Q4BP: Do you consider women to be oppressed? If they are, under what conditions would you claim they would no longer be oppressed?

[deleted] · 2017-09-13T06:28:04+00:00

No
They are not oppressed. Feminists complain too much.

Lolashaulke · 2017-09-13T14:27:16+00:00

This is a tough one to fully address, but I'll do my best. Societally speaking, I don't believe so. There are not any institutional barriers in place that prevented me from getting my current jobs, I'm allowed to own my own property, and have access to contraception so I'm not forced to die in pregnancy.

However, there are still a lot of people around with backwards views about what women should and shouldn't be, which can cause some problems daily. I'm sure men have equivalents to these, but that doesn't make the issues men and women face right. I grew up individually with very sexist parents, which meant that opportunities my brothers were given (regarding health, extra curriculars, and schooling), were off the table for me due to my physical sex.

Similarly, despite being in a high ranked job in my organization, I will have people simply refuse to listen to me or engage with me on things that are my responsibility. I usually have to send a male colleague to get my point across in those scenarios, which is incredibly frustrating.

So, ultimately, I think some individual, powerful people are sexist and causing problems, which can create a feeling of oppression. There is a difference. I think most problems will be solved when people with this line of thinking die out.

Butt-Factory · 2017-09-13T06:16:41+00:00

I believe they certainly were until very recently. Even a well educated woman my grandmother's age would have had an extremely difficult time finding work that would allow her to support herself independently from a husband or parent. Women like my grandmother who were stuck in violent marriages had two options : deal with it or raise your children alone and in poverty. My grandmother chose the latter. Employment and opportunity are freedoms. No one can lead their lives freely without the ability to sustain themselves and make their own choices. Feminism was absolutely vital in creating these freedoms and opportunities for women. This of course is an example of recent western oppression, we all know of more severe oppression from past eras and in other cultures.

I don't think modern western women are oppressed, but they are definitely discriminated against and targeted in certain areas in ways which men are not. I'll be convinced that we've reached a point where we don't need a social awareness of women's issues when I can walk around in shorts without being harassed and followed, for example.

andrewisgood · 2017-09-13T13:45:18+00:00

It depends. One issue I see here is the idea of "western nations". If you are American, I guess I'd consider the States to be bottom of the barrel in regards to "western nations", especially in regards to human rights. Specifically with women and access to health care, abortion, things like that (it's legal but my god will people do anything in their power to prevent abortions by indirectly causing more). So one issue with saying "western nations" is every country is different. Women in the States I believe are more oppressed then women in Canada, but compare that to Sweden, Iceland or other Scandinavian countries, and there might be things that are worse with Canada.

So with that being said, do you believe in countries that are not "western nations" that the men in those countries believe that women aren't oppressed? I guess that's one thing I'm curious about, because one thing with anti-feminist types is that stuff has been