feminine-genius

The New Egalitarian Domestic Regime

I wish I could say that the following is part of a Saturday Night Live skit, but no dice. The Spanish have just become cutting edge in the gender wars by legalising same sex "marriage," and now want to prove they've completely lost their minds by offering a plan to legislate the breakdown of housework.

Spanish men will be required to scrub toilets and change nappies as often as their harried wives under revolutionary reforms aimed at shattering the traditionally macho Latin nation's patriarchal division of labour in the home.

Changes to the marriage contract supported by the Socialist Government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, along with conservative Catholic and right-wing politicians, will force men and women to promise not only fidelity but equal shares of housework, childrearing and care of the elderly until death they do part.

Admittedly, there's no enforcement mechanism. But this is just the set-up to pit husbands and wives into episodic fits of reproaches and false expectations, since it takes one of the most traditional cultures and crams it into the mold of a "feminist paradise." And it will have consequences if the marriage breaks down:

The new egalitarian domestic regime could dramatically alter the state of divorce in Spain, because judges will now consider men's commitment to this pledge when ruling on separations and access to children.

Great. Rather than working two jobs to make sure the children are taken care of, the father will take it in the shorts for not having the laundry folded. And women will have both laws and technology in their corner:

Attempts to blast Spanish males out of their cosy reliance on women as girlfriends, wives, chefs, cleaners, childcarers and custodians of the elderly include technological changes to household appliances. The latest washing machine, named "Your Turn", prevents the same person - typically a wife and mother - from using the appliance consecutively by adopting fingerprint recognition technology.

These are the same feminist who demand that the government get out of their bedrooms, right? And now they grab the politicians by the collar and demand that they pitch a tent in the bedroom, the bathroom, and every corner of the house where work is done. Can't regulate what goes on between the sheets, but only who washes them each week -- ah, I get it.

Death spiral in marital relations intensifies. Insanity rules.

Women in the driver's seat

Well, The 9th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women is over and all went swimmingly, according to the participants. Twenty topics covered, solutions to world's problems offered, if only the men would step aside. Women in the driver's seat would take care of things, I kid you not:

Men have led the world so far and they have themselves revealed that there are limits to their ability to resolve a lot of conflict. The conflict between advanced and developing nations, the confrontation between East and West, the various forms of conflict and discord within different countries and societies proves that. That is why there is hope in women, who are tender, careful, and sensitive to pain and oppression. Korean society is in greater need of feminine sensitivity more than ever before, with its increasing conflict and confrontation and social disparity.

Ah yes, feminine sensitivity. Like on the bumper stickers noted earlier today. Sweetness and light, a hand to those in need, gentleness and compassion to those in conflict. If their approach to the pro-family movement is any indication of how they would resolve differences, I don't think that the lions and the lambs will be supping together any time soon. Hell hath no fury like a feminist on the warpath. "Tender," my eye teeth. Give me a straight talking man anyday.

In love with the Kalashnikov

Kurdish women have taken up the defense of their region, and have found a real bonding experience with their fellow women in arms. So much so, they don't want to go back to their previous way of life:

One woman I became close to was Shaima Sami. When the Ba'ath party executed her father and brother, her mother joined the Peshmerga, as did her three daughters, including Shaima who was only fourteen. Now twenty one, she guards a roadblock at night while attending school in the day.

Incredibly beautiful and charismatic, she is always running around with her Kalashnikov pretending to shoot Saddam who is hiding in the bushes and singing revolutionary songs at the top of her voice. At night we shared a blanket while I taught her a few words of English under the brightest stars I have ever seen, which stretched right down to the horizon.

Asked whether they will ever return to their civilian lives and the conventional roles of Muslim women, the Peshmergas' answer is a resounding 'no' - they 'love the Kalashnikov and an outdoor life' too much. Even when the cause is gone, they will remain.

While the author rejoices in finding a new breed of Amazons, it would appear that they're more shell-shocked and deranged than enlightened by their experience with war. Singing and shooting imaginary bogey-men suggest that the experiment with death and destruction took its toll. Put the guns down and step away from the barracks. (Why do we ogle and cheer instead of offering help?)

