Why Do Men Oppress Women?

[TashaN]

we have sharp nails and know exactly how and where to grab, twist, and pull.

Classic self-defense - know where your opponents' weaknesses are.

:cover: :faint:

 

[Sikh]

Because men know that women need protection while pregnant. Exploitation arises from dependence.

 

[Revoltingest]

I've learned that in spite of males trying to puff up your chests, yelling "unga bunga", and trying to scare us into submission, we have sharp nails and know exactly how and where to grab, twist, and pull.

I feel so fortunate to live in a country & age wherein women may oppress others too.
The responsibility no longer falls on my shoulders. To all women folk, I thank you.

Perhaps a remake of Conan The Barbarian might differently answer to the question, "What is best in life?"....
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, & hear the lamentation of their men!"

 

[angrymoose]

Why do men so often oppress women? Is there one main reason, or many reasons? Is the main reason to control women's reproductive choices for the benefit of men, or are there other equally important reasons? What do you think?

Loaded question full of many assumptions. How have your reproductive choices been "impacted by men"? As for controlling reproductive choices? What are you refering to? Abortion? Last time I checked, there were LOTS of women protesting this. Religion with "family values" in that context, isn't a "men" vs "women" thing, as much as its a "your killing a baby" vs "its only a fetus" kind of thing.

The idea that people should not have sex when they don't want kids is not male only either.

Same reason women oppress men, because they can.

Your question is a many sided one. You have to start by considering the posibility that the unfairness of gender in our evolving society is multi sided.

 

[dressale]

I think that men oppressing women was not always a part of Human history in many parts of the world. Both the Minoan civilization of Crete and the early Vedic Civilization of India are both examples of cultures that worked of the partnership model were the place of women were respected in society. There is also evidence of the partnership cultural model was common in neolithic cultures. The raise of the more violent Domination model of human culture ( Dominator culture is a system of top-down rankings ultimately backed up by force. One of the components of this system is the subordination of women ) became more prevalent do to their conquest of the more peaceful partnership cultures. A great example of this is the conquest of the Minoans by the Greek Mycenaeans. Some believe that many Neolithic cultures were also partnership based. It is a fact that many native American cultures were partnership based.

 

[dressale]

• Over the last twenty years, increases in women’s accumulated labor market experience and their movement into higher-paying occupations have played a major role in increasing women’s wages relative to men’s. Changes in family status, in industry structure and in unionization also worked to narrow the gender pay gap, while increasing economic benefits from skills and increasing wage inequality would have, by themselves, widened the pay gap. In addition, the decrease in the pay gap that remains "unexplained" after controlling for measured differences between men and women has been a large contributor to the narrowing of the pay gap.

 

[Twiglet04]

I think the main reason is that, purely out of anatomical necessity, the mother has always had to stay at home with any young children and the father becomes the man breadwinner upon which the woman is reliant. Psychologically, this makes him superior to her.


Also, it's because we're better, we can, and we should.

 

[Penumbra]

I think the main reason is that, purely out of anatomical necessity, the mother has always had to stay at home with any young children and the father becomes the man breadwinner upon which the woman is reliant. Psychologically, this makes him superior to her.

Are you saying that this truly makes him psychologically superior to her, or that in his mind, he believes he is psychologically superior to her?

Also, it's because we're better, we can, and we should.

Are you being serious or sarcastic?

 

[Mathematician]

I think men and women are "oppressive" towards one another in their separate ways.

Men certainly have less authority in family court, for example.

 

[Mathematician]

I believe it is because women hold the power over creation itself.

The roots of our patriarchal societies depended upon a male to male lineage.
Men cannot with any certainty know if their offspring are truly theirs so they attempt to control this situation through domination and oppression of the gender that truly holds the power to know and understand.

Jerry Springer teaches us even women oftentimes don't know who the kid belongs to. [Tongue-in-cheek]

There seems to be a lot more misandry present in this thread than misogyny. It's kind of a sad metaphor for what the feminist movement has become. I too think a better question to pose is why people who feel they're superior have to subject others to their whims.