I wonder how the world will change as we put more effort into the education and empowerment of ladies young and old. I'm reading a book about ending poverty, and it gives a few suggestions for organizations to support that pay for school specifically for girls in poor countries. Will all this attention to girls create that much change, or should we not also put equal effort into teaching boys and men to respect the authority and personhoood of ladies?
We can teach girls all the sexual safety tips in the book, but what will change unless boys are taught that it's ok to wait and it's not ok to pressure or use violence against a partner?
We can teach ladies that if he's "just not that into you," then he's not worth it, but will we still end up settling if no one teaches men to care enough to call?
We can teach ladies how to balance work and motherhood, but how much more would it mean in a mother's life if boys were taught what's expected of them as a mate and father?
Will this happen automatically? As girls and ladies become stronger as a species, will boys and men be forced to acknowledge their power or will they try to undermine it? Will they sit around wondering what happened to the dominion they expected?
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I don't know... I'm kind of divided. I see what you're saying. But, I just don't think there's any way to teach men around the world to respect women _other_ than getting women to respect _themselves first_... as far as I'm concerned, the rest will come on its own.
Men, in my view, are fundamentally good-natured, but women will have to learn not to rely on men if we are going to change their attitudes. (And by "not rely on men," I don't mean not to rely on _individual_ men in your life... I mean that nothing will come if we just sit around waiting for men to respect us. I know that's not what you're saying, but it comes dangerously close.)
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