“And even when she and other women made an appearance, she felt diminished by the words used to describe her: She was thirty years old and still got referred to as a girl. She was a strong, capable (and, yes, lovely) woman, but she got called “chick” as if she were a fluffy little plaything. One day Leah read about an interesting study. Researchers asked some corporate hiring types how much salary they would pay a certain woman. Half of them were given a description of a thirty-five-year-old woman’s training and capabilities. The other half were given the exact same description except, this time, she was referred to as a girl, not a woman. How much did they think she was worth? The hiring types who were hiring the “woman” said she was worth $10,000 more per year than the ones hiring the “girl.” Leah read this and realized that language really mattered.”

—

Michael Kimmel and Michael Kaufman

I can’t find the study in question but I just remembered it was mentioned here

Michael Kaufman: Five Reasons Why Men Should Control Women’s Reproduction.

There are concerted efforts by the extremists who now run the Republican Party to push through draconian laws in the United States that not only make abortions unavailable under any circumstances but put huge barriers to women obtaining safe and effective forms of contraception.

In recent days, both the Republican presidential primaries, hearings in the US Congress, and programs on Fox “News” have featured a parade of men stepping up to the microphone to tell women how to run their bodies.

There are those who wonder why men should be in charge of organizing women’s reproductive doings. But there are at least five strong reasons why this should be so:

1.) Father knows best. Enough said.

2) It’s tradition (and Lord knows, we don’t have enough good old traditions anymore.) Take the Pope. The Pope has long told half-a-billion Catholic women that having abortions or using birth control is a mortal sin. Now, it’s true that most of these women don’t listen to him (otherwise, there’d now be five billion Catholic women on the planet.) But at least the Pope tries.

3) Men really really really want to have control over life and death. Come on, cut some slack here, girls. It’s always been tough on guys. I mean, you females pull off the ultimate magic trick in the universe. Feminist philosopher Mary O’Brien speculated that patriarchy emerged 8,000 or so years ago as a way for men to control women’s reproduction. That’s a lot of work for guys! You know, setting up a whole system of laws, beliefs, social structures, and religions, then forcing women into submission, and then going to war to conquer other groups of men. Shouldn’t men get a reward for all that hard work? Like controlling women for another 8,000 years?

4) Women shouldn’t have the right to control their own bodies and reproduction because they can’t be trusted to know what’s best for themselves. How do we know that? Because most women think they should have the right to choose to have an abortion if they wish and, overwhelmingly, that they should have the right to safe and effective forms of birth control. And since I, as a man, say they shouldn’t have that right, then, obviously, women don’t know what’s best for themselves…. (Google “circular argument” if this point doesn’t make sense to you.)

5) Men are so much smarter than women. (Just look at the towering figures running for the Republican presidential nomination.) Men are more rational. (Just watch the crowd at Hooters or at any sports event.) Men are closer to God. (Just ask all those Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu fundamentalist guys who kill those people they disagree with.)

Via Michael Kaufman

Lololololol

“Men should reach out and support feminist movements... because it’s the morally right thing to do.”

—Michael Kaufman

FIND OUT IF YOU'VE CAUGHT FEMINISM!

Do you believe that women should have the right to:

Vote?
Go to college?
Drive a car?
Open bank accounts in their own names?
Enjoy sex?
Work in whatever occupation they might choose, and get paid the same as men when they do the same work?

Did you answer yes?

Then you better lie down… You’ve probably caught feminism.

Check out The Guy’s Guide to Feminism by Michael Kimmel and Michael Kaufman.

Featured Reading

Hi all, I won’t be doing a full listings post this week, as I’m preparing to head back to Wisco for the holiday. BUT I wanted to mention the one reading I’d go to if I could—the NYC book launch for The Guys Guide to Feminism! It’s Tuesday evening at Bluestockings Books and sure to be a fun time. (I also think all the guys who go will be scoring major points with the ladies in attendance, so that’s perhaps something to consider…) In any case, stop by if you’re in town, or check out the book!