The Women's Lib' movement was an idea who's time had come, with the advances in the modern world it was well past time many inequities were righted, and women's "rights" were certainly at the head of that list.
Now it's the 21st century and most, if not all, those inequities have been dealt with, there are no major battles left to fight. Most of the perceived remaining prejudice against women is just that, in the eye of the beholder, not real. For example, the "glass ceiling" doesn't stop women from achieving whatever they wish, it's an invention of the die-hard femnazis who can't seem to accept that most women just don't WANT to be CEO's or to pay the price for that success and/or lifestyle.
Feminism claims to support choices for women, yet like most ism's it has a very narrow definition of those choices, woe betide any woman who chooses to be a traditional wife, mother, and home-maker, she will be harassed and belittled at every turn.
Domestic violence has similarly been dealt with, there are laws and processes in place to protect and assist women in all First World nations, and the only reason they are ineffective at all is because the women themselves won't avail themselves thereof, and/or keep returning to the offenders or those just like them.
Violence is our genetic heritage and a societal problem, NOT a gender based one, and cannot be dealt with by punishing and restricting men alone, that way lays inequity and resentment, exacerbating problems rather than alleviating them.
If all those staunch feminists were truly concerned with repression and abuse of women then they would be attacking those places, societies and religions that actually DO do such things, rather than staying safe in their protected security here and whining about non-existent or minor details that affect only a very few, if any.
What passes for feminist "activism" these days is akin to those left after a battle, running around stabbing the dead and trying to hold onto influence and power by declaring the battle not yet over.

What passes for feminist "activism" these days is akin to those left after a battle, running around stabbing the dead and trying to hold onto influence and power by declaring the battle not yet over.
G'day Bruce,
Brilliant statement !

G'DayBruce > I have to wonder if the real intention of this post is only to annoy Foxy, Poirot and Susie first thing in the morning. Otherwise I can't see what purpose you think it serves to say such things. Surely you can't honestly believe that 100% equality exists in the workplace; or that the domestic violence problem has been sorted out; or that men are the real victims in 2014.

While your post contains some truths and half truths, the insinuated conclusion that women have nothing to complain about (and those that do are man-hating feminist agitators beating a dead horse) is seriously flawed.

Maybe if you provide an example of the 'staunch feminist activism' that has got up your nose, we can understand better what you are on about.

Dear Bruce,

A great deal has certainly changed over the past
decades. Women today have the right to vote,
they have access to education, to jobs,
to careers and the prospect of economic
independence, to sexual freedom. All these things
because feminists of earlier generations fought on
their behalf.

For their part, Australian men, after some hesitancy,
have generally reacted positively to the growing
equality of women. In fact, their own roles, being
complimentary to those of women, have also changed.

Men are now permitted a more gentle and expressive
personality than would have been considered appropriate
a few decades ago. Like the feminine role, the masculine
role is now more ambiguous, more flexible, more subject
to interpretation by the individual.

Resolving this kind of ambiguity is part of the challenge
of social and cultural change.

Today many alternative lifestyles and roles are acceptable
for both men and women. Our society today is individualistic
and men and women can explore a wide variety of roles.
Choosing what suits them.

Yes, we have come a long way.
We've had a female Lord Mayor in Sydney. A female Premier.
A female Prime Minister. A female Head of State in our
Governor General. And the richest person in our country
is female.

But there are still gaps in salaries between genders.
There are many government policies that need fixing.
There are still not enough female MPs in our Parliament.
And the list goes on. Changes need to occur regarding
these things.

True liberation from the restrictions of gender will
only happen when all possible options are open and equally
acceptable for both sexes.

Then a person's
individual human qualities, rather than his or her
biological sex, will be the primary measure of that person's
worth and achievement.

That is something worth aiming for.

Bruce, as you already know I'm sure, you will have many 'manly allies' on this forum to sing anti-feminist songs with, so I will leave you all to it.

Suffice to say that ConservativeHippie and Foxy have said all that needs to be said in answer to your opening post, so good luck with that.

Cheers,
Suse.

Yes....one imagines that any cool-headed serious discussion on this issue is automatically negated once the term "femnazis" is inserted into the opening spiel.

On subject, we should not overlook the necessity of late-capitalist societies to require the contribution of women in the workplace. Our system relies on consumption, so having women out there working, earning and spending is part and parcel of the deal.

As I've mentioned a few times on this forum, if Mrs A pays Mrs B to look after her child, then GDP increases. If Mrs A looks after her own child then GDP stays the same.

So it's all geared to push women out there...and men who feel uncomfortable about the growing autonomy of women can't have their cake and eat it too. Women earning and spending are fulfilling the role capitalist society demands of them.

Regardless of any long-term warping of traditional social balance, it's a dual gender arrangement designed to produce "growth" in the economy.

That's Capitalism, folks....