How did the war on women get started?

[MountainLaurel]

My husband and I have been chatting about recent events at the religious institution where I work (Yeah, I know. I only applied for the job because it's only a mile from our place. In the DC area, a commute like that is worth gold.) Among other things, the unofficial pro-choice group had its banner ripped down in the "free speech zone," and the women's center Web site was forced to remove links to health resources that happen to provide abortions. In this discussion, DH asked:

Damn, what the hell did women do to deserve having war declared on them?

I talked about how the patriarchy developed in the Middle East and how a patrilineal society required that women's sexuality be strictly controlled. I also gave some reading recommendations (I'm a librarian; that's the way of my people). But he wondered "You really think this war on women is seriously connected to ancient religious beliefs and the competition between them?" He is thinking more about the current situation, and the fundamentalists' militant backlash against secularism.

So, I thought I'd ask the experts here to get some other opinions. I'll direct DH to this thread (he's a DUer).

Thanks!

[bloom]

1. "ancient religious beliefs"

I think religion and religious power has been used to keep "women in their place."

I started reading a book on feminism and religion yesterday. It's interesting to think of Jesus as being feminist friendly - (against domination and hierarchies including those that kept "women in their place") - but that that part of the message was lost by the people who turned the events (if any of the events are true) into a religious hierarchy - just look at the Catholic Church and it's hierarchy and how women are kept out of power and influence.

So - I don't think it's necessarily the religion per se. And some religious ideas can be gender neutral - like the actual spiritual aspects - but the religions get flooded with power and control concepts. I think it's similar to secular laws. It's someone's idea of how to control people. And men are writing the rules. So they write what favors them. Religions and laws are often quite intertwined - esp. Christianity, Judaism, Islam.


Iraq was known to have been getting quite progressive in the way women were a part of professional life. So it does seem like one way of having a "War on Women" - to bring back the religious laws and power structures.

[mzteris]

11. before "Jesus' " time

The earliest "mysticism" centered around women. WOMEN created life - not men. WOMEN could bleed every month and not die. WOMEN made things grow. Men just killed things.

Agricultural-based communities had goddesses. It wasn't about who was strongest but about who could bring life - like crops and babies. It was about harmony. Life was good when things went well. Good crops. Healthy babies. No fighting. Everyone working together.

The "hunter/herder" tribes were warlike. To them the guy who was the strongest - and the most ruthless - was "in charge". Life was "good" when you won the battle. When you could defeat your opponent. When you could beat the crap out of the other guy. When you could take the other guys land/herd/women. So they had to have a god who was blood thirsty and strong. (Man has always created gods in their own image, doncha know.)

[lukasahero]

2. "Chalice and the Blade"

really gets into where/how/why the war on women began. It discusses religion, pre-history, and the continuation of the war. I highly recommend it.

As far as the current situation is concerned, there's so much to consider. I'll try to give it some thought and respond again.

[cally]

3. I don't know if you've read "Backlash"

but it discusses how the current war on women came about. It's a great book but hard to take.

[MountainLaurel]

7. I made it a few chapters in

But I felt to despondent that I felt like I couldn't continue at that point in time. Then, when I moved, I think I donated the book to the public library in my shelf weeding.

[NMMNG]

4. For many centuries women "knew their place".

Then all of the sudden women got uppity and began demanding "rights" and "equality". Not too long after the War On Women began.

[tnlefty]

10. This is the one that I'd really like an answer for or to try to figure out

Women my mother's age (65+) who were gung ho for women's rights, but who don't seem to think too much about crapping in women's faces for the past decade or so. I know women around my age (40-50) who seem to think that disparity in pay is fine, who brag about the fact that their husbands didn't ever change a diaper (like that's something to brag about) and it just goes on and one.

So why are so many women actively participating in this war on women?

[noamnety]

5. Andrea Dworkin writes about the more recent war on women

and how we won, then lost, the support of the 60's counterculture men. http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/RightWingWomenAbortion.html

Not exactly what you're asking for, but it was an interesting read.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. One theory is that suppression of women began when men

figured out the connection between sex and babies.

They wanted to make sure that any babies born to their preferred woman were from their seed only, so they put all sorts of restrictions in place.

[Warpy]

8. That's the one

Read a bible some time, beginning to end, and you'll see it. That's what all those "begats" were about, men finally figuring out the connection and going back in time to write down who the poppa and grandpoppa were.

Once they figured out there was a connection, being men they decided they were responsible for all the important parts of it and that spooge contained the seeds of tiny, perfect, male human beings, the way a bean will reveal what looks like a tiny, perfect plant when you split it open. That's why masturbation became such a horrible sin and why female human beings were reduced to the status of animated flowerpot. Since you didn't want anybody else seeding your flowerpot, all sorts of restrictions on womens' behaviour came into play, backed by religious bullshit.

The hilarious part is how they blamed the birth of girl children on women, too, saying that the woman must've been sick or practicing witchcraft and the soil in the flowerpot poisoned that perfect little male and made his dick drop off.

And that, folks, is the war against women in a nutshell.

[noamnety]

9. oh dear

staring out at my wildflower meadow in dismay

[raccoon]

12. So, can you give us your reading recommendations? nt