I would walk through fire for the women of DU, my wife, my daughter, my mother, every woman I know.

[lumberjack_jeff]

142. No, it's not anti-male, it's anti-female.

It is based on the presumption that women can't fight their own rhetorical battles and require a hero (like me!) to do it for them.

Nothing about DU is real world. It doesn't matter how much weight you can lift or how tall you can reach or what a tough guy you are.

Setting aside the question of whether that's a progressive way for a world to work in real life, none of the crises that women (and only women) face online here require men (and only men) to jump off buildings or walk through fire.

The "DU gender wars" aren't entirely or even mostly about gender, they're about ideology. It's about the definitions of words like "equality" and "respect". About half the people who hold each respective philosophical view are men. Some men think that putting "their" women on pedestals is a sign of respect, and some women are uncomfortable enough with the pedestal (despite the nice view it affords) that they step off.

I think Will's OP is an outstanding example of 18th century notions of chivalry. If your goal is reaching a state of equality, you're walking backwards.