So, there are a lot of lurkers* on this blog. You know who you are.
The thing is, I'd like to know who you are, too, so leave a comment and say hello!
To get you wallflowers thinking, here's a question you can answer:
If women were physically larger and stronger than men, would the relationship between the sexes be the same?
Use the comment option to answer. No pressure, of course—you can still visit this blog even though you haven't said hello. I won't judge. Much.
(*Lurkers—Those visitors who increase my blog's site counter stats, who spend several minutes at a time reading, but who haven't yet introduced themselves)
4 comments:
Hi, the Husband here.
That is a very interesting question, and I feel is really more about the uglier natures of human beings rather than physical size. One could ask the question in a different way, "If women had the ability to oppress men, would they?" The answer is, "I'm not sure." Certainly there is a long history of patriarchal dominance that lead many modern men to inadvertently esteem themselves higher than women, even though rationally they know this is not true. Had the shoe been on the other foot, would women (these bigger stronger women) have held themselves above men? Cleopatra did. The amazons were no peace loving tribe of knitters. It would be nice to think that big strong women would certainly be big strong protectors and run the world like a nursery school. But I don't think human beings (regardless of gender) are that nice. I think big strong women might surprise us with their nastiness, and anyone that has ever seen how middle school girls treat each other would likely agree.
A paraphrase of a Tony Hillerman book:
"Two boys free a magic dragon fly from where it is stuck in the mud. In gratitude, the dragon fly offers them each a wish. The first boy says "I wish I was the smartest man in the world." Ok says the dragon fly - you are the smartest man in the world. The second boy says, "I wish I was smarter than the smartest man in the world." The dragon fly grants his wish too -- the dragon fly makes him a woman."
(posted via email from Sam Hartman)
The question is invalid. It assumes that only physical domination leads to social domination and it's all that separates the sexes.
If the men carried and birthed children, would the relationship between the sexes be the same? Does plausible deniability of offspring automatically tip the scales?
WWADS? What would Andrea Dworkin say?
Interesting point, Soph, however I wouldn't go so far as to say that the question is invalid. It is simply examining one aspect of the male-female relationship, not suggesting that there's only one cause of the imbalance of that relationship.
On a basic level, I think that physical domination is a pretty big factor, but I don't know if it's bigger than carrying/birthing children, or the "male" ability to write off fatherhood (in a stereotypical sense). Something to think about, for sure.
By the way, didn't Dworkin base her anti-pornography treatise on pornography's apparent encouragement of rape (which is a physical and psychological act of dominance over another)?
Not to be nit-picky, of course :)
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