Women's Equality

[anne]

"When we, as women, lower our own standards to become equal with men, we are settling for something less than we we were created to be- Female."

- how are women lowering their standards when they're fighting for equal pay? or when they're fighting for their right to choose abortion?

"However, it is important to steer away from things that men get caught up in and remain true to who we, as women, are. "

- like what?

*, you're saying women have to stay true to being women - how? What is it that men and women have to embrace?

[pgapg2]

... but don't strive to be like men. Change is good but not when you change who you were meant to be-female.

I think there are some aspects of life that women will excel in and other aspects that men will excel in. I don't know as much about cars as a man might and because of that I might get taken advantage of by a mechanic or a car salesman. Do I feel particularly offended by this? No. I don't feel like I've ever been held back because I'm a woman but everyone has a role to play in life. Gender doesn't necessarily guide those roles all the time but it can affect them. I just don't think that's really a bad thing.

AMEN for those comment! (Though I'd add that b/c I wouldn't want to let a car salesman/mechanic take advantage of me b/c of how little I know about cars, I might ask my dad/future bf/future husband/an expert in cars to join me if I ever need to buy a car or get mine repaired and then act as assertively as I can during the appointment regardless of whether I'm by myself or w/someone else.)

Now to answer your question, I've never felt discriminated against for being a woman. In fact, I love being a woman! I love the power it grants me; I love what it allows me to be and do. Like the commenter I quoted stated, there's a role for everybody. I don't need to feel like I could play FB b/c I could care less about it; I'm happy w/guys being left to play FB and do other "manly" things I'm not interested in.

Having said that, then, I don't understand why we put ourselves in a different sphere w/the label of "feminists." I'm not one. That's because I think that by labeling ourselves we're further discriminating ourselves and even advancing others' discrimination against us, which isn't fair. I've never been discriminated against for being a woman b/c I've never let anyone else do that to me. Instead, I let my achievements and everything else I'm about speak for themselves. Am I thankful for all the strides women have made and all the rights we've gained? Sure! But before we were feminists, we were women above all, plain and simple, and I think that's an important distinction.

I applaud you for wanting to do research in this area, though : ). But remember to also view your argument from others' perspective(s) so it's even deeper and more meaningful. Long live research!