SOP conversation

[MH1]

55. My 2 cents. A little clarification / specificity.

Ok I don't post here very much, but I am very interested in seeing this group remain a functional, worthwhile place for discussion of the topic of women's rights. That means avoiding some of the issues that have seemed to plague *cough* other groups in DU.

For one thing, this group (in my view and preference), should be primarily about women's RIGHTS, which are under assault pretty much everywhere, and which have never, in most places and certainly not in the U.S., reached parity with the rights of men (men as in male human beings, not the allegedly generalized 'men' which arguably doesn't really include women when rights are the topic).

The U.S. never ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, remember? That matters. That it matters has been driven home full force this week with the sordid spectacles we've seen, on Capitol Hill with the hearing farce about birth control, and the VA law that a raped woman will be raped yet again by the state, or bear her rapist's child. Most here probably remember the Catholic nun who was disciplined for (if I remember the details correctly) allowing a woman who was dying with the dying fetus inside her to have an abortion, when there was nearly 0 (and doctors will never say absolutely 0) chance of the fetus surviving; both would surely die if the fetus were not aborted. But in the Catholic Church's view, A WOMAN HAS NO RIGHT TO LIFE. How stark is that?

There are tons of issues out there that affect women. Many can be tied in to a political discussion of women's rights. For example, the failure to protect women from environmental toxins that they are exposed to at a higher rate than men, or the failure of health care system to adequately differentiate appropriate treatments for women vs. men.

There's a lot of issues that might be highly contentious, where "freedom" might potentially conflict with exploitation. (Porn, anyone?)

Then there are issues of overlap with other groups. There are the rights of women as opposed to the rights of men in our patriarchal society. Then what about the issues of lesbian or trans-gendered women?

What I would hope to see from this group is an emphasis on discussion of women's rights that are relevant to any woman walking down the street. Rights that impact her ability to live her life to its fullest, but which might be threatened because she is a woman. NOT issues that might come up because she is a lesbian or transgendered woman (if those need a group, it should be a different group, imo. But those women will also suffer for the rights issues that I'm saying DO belong here.) And not things that are really not political issues, such as "why did Clairol discontinue my shade of hair color" or stuff like that. Well I hope that last example isn't too bizarre, but just trying to give an example of a non-political, non rights-based issue that probably wouldn't belong in this group.

Also, I would request that it be considered 'protected' in the sense that speech decrying the abuse of women - even if poorly stated and possibly insensitive to other cultures - should be protected. Sure, if I make a broad brush accusation in a way that unfairly tars a particular culture, call me on it and explain why I'm wrong. But I think if we are going to discuss the abuse of women, the attitudes against women that result in women being treated as property, sometimes an inartful, 'culturally insensitive' thing might slip out. But you know what? After this last week in the war on women, I'm a little less interested in being "culturally sensitive", and a lot more interested in what the f*** do we do to stop these assholes?

Well I guess that about covers it. I expect my voice to be small here because I don't post much, but thought I'd throw it out there for consideration. It's just my opinion. Overall I think this group has been doing a pretty good job, so maybe you don't need to change anything anyway.