Why do we always throw the baby out with the bathwater? I am all for gender equality in society and the workplace. And, no, I don't want my husband to own me like a piece of property. But, in changing some things for the better, have we made some things worse?

Where did the men go? And, my guess is the men are wondering where all the ladies are?



Who doesn't want this and why can't we have it back?

I don't think we have made anything worse by wanting equality. I think its in how men percieve it. If they see it as a bad thing; then it will be; however if they are strong and confident then they will see the good in equality for women. Personally; I would rather cut my wrists than to go back to the way men used to treat women.

I have always been in favour of gender equality.

You are but one of the few. I just don't think gender equalilty should affect how a relationship develops. Why can't there be equal respect in a relationship? Why does one have to dominate the other? I always thought it quite childish to think that way. JMO

IMO, it's because boys learn to be men from their mothers or other boys, rather than their fathers. Men are becoming softer and more emotional. Don't get me wrong, mother's are absolutely wonderful creatures, they just remove the natural edge and hardness from their boys.

So, do you suppose if a girl is raised strictly by her father that she might be less feminine and harder as a person? Just wondering what you views on that would be.

I guess I didn't communicate my thoughts clearly, but you obviously understood me.

I have been thinking about this for a while now and I think you are absolutely right.

Yes, absolutely. I think both parents provide a very important function in raising a child.

It's okay, there are actually a number of websites and programs dedicated to making man-boys into men. With any luck, your daughters (and mine) will find men who are loving, supportive and manly.

In the mean time, I will keep offering suggestions to men that they read "No More Mr Nice Guy" or frequent The Art of Manliness.

I do agree that both parents do provide an important function in raising a child but I was raised by both my parents and I don't think I was a well-rounded individual because of it. Mind you; I didnt' have very good role models with either of my parents. I did ofte wonder if my life would have turned out better had my mom divorced my dad as he was quite abusive and treated women like dirt.

Power struggles will always exist in relationships, as the will to power is a fundamental driving force in the human psyche. What I see wrong with modern couples is not an issue with either gender specifically, but rather a mutually self-degrading dynamic driven by the commercial age - voluntary exploitation of 'self' as a product. In the aftermath of the civil rights movements, on all fronts, through 70's and 80's excess, and the rise of IT and consumer-driven advancements like google, amazon, Facebook and the like - we fought for equality and purpose and individuality, only to find out decades later that we as human beings are only cogs in the money machine called democratic capitalism. Now, it makes no difference what race or gender you are: we are all equally irrelevant and voiceless because we got what we wanted - a million channels and web pages and smart phones and drive-through windows and video games and hair products, and designer jeans and re- hashed dead social memes and everyone saying the same things, about the same things, at the same time, everywhere. We are simply the host bodies for memes- the mules of the information overload age. Gender dispute? I think it goes a little deeper than that.

I think you would have. I think a parent with an overly strong (and negative) personality is absolutely worse than the absence of that parent. Both parents are best, when they love one another and raise their children with love, but there are cases when a single parent is better.

I'm glad there are men who see the problem.

I was the primary caregiver to my son until he was 11. He saw his dad frequently but it was mainly me. When he turned 11 his dad wanted him to come live with him. I cried for days at the thought of only seeing my son every other weekend but I knew it was for the best. His father is a good man and has done an awesome job raising him through the teen years. I would have been way to soft on him to his detriment.

I do worry about the men who will be out there for my daughters. Thanks for the links. I'm going to check them out.

Who says we don't or can't have that today?

I can understand where you are coming from. I was physically and sexually abused by my father and my mother just left. As a 44 year old woman I now understand how all that affected me and I can make better choices for myself than I did when I was younger. Better late than never.

I certainly don't want that. I can't see me putting my face in someone else's face.

Thank you so much!

How can boys learn to be men from their mothers.?