Sexism and the twilight years
After many years of being on my own out of choice I have taken the plunge and embarked on a new relationship.(a bit scary when you are middle aged)
My dad died when I was young so I was dragged up by my mum who made me read Kate Millett, Germaine Greer et al. She also taught me to open doors and walk on the outside to protect against puddle splashes.The two are not mutually exclusive.
The new partner and I have discussed equality and are both aware that Men and Women are not equal but have different skills and strengths.
What got me past the second date was opening doors walking on the outside etc. oh and not pouncing.
It hasn't demeaned either of us.
Respect is probably the keyword rather than Equality.

Length apparently I don't need to apoligise (Just to prove I am a bloke)
(johnners hitting things with hammers until they work, Thu 31 Dec 2009, 20:42, 2 replies)

ummm.... yeah
This reminds me of one of the arguments for universal human rights. The rights derive from our humanity, and in our humanity we are all equal: none can claim to be more human than another.
In that sense, I would say that men and women are equal. Obviously this does not mean that women and men are the same (equivalent).

The only other thing is, that on virtually all measures where there is a gender difference, there is more variance within the sexes than between them. To illustrate with one of the more extreme examples, men are on average taller than women, however there is significant overlap. The difference between the tallest and shortest men (or women) is much larger than the difference between the average height of men and the average height of women. Outside of basic axiomatic biology, all gender differences follow this pattern.

Take home message: try to treat people as individuals and learn who they are. :)
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Fri 1 Jan 2010, 10:43, closed)

F**k me, good thing I am male otherwise I wouldn't have understood that:)
The take home message is spot on though.
(johnners hitting things with hammers until they work, Sun 3 Jan 2010, 15:46, closed)