Articles

Dear Dr. Betty,

The concept of women always having their own way is not equality. Women have breasts and vaginas. Men have penises.

This fundamental inequality can not be balanced but in all other contexts, for women to have equality to men, men must have the same equality to women.

Women can "do things for themselves" but to overcome the imbalances, women and men should try to understand the world from each others and their own point of view.

I can't see how you can ever solve the differences that women experience without doing exactly the same for men. As a radical thinker, I'm surprised and disappointed at what seems to be your one sided outlook.

The word feminism, in itself, suggests: we're only interested in women! While this is the case, the problem of inequality will only be exacerbated.

R

Dear R, For clarity I looked up the word "emasculism" and the urban dictionary said it's "a kind of feminism that mostly focuses on diminishing men--in contrast to elevating women--as a way to attain equality amongst the sexes."

Only recently I've been saying "Women are the First Sex. We have more genetic material, our brains work better, we are more verbal, in touch with our emotions and with a sexual capacity for pleasure that allows us to enjoy endless orgasms. Women also give birth fulfilling Mother Nature's plan to further the human race." True statements meant to bolster women's self-esteem.

When I thought about how men "took over" I agree with Leonard Schlain who wrote "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess." He was into left and right brain hemispheres as a physicist/physician. Once we left pictures and embraced the alphabet, the printing press reproduced endless Bibles spreading the gospel that was negative PR for women. We were told the man of the house had the final say in all things and Patriarchal rule continues to this day.

There are a few cracks appearing that allow women to become a small part of the political decision making process. However, we are a long way off from equal representation. Finally the USA will have our first woman president hopefully this year in 2016.

So in spreading my feminist gospel of equality for women, it's only natural for me to emphasize women's strengths. I'm using PR to bolster women's self-esteem. Since men have had the advantage of 2000 years of religious doctrines that state men's superiority over "the weaker sex" I happily point out women's strengths. My approach to sexual liberation has always included men, the other half of the human equation.

Betty Dodson