OBKB

From the pen of Robert G. Ingersoll [1833—1899]
“To me, the tenderest word in our language, the most pathetic fact within our knowledge, is maternity. Around this sacred word cluster the joys and sorrows, the agonies and ecstasies, of the human race. The mother walks in the shadow of death that she may give another life. Upon the altar of love she puts her own life in pawn. When the world is civilized, no wife will become a mother against her will. Man will then know that to enslave another is to imprison himself “.

Mr. Ingersoll’s writing prompts me to seek insight into the mystique of woman. I started this quest with Merlin Stone’s “When God Was A Woman”. Now I am asking for community help. My mission is to provide our Daughters and Granddaughters with armor against the dumbing down of the incarnate power of woman.

Elvithriel

Does this post offend anyone else?

Ab_Normal

While I do not want my daughter to be denigrated by society because of her gender, neither do I want her to be exalted for the same reason. I believe people have a inherent value that is independent of gender or their choice or ability to bear children.

Priapus

You can of course believe as you want, the problem is that equality is objectively utter nonsense. No two individuals in a population are "equals" in any real sense of the word. If however, you're simply making the case for equal protection under the law and equal oppurtunity to pursue careers then I would have to pledge my support as well, but if you think male and female are equal then I definately have to disagree. A female is always more valuable than a male; 90% of the men in the world could die and we would be totally unaffected in one generation.

What do you think religion is all about anyway? It always brings a smile to my face to see someone who practices the mystic religion of political correctness try and sweep away the underlying intentions of gender assymetry (read misogyny) in all religions.

What causes misogyny if sexes are truely equal? Yes its a true dilemma, isn't it?

Females have the real power but thankfully women are far too stupid to understand that.

ipa68

Does this quote offend anyone else?

Ab_Normal

*looks at my own post and doesn't see the word "equality" in there at all...*

Luiseach

Nonsense.

Priapus

Sorry if I misrepresented what you were saying but when I saw the quote I listed in my earlier post I assumed you must be implying that the 'inherent value' of a person is equal to the 'inherent value' of another person, so I then made the jump to disagree with that position. If however, this is not what you meant, then what relevance did your post have?

Could you please clue me in on to why my statement was "nonsense". I must be missing something but it seems to me that in every sexually bimorphic species males compete for access to females much more aggressively than females compete with each other. It all seems to make quite a bit of sense to me in the light of the economics of reproduction, in fact I can't imagine it workng any different between sperm and egg producers (though I guess the seahorse is an exception). I mean c'mon, what I'm saying isn't that radical at all, I just said it directly and honestly. Why do rabbits fight often until one bites another's testicles off, why do peacocks have such bright plumage, why do frogs croak as loud as they can in the night? These are risk taking behaviors that the female of the species doesn't take part in, why not? Here's a better one though, what is the real motivation for having a detatched male ego in the clouds doling out rewards/punishments (and of course reversing the creative process by taking a woman from the man's body)? Its total bullshit but its BRILLIANT!

daria

I'm not entirely sure how to take that quote. My kneejerk reaction is annoyance at the exaltation of motherhood (which happens often, as I am childfree by choice and am often told how I am/will be an incomplete woman for said choice). Once I hit the last two sentences, I feel a little better though. What I cannot figure out is where they came from. Maybe I'm lacking imagination from sitting in Disbursing class for too long, but how does he go from the first part of the quote to the second? I can't fill it in.

As for providing daughters and granddaughters with armor against the dumbing down of the incarnate power of woman, I am inclined to agree with Ab_Normal's post.
I realize how the ability to bear children is looked at as power (though I don't necessarily see it as valuable--personal preference), but is it really in any danger of being dumbed down? Maybe I'm looking at it from a particular slant that's preventing me from seeing what OBKB is getting at... I don't think any women are in danger of forgetting or being tricked out of knowing what their ability to bear offspring means in the big picture.
I certainly will not forget it--maybe moreso than a woman who may have children--because so many other people won't let me.

HelenM

Because, contrary to what you said, females are not stupid!

Helen