Let VAWA expire

No one advocates violence against women, but not all legislation is well thought out. In this light, it would be best to let the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expire in September, since it creates a special class of "victims," provides millions in tax dollars for a serious problem, and then uses them in an unfair and biased way. Endgame: this pits women against men, bankrolls radical feminists, and undermines the family. Wendy McElroy opines on this subject at iFeminist, explaining how the law is ultimately not in the best interest of women or families.

Which side is hateful?

took a gander at the items available for purchase at NOW and had to take a breather after a few minutes. I've seen pro-aborts at clinics and marching around at various events, so I shouldn't be surprised by the vitriol, but the irony is that they always paint Christians and pro-lifers as hateful, mind-numbed bigots.

I suppose this is because they are operating from a platform of sweetness and light, which would explain the following bumperstickers for sale:

Against Abortion, Have a Vasectomy!

Better a Bleeding Heart Than None at All

Back off -- I'm a Goddess

Don't Pray in My School and I Won't Think in Your Church

Hatred is Not a Family Value

Nothing in a Man's Pants is as Important as What is in a Woman's Mind

Sorry I Missed Church -- I've Been Busy Practicing Witchcraft and Becoming a Lesbian

U.S. Out of My Uterus

A Closed Mind is a Wonderful Thing to Lose

Behind Every Successful Woman is Herself

I'll be Post-Feminist in the Post-Patriarchy

Lots more where those came from. (Interesting that they also have "Support Women's Sports" and "Diversity is Our Strength." Reminds us of the broad spectrum of the agenda and the seemingly innocuous parts.)

Now, let's consider the "patriarchy" that they rail against, in the words of the recently-decesased Uber-patriarch:

By defending the dignity of women and their vocation, the Church has shown honour and gratitude for those women who - faithful to the Gospel - have shared in every age in the apostolic mission of the whole People of God. They are the holy martyrs, virgins, and mothers of families, who bravely bore witness to their faith and passed on the Church's faith and tradition by bringing up their children in the spirit of the Gospel.

In every age and in every country we find many "perfect" women (cf. Prov. 31:10) who, despite persecution, difficulties and discrimination, have shared in the Church's mission. It suffices to mention: Monica, the mother of Augustine, Macrina, Olga of Kiev, Matilda of Tuscany, Hedwig of Silesia, Jadwiga of Cracow, Elizabeth of Thuringia, Birgitta of Sweden, Joan of Arc, Rose of Lima, Elizabeth Ann Seton and Mary Ward.

The witness and the achievements of Christian women have had a significant impact on the life of the Church as well as of society. Even in the face of serious social discrimination, holy women have acted "freely", strengthened by their union with Christ. Such union and freedom rooted in God explain, for example, the great work of Saint Catherine of Siena in the life of the Church, and the work of Saint Teresa of Jesus in the monastic life.

In our own days too the Church is constantly enriched by the witness of the many women who fulfil their vocation to holiness. Holy women are an incarnation of the feminine ideal; they are also a model for all Christians, a model of the "sequela Christi", an example of how the Bride must respond with love to the love of the Bridegroom (Mulieris Dignitatem, 27).

And now, the Bastion of Patriarchy has opened the cause of beatification for this "woman hater." There are no eyes so blind as those which refuse to see. Their hatred and rage must be received in love and gentleness, for we know that they are wounded in ways that leave no outward marks. "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."

Skyrocketing infertility in Africa

There is not enough information in this article for my satisfaction. Declining sperm counts, delayed first pregnancies, smoking, alcohol, stress, etc. aren't enough to cause this.

COUPLES around the world face an explosion in infertility - with about one in seven women battling for at least a year to fall pregnant.

Specialists at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Denmark this week warned that infertility could soar in Europe over the next 10 years.

Infertility problems are common among African couples, and may be even more widespread than in Europe. A major World Health Organisation study found Africa was the only continent where just more than half the couples surveyed, 52%, had secondary infertility (where the woman cannot conceive a second child).

Of course, not to worry -- they're honing in vitro skills to make up for the lack. My guess is that STD's and AIDS have a hand in this, and rather than admitting it, they'll just put on a techno-band-aid to fix it. Unfortunately, once again this degrades women, mocks the marital union, and undermines God's plan for the family. Either that or the Powers that Be would just as soon have fewer "have nots" to keep them awake at night...

