make more noise about it, whilst men are expected to shut up and take it like a man.

Please, the sentiment of this article is so cliched and passe, is it any wounder men (and women) are generally switching off to the chicken littles, bemoaning the falling sky and hungry wolves baying for their blood.

Such a typical lefty-my-heart-is bleeding-by-association article. And lm gonna do nothing but 'raise awarness'. Bleeting from the bleachers is a good way to pretend lm doing something whilst doing nothing.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot... men die about 7 yrs earlier than women. Men earn more, pay more taxes, die earlier and draw less social security.

BUT... women SUFFER MORE.

This article is such a a joke. Th efact that men have been living 10% shorter life spans than women for a couple of centuries now is the huge elephant in the room. If it were the other way around the outcry would be defeaning.

Now, spin this reality as a demonstration of how women suffer more due to men dying earlier. l can hardly wait for the refreshingly predictable justifications.

Oh yeah, l got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning too.