Equality my arse
Equality, right, is a pointless ideal.

Men and women should not be equal. Simple reasoning - men and women are not equal. We are genetically different. It is naive to believe that all these differences are skin deep. Men and women are not capable of the same things. Men are, as a general rule, physically stronger than women and are therefore suited to more physical tasks. It is absurd to think that physical professions will ever have the same proportion of women as men, for that reason.

Similarly, it is also absurd to think that men should have as much paternity leave as women have maternity leave. Yes, equal rights and all that but the fact remains that women are the ones giving their own body to a parasite for nine months and then ripping themselves apart to get rid of it. They need more rest than men do in this case.

It is also naive to think that these differences are confined to physical differences. As a previous poster has stated, science and maths are dominated by men. There are a number of societal reasons why this is the case, but it is not being stupid to suppose that it is possible that male brains are more suited to mathematical reasoning. I hasten to add that I have no proof of this. I am not even advocating the position in the absence of evidence. I do, however, believe that the question is legitimate and important and that intellectual differences between the male and female brain would still be apparent in individuals brought up under the same circumstances in a society that is not historically patriarchal as ours is. I do not know what those differences would be, or whether they would match up with our prejudices as to what they should be. But I have no doubt they would be there.

So in a society that truly judges employees on merit, it is an impossibility to believe that all professions will eventually have equal proportions of men and women involved. It may turn out that certain male-dominated professions should in fact be dominated by women or vice versa, but it is highly unlikely that in all cases, men and women are equal.

Therefore, equality is a pointless ideal. The important part is not equality, but equal opportunity. Any woman should be able to apply for a job (or perform any particular activity) without prejudice despite any possible genetic bias towards either sex, because any genetic bias only works on a level above the individual. It is impossible to say whether any one woman would be better at a job than any one particular man without looking at their individual characteristics, which do not necessarily reflect any gender bias. We all know women who can drive better than certain men or ones who are better at maths or who are stronger, or ones that defy any convention that I have not addressed.

I am not a sexist. I am absolutely not a sexist and I believe passionately in the equal opportunity in any circumstance of men and women.

But I do not believe that men and women are equal. That does not mean one is better and one is worse - just that they are different.

PS: I also believe these differences apply to race. Races are not equal, but good god that does not mean one is better than the other, that you can apply a particular racial characteristic to any individual and particularly not that you should be prejudiced against any individual of any race because of a characteristic that may or may not apply to them - and I passionately hate any person that does.

PPS: I still find racist/sexist jokes funny - because they're making fun of a stereotype, and I'm not stupid enough to assume stereotypes apply to individuals OR that the person making the joke believes it either. When it's patently obvious they're serious, it's not funny any more.
(cypherspace is not a toaster, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 0:56, 5 replies)

This is what I'm trying to get at in my post below
Well done good sir for putting it more eloquently than I did. Click from me.
(Ghost Atreides enjoying incontestable health benefits on, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 1:00, closed)

Yup
Pretty much my thoughts on the matter as I tried to convey in my post. You did it a hell of alot better though. Well done.
(Megamoss, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 1:46, closed)

Click
the key words are opportunity and ability.
( TheFinch is getting to grips with the complex plane on, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 11:20, closed)

Clicked even though..
Cogent, sensible, fair and accurate. Excellent post.
Needed a knob gag.
(NiplyTheElder tried to slip clunge into a conversation on, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 13:03, closed)

"I am not a sexist. I am absolutely not a sexist and I believe passionately in the equal opportunity in any circumstance of men and women."
Jolly good for you, but it wasn't the question.
(Super Jet Shoes, Mon 28 Dec 2009, 17:11, closed)