My blog has been moved to http://nathreee.livejournal.com
nothing but a few posts remain here...
28 March 2007
20 March 2007
Let's see if I can tempt my readers to comment...
If you comment on this post
1. I’ll respond with something random about you.
2. I’ll challenge you to try something.
3. I’ll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I’ll tell you something I like about you.
5. I’ll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I’ll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I’ll ask you something I’ve always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, please think about doing it for me too.
If you took the time to read this, you should comment!
1. I’ll respond with something random about you.
2. I’ll challenge you to try something.
3. I’ll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I’ll tell you something I like about you.
5. I’ll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I’ll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I’ll ask you something I’ve always wanted to ask you.
8. If I do this for you, please think about doing it for me too.
If you took the time to read this, you should comment!
26 February 2007
Feminism continued
I didn't mean to say that the glass ceiling doesn't exist. I know it does. I know that most women doesn't get paid as much as their male colleagues. I know they that they are passed over for promotion or even fired, or simply not hired because they might just get pregnant and sit at home on the boss' money. Thank you Ivonne for pointing this out.
What I meant to say in my post the other day, is that the glass ceiling is not measured by looking at the number of women who have a career and comparing that to the number of men who have a similar career. The above mentioned things are correct ways of measuring the glass ceiling; salaries of male and female colleagues, promotion of male and female colleagues, that kind of stuff.
On the other hand, when a woman chooses to work less or quit her job because she wants to spend time with her children, that has nothing to do with the glass ceiling. That does not say she isn't a feminist. It simply says she wants to have a family.
I read an article once about a feminist who claimed that if you're an intelligent woman it is your duty to society to make a career for yourself, because there are not enough women in high places and this country is not emancipated enough. Duty to society? Whoa there! I know I can be unreasonable, but I just want to have children with my husband and make enough money to take enough care of them. I'm not allowed to do that because I have half a brain? I think this feminist got it the wrong way around.
That's really what I have against feminism. I know quite a few women who want what I want; half a job so that they have time for their family. Time to spend with the children and the husband. I want to cook my husband dinner, and then let him take care of our finances, because he is better at the latter and I'm better at the first. I want to work in order to live, and not the other way around. And that would make me unemancipated?
What I meant to say in my post the other day, is that the glass ceiling is not measured by looking at the number of women who have a career and comparing that to the number of men who have a similar career. The above mentioned things are correct ways of measuring the glass ceiling; salaries of male and female colleagues, promotion of male and female colleagues, that kind of stuff.
On the other hand, when a woman chooses to work less or quit her job because she wants to spend time with her children, that has nothing to do with the glass ceiling. That does not say she isn't a feminist. It simply says she wants to have a family.
I read an article once about a feminist who claimed that if you're an intelligent woman it is your duty to society to make a career for yourself, because there are not enough women in high places and this country is not emancipated enough. Duty to society? Whoa there! I know I can be unreasonable, but I just want to have children with my husband and make enough money to take enough care of them. I'm not allowed to do that because I have half a brain? I think this feminist got it the wrong way around.
That's really what I have against feminism. I know quite a few women who want what I want; half a job so that they have time for their family. Time to spend with the children and the husband. I want to cook my husband dinner, and then let him take care of our finances, because he is better at the latter and I'm better at the first. I want to work in order to live, and not the other way around. And that would make me unemancipated?
24 February 2007
Is this for real?
I was astonished at this article:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/article59280261.ece
The explanation sounds reasonable enough; flooded sewer causes a landslide, washes away the ground, wrecking some buildings. But look at that hole! It's humongous! And circular! And the walls look kinda smooth...
I'm having World of Darkness feelings towards this little newspaper clipping. Are there Mages in Guatemala-City? /cue spooky music
http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/article59280261.ece
The explanation sounds reasonable enough; flooded sewer causes a landslide, washes away the ground, wrecking some buildings. But look at that hole! It's humongous! And circular! And the walls look kinda smooth...
I'm having World of Darkness feelings towards this little newspaper clipping. Are there Mages in Guatemala-City? /cue spooky music
23 February 2007
On Feminism
Not many people would call me a feminist. Don't get me wrong, I do get pissed if someone claims I can't do something because I'm a woman, but only if it's something that I know I'm capable of. If someone were to say to me that women can't be boxers, I really see no reason to prove that person wrong. On the other hand, I have been very pissed at someone who assumed I had no sense of direction because I'm a woman.
Feminism is a difficult subject, which I have longed to discuss here for a while, but since I am prone to indiscriminate and rather blunt remarks, I have thought this one through. Maybe not long enough to make it into an eloquent and reasonable essay. This is my blog, the place where I express my opinions, no matter how stupid they might be.
Back on the subject. Equal rights is something I profoundly believe in. This is based on my theory that generalizations of any kind never apply to everyone; women with a sense of direction do exist, as do women who like and are good at boxing, and men who like and are good at ballet, and anything else you might think of. People are diverse, everyone is different, which is why generelizations are never completely true and for this reason we should all have the same rights. To be able to be who we want and need to be.
