the sexual revolution, the liberation of women and the confusion that a couple goes through as they question and reject the traditional male/female roles.
Here is some of what Bernie wrote.
. . . .
Women, for their own preservation, are trying to pull themselves together. And it's necessary for all of humanity that they do so. Slavishness on one hand breeds pigness on the other hand. Pigness on one hand breeds slavishness on the other. Men and women — both are losers. Women adapt themselves to fill the needs of men, and men adapt themselves to fill the needs of women. In the beginning there were strong men who killed the animals and brought home the food — and the dependent women who cooked it. No More! Only the roles remain — waiting to be shaken off. There are no "human" oppressors. Oppressors have lost their humanity. On one hand "slavishness," on the other hand "pigness." Six of one, half dozen of the other. Who wins?
Many women seem to be walking a tightrope now. Their qualities of love, openness, and gentleness were too deeply enmeshed with qualities of dependency, subservience, and masochism. How do you love — without being dependent? How do you be gentle — without being subservient? How do you maintain a relationship without giving up your identity and without getting strung out? How do you reach out and give your heart to your lover, but maintain the soul which is you?
And Men. Men are in pain too. They are thinking, wondering. What is it they want from a woman? Are they at fault? Are they perpetrating this man-woman situation? Are they oppressors?
And she said, "You wanted me not as a woman, or a lover, or a friend, but as a submissive woman, or submissive friend, or submissive lover; and right now where my head is I balk at even the slightest suspicion of that kind of demand."
. . . .
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/28/8682503/bernie-sanders-rape-fantasy
Why are women paid less than men for the same work? Why is it mostly women who take time off from work to care for the children and then end up hustling to try to get a job after the children are grown? Why do female seniors have so much less money than male seniors in America in general? Why do we have so much divorce? Why do women and men still have so much trouble dealing with the old-fashioned gender roles?
Bernie showed in this article that he understood the importance of women's liberation and also the tremendous resistance to it on all sides.
IF you just look at the copy of the original reproduced in VOX, you need to use a magnifying glass. Bernie is a person who asks difficult questions. He is not a conformist. He is a wonderful, human, loving person. I'm proud, as a woman, to be a Bernie supporter. Thanks for linking to this article.
From one who lived through the 70s as an already (and still) married woman, who attended women's liberation meetings in that time. I like the article. It reflects the issues that men and women were dealing with then and are still dealing with now.
Pornography is even more popular now than it was then, and maybe more violent. I don't know if it is more violent because I'm not interested in it. The magazines are everywhere and the ads on the internet are ubiquitous. Bernie brings a sane view to the issue in my opinion.
I have to add that I have grown daughters and nieces. These issues of sexual roles are still very difficult today. Career or family? Equal partners or submissive woman? The issues Bernie dealt with in that article are very much on our minds in this primary.
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