The Androgyny Lie

Jessica Gavora, who has written her own book on Title IX offers a review of a new work on the same topic, A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX by Welch Suggs. She knows the set-up well, pointing out the ambivalent response of late to criticism of the law:

As universities continue to ax men's teams in order to comply with women's athletic-participation quotas under the law, politicians nonetheless speak in glowing terms about Title IX and all the good it has brought to girls, women, and other defenseless creatures. When the Bush administration created a task force to look into the enforcement of Title IX, the commission heard nine months of testimony about how the law is systematically discriminating against men in college sports. Then the Bush administration turned around and did ... absolutely nothing. Bowing to the protests of gender feminists, they rejected the commission's modest proposals for reform.

Her disappointment with the Suggs book came swiftly, as she realised the use of "tragedy" in his title was not about the injustice to men and their love of sports. Rather:

Mr. Suggs documents [how Title IX has hurt men], and concedes Title IX's pivotal role in colleges and universities discriminating against male athletes. Still, the "tragedy" he refers to is that Title IX has made female athletes too successful. Women's sports have become so competitive that they are beginning to resemble high-stakes, win-at-any-cost men's sports. Competition for a place on women's teams like soccer and basketball (and the full-ride scholarships that often accompany them) has become so fierce that young girls, like young boys, are being pressured to play year-round, attend expensive summer camps, and engage private coaches. Once they're in college, their lagging academic credentials, underperformance in the classroom, and declining relative graduation rates increasingly resemble those of male athletes ... His decision to concentrate on the negative consequences of Title IX's success smacks of a way to sell books without offending feminist political sensibilities.

While we don't want girls obsessing with sports any more than boys do, this is not the point, and he knows it. Another hack imbibing the Kool-aid, yet trying to be clever about it. Or if not, a political chameleon who knows better than to tick off a potentially vocal enemy. Another waste of paper that will add to the existing titles on the shelf and simply a sexy twist to the arguments. Everyone loses in this game.

Boys in crisis

A comprehensive and fair study of education has been conducted by Duke University with some interesting results. Using 28 indicators assessing how boys and girls are faring, boys out performed girls in six categories, and lagged behind girls in the remaining 22. What has not been fair is the way that the results were reported and interpreted by academia and the media. Minimising the results, feminist sociology professor Mary Blair-Loy of the University of California at San Diego stuck to the standard arguments, which:

1. deny that the boy crisis exists
2. assert that whatever happens with boys in school, males will still end up earning more money than females, so boys' school problems are not important
3. assert that the differences in education are related to race and income level, not gender

Those who are familiar with the learning styles and unique needs of boys are increasingly alarmed by the declining performance of boys in school, reflecting the "feminisation" of the classroom, the promotion of writing and other skills in which girls excel at the expense of sciences which engage the boys, the lack of male presence in schools, and a general atmosphere which cause boys to disengage from the learning process.

The vast majority of learning-disabled students are boys, and boys are four times as likely to receive a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as girls. Boys are far more likely than girls to be disciplined, suspended, held back, or expelled.

Recess time, which research shows is more critical for boys than for girls, has been cut back nationally. According to the U.S. Department of Education, vocational education, also of greater importance to boys than to girls, suffered a sharp decline from 1982 to 1992 and has never recovered.

Since the early ’90s the public discourse on gender, youth and education has largely been set by feminist academics and advocates. The events surrounding this new study show that this is still true, as both Duke and the media covering the study have been unwilling to publicize what the study clearly shows — it is boys who are in crisis.

The excuse is outlined by Glenn Sacks:

Much of the problem is political, and may sound familiar to fathers who've been through family court--there's a political price to be paid for giving females a raw deal, but no corresponding political price for shafting males. Boys are in crisis in part because the schools are under little pressure to adapt themselves to boys' needs and learning styles.

We need to be attentive to this problem, for disengaged and discouraged boys turn into angry, frustrated men who are not prepared for the work they want to undertake. Saint Edith Stein spent years formulating educational strategies that would help young women to thrive. The very fact that she saw a unique need shows us that boys and girls need two different things. A feminine model will not work for boys, and an androgynous secular model neglects the full range of potential in all children. If we don't act to fix this, we all suffer.