There is still a need to fight for equal rights between men and women in some countries, but I think that in most of the Western world this issue is more or less settled. Different kinds of education that might lead to different kinds of jobs are open to both sexes. Hairdressers, soldiers, personal assistants, bus drivers, nurses, lawyers and doctors, whether male or female, we are all free to choose one of these careers, and we will be able to get there. The fact that there are more male soldiers than female, and more female personal assistants than male, is in my humble opinion not a result of unequal rights, but of unequal tastes.
And here comes the bit that may sound offensive to some, but it is my honest opinion. I think men and women have different tastes on what to do with their life. Sure, I think that men who want to stay at home to take care of his kids while his wife goes out to work do exist, but I think there are more men who like their job and who like to work long hours and feel important and needed at work. And I'm sure that there are quite a few women who want to have a great career, but I think there are more women who want to spend time raising their kids themselves, instead of leaving that to their mother(-in-law) or someone who works in child-care.
There are studies that try to measure the feminism, in the sense of equal rights, of a country, and these studies measure a number of facts. One of these facts is usually the amount of women that have a job in a "high place". When they find that a country doesn't have a lot of women in high places, they conclude that the country has a glass ceiling. And to this I disagree. It is a fact that a high-profile career is difficult to combine with spending a lot of time with one's children. And I think that if faced with the choice, most women will choose their children.
Now this is a generalization, which means that I know that there are women out there who will choose their career. I just think there are more women who would rather take a few days a week off to spend with their family. And therefore I think there are too many people whining about the glass ceiling.
These are my thoughts on feminism. I think I have the same rights as anyone else, and I will be mean to anyone who tries to put me down. But I don't mind if someone holds the door open for me, and I will gladly do the same for the person who comes after me. My ultimate goal in life is to have a quiet job for a few days a week and raise two fine children. I am not ambitious, and I think that too many people confuse ambition with feminism these days.
Feminism is about equal rights, not about having an equal amount of women and men in every career. It's about not judging someone based on their sex, not about calling every man who likes to look at a lady a male chauvinist pig.
Feminism is a difficult subject, which I have longed to discuss here for a while, but since I am prone to indiscriminate and rather blunt remarks, I have thought this one through. Maybe not long enough to make it into an eloquent and reasonable essay. This is my blog, the place where I express my opinions, no matter how stupid they might be.
Back on the subject. Equal rights is something I profoundly believe in. This is based on my theory that generalizations of any kind never apply to everyone; women with a sense of direction do exist, as do women who like and are good at boxing, and men who like and are good at ballet, and anything else you might think of. People are diverse, everyone is different, which is why generelizations are never completely true and for this reason we should all have the same rights. To be able to be who we want and need to be.
There is still a need to fight for equal rights between men and women in some countries, but I think that in most of the Western world this issue is more or less settled. Different kinds of education that might lead to different kinds of jobs are open to both sexes. Hairdressers, soldiers, personal assistants, bus drivers, nurses, lawyers and doctors, whether male or female, we are all free to choose one of these careers, and we will be able to get there. The fact that there are more male soldiers than female, and more female personal assistants than male, is in my humble opinion not a result of unequal rights, but of unequal tastes.
And here comes the bit that may sound offensive to some, but it is my honest opinion. I think men and women have different tastes on what to do with their life. Sure, I think that men who want to stay at home to take care of his kids while his wife goes out to work do exist, but I think there are more men who like their job and who like to work long hours and feel important and needed at work. And I'm sure that there are quite a few women who want to have a great career, but I think there are more women who want to spend time raising their kids themselves, instead of leaving that to their mother(-in-law) or someone who works in child-care.
There are studies that try to measure the feminism, in the sense of equal rights, of a country, and these studies measure a number of facts. One of these facts is usually the amount of women that have a job in a "high place". When they find that a country doesn't have a lot of women in high places, they conclude that the country has a glass ceiling. And to this I disagree. It is a fact that a high-profile career is difficult to combine with spending a lot of time with one's children. And I think that if faced with the choice, most women will choose their children.
Now this is a generalization, which means that I know that there are women out there who will choose their career. I just think there are more women who would rather take a few days a week off to spend with their family. And therefore I think there are too many people whining about the glass ceiling.
These are my thoughts on feminism. I think I have the same rights as anyone else, and I will be mean to anyone who tries to put me down. But I don't mind if someone holds the door open for me, and I will gladly do the same for the person who comes after me. My ultimate goal in life is to have a quiet job for a few days a week and raise two fine children. I am not ambitious, and I think that too many people confuse ambition with feminism these days.
Feminism is about equal rights, not about having an equal amount of women and men in every career. It's about not judging someone based on their sex, not about calling every man who likes to look at a lady a male chauvinist pig.
06 February 2007
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