[continued from previous message]

One ongoing problem has been dischordance between what is advocated by leaders of feminism and what most women want. The bulk of women do not want to go without male partners, or to be denied the benefits of beauty and romance, or to be childless, or to
be nasty mean-spirited harpies, or to live a grim workaholic existence without anyone to appreciate them. They want to be women; they want to have fruitful relationships with men. Some want to have careers; some want to be stay-at-home
parents; some want
both. In this matter the question to ask is, What is it that constitutes progress toward greater well-being for women? And is it the same as the directions espoused by the leaders of feminism?

The verdict here also appears to be mixed. Most women do not want to live as women did in the Middle Ages; but neither do they want to live the way that Andrea Dworkin and Catherine McKinnon want women to live. Many want a more wholesome, holistic
existence in which they can have a fulfilling home life and a fulfilling work life; some want either one or the other. If there is such a thing as social progress, it is therefore not the same as what Marxist feminists believe social
progress to be.
Rather it is a progression toward a point at which more women have a chance at an existence they find fulfilling, and in which they have greater choice as to what kind of lifestyle they can have.

What is the reality of the situation? Same as above. Men and women are both beings of nature and beings of intellectual and volitional consciousness. They possess a physical, emotional aspect that is of nature and that is and will always be gendered; and
they possess an intellectual and volitional nature in which men and women are the same. Many leaders of feminism, operating from the position of the intellectual and volitional nature, have denied women the right to their physical, emotional nature, and
in so doing have alienated many women, severely sabotaging the cause of women's
empowerment and women's rights.

What, then, is social progress? If there is such a thing as a social progress, it can be summarized in one word: Choice. By this I mean choice over one's lifestyle and over one's self. Choice - meaningful, real choice - is the essence of freedom. The
more meaningful choices that people have, the greater the freedom, the more advanced the society.

I mean therefore more people having a chance at a life that they would want. In
matters of man-woman relationships, it means creating better relationships that
work both for the women and for the men according to facts of male and female physical and
emotional nature. And in matters of business, science, politics, and all other endeavors involving intellectual and volitional nature, it means women attaining complete equality with men.
This, once again, is based upon a calculus that the human being contains aspects that are congruent with nature and aspects that are uniquely human. In matters concerning aspects that are uniquely human, is applicable the rational and progressive logic
of full equality. In matters that are natural and gendered, is applicable the logic congruent with that gendered nature: The logic of men and women coming together in fruitful relationships to fulfil their gendered nature and to produce and sustain new
life.
Once again, optimization is achieved through understanding the nature of the matter. A human being, possessing both the natural aspect and the intellectual-volitional aspect, will benefit from both being honored and applied where such are appropriate.
This is as much the case for the natural, physical aspect as it is for the non-gendered intellectual-volitional aspect.

Errors of feminism - such as their referring to mothers as "breeders" and their
attacks on romance, beauty and sexuality - have done much to hold back real social progress. Without mothers, they would not be alive; as for romance, beauty and sexuality,
these are some of life's greatest joys, both for women and for men. Such blundering misdirections of feminism have been a vast drain on the cause of women's rights and do not belong as part of any agenda that dares to call itself progressive. Whereas
confronting the real wrong facing women - domestic violence - is a burning matter that requires urgent attention of anyone who cares about the world in which we live.

Will there be women who will want nothing to do with men and relationships? Of course there will be such women; and they deserve to have as much the right to their choices as does anyone else. If these women genuinely want to improve the
lot of women,
the best thing they can do is help other women stand up to abuses of power that
many men like to inflict on their partners, instead of attacking women for wanting to be loved or for wanting to be beautiful or for wanting fulfilling relationships with men.
With a class of butch women who have the strength to stand up to bullies, there will be defenders of women against abusive partners; and standing up to these bullies, not attacking women for wanting love or romance or children, actually has a chance of
genuinely improving the lot of women on Earth.

A progression toward greater choice, greater freedom and more dignified and empowered existence does not come naturally. It takes place for as long as people push it along. As soon as people stop doing that, such a progression stops and is met with a
reaction. This is in no way a natural or unavoidable outcome and takes place only for as long as people work determinedly toward that end.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)