So, I had what started out as a discussion with a female acquaintance about pregnancy and reproductive rights. Of course, being brought up in our gynocentric, “You Go, Girl!” society, she tried to tell me that men have all of the reproductive freedom and that women were the victims of men and their government and laws. She tried to justify this by saying that anti-abortion laws further restricted a woman’s reproductive freedom. I then proceeded to set her straight, and the banshee wails followed. Below is what I told her:
“As a man, your reproductive freedom is already severely limited. I know this may anger women who do not want to acknowledge the truth, but here goes anyways.
Men and women are not “equally responsible” for a pregnancy. Other than the consent to actually have sex there is no equal responsiblilty.
Women have what? 12 means of birth control (not counting surgery) to prevent pregnancies. Men have one, a condom, which is the least effective of all methods. Trying to say that the responsibility is equal, once sex has been had, is like saying that if a man and a woman are both driving a car, they are equally responsible for having an accident, even if the man has one method (the least effective method) to stop the car and the woman has 12 ways to stop it. Sorry, but not equal culpability.
Also, No pregnancy goes to fruition, leading to a birth, without the consent of a woman. If I were to get a woman pregnant and she wanted to keep the child but I didn’t, she could FORCE me to be a parent and pay child support. Conversely, If I wanted to keep the child, but she didn’t, there is no way that I can FORCE her to carry the child to term and give birth. Yet somehow we are to believe that men have complete reproductive freedom and women don’t? Sorry, not buying it.
And before anyone says, “well, the man can just walk away”, I will address that. Can he just walk away? The states are pretty adept at collecting child support and will garnish wages or jail a man who does not pay. This rarely happens to women, even in the unlikely event she is court ordered to pay support.
This does not mention several other anti-male reproductive policies or laws. Such as, in many states if the wife becomes pregnant during marriage, the husband is presumed to be the father, even if a DNA test proves otherwise. This law exists in AZ, where I live. Many other states have this policy on the books as well.
So, I do not buy into the conventional wisdom that women are victims and men have all of the advantages when the truth is exactly the opposite.”
Once I said all of that, the wailing began. I just hung up on her, as I did not think it was possible to be less interested in hearing her hysterical ramblings on the subject.
I will give her credit though, after a few days went by, she called me back from a different number (one that I hadn’t thought to block). She said, “No one has ever laid things out like that to me before. I had never heard that side of it, and at the very least I have to acknowledge that while I did not like hearing what you said, there is a lot of credence to it.”
To me, while I can give her credit for at least owning up to that part. I have to wonder just how sheltered are these women that self-evident truths like this are an epiphany to them?
IdiomaticMan 12 seconds ago.
