SOP conversation

[MH1]

57. Sure, let me put it another way.

If a lesbian is mistreated or subject to unequal treatment because she is gay, then that is an issue for GLBT, I think. (Not being an active member of that group, I'm not sure how they're broken out, and I'm also afraid I might not use the right terms to express my meaning. But I'll try.). If she is subject to unequal treatment in the gay community because she is a woman, again, I would see that as an issue for GLBT, or maybe a separate group. If she is subject to unequal treatment in overall society - hiring , education, walking down the street - because she is recognized as a woman and therefore (to the person treating her this way) as less than or 'different' than a man - THAT belongs in this group.

To your question

Do you also believe a poster shouldn't bring up issues because she's a black woman or a poor woman or a disabled woman?

- not at all! But maybe the wording is tripping me. To me it is irrelevant whether a poster is a minority, gay, different in some other way, or even a man rather than a woman - if the ISSUE being discussed is about women's rights as relative to men's rights.

If an issue arises primarily because of someone's minority status, I would think that would belong in Race & Ethnicity. If it arises primarily because she's a woman, and is perhaps exacerbated by her minority status, that certainly would belong here, including the ways that the general inequity to women is magnified by other factors such as race or ethnicity.

If this all sounds maybe too specific and even pedantic: I saw a post upthread by niyad that helps explain why I recommend these lines be drawn. Her post was basically "all issues are women's issues". I agree with that!!! So what would be the point of having a separate forum for "women's rights and issues" if it's about EVERYTHING that affects women in any way? So I think the emphasis on RIGHTS is key, to differentiate this forum and keep it focused on a coherent set of topics. By RIGHTS we are talking about cultural and legal barriers to living a full life, or in other words, the ways women are put down and held back from achieving their aspirations due to being born female.

Does that answer your question?

(oh and to excerpt a post: copy and paste the piece you want into your post. Then highlight the pasted bit in your post, then click the "excerpt" button. The "excerpt" button is located in the row of buttons between the post title and the message text area of the post you're writing. Hope that helps!)