Re: [Fwd: Re: International Women's Day]

[Katha Pollitt <kpollitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Margaret -- Far from "culling" their male offspring, women at numerous
times and places, including much of the world today, have cooperated in
the murder and/or neglect unto death  of their female children. As I'm
sure you know.I think the model must be wrong that you're thinkng about
this issue through: IF women could sit down together and decide what
they needed to have good happy decent violence-free lives they MIGHT
decide to diminish the numbers of the male sex collectively.  but they
never do get to sit down together and reinvent social relations from
scratch.
  There's an Israeli movie I'd like to refcommend to you all that fits
in with this thread--Kadosh (forget director's name).  It's about two
young women in an ultra-orthodox sect in jerusalem and the ghastly
effects of fanatical religion on their lives. they live completely cut
off from the modern world --no tv or radio or secular culture, even
going to a gynecologist is suspect-- and under the thumb of men, who are
under the thumb of the rabbi. the women are expected to be utterly
subservient -- to run the house, and also work to support their husbands
(who spend their lives studying the torah), have lots of babies, and
shut up. The men contribute exactly nothing to the household
economically or otherwise -- but they have all the social power anyway.
If the women walked away, the men would really be in trouble! They're
total drones. But to leave (as the movie makes clear) is immensely
difficult for both men and women -- you lose your whole world.

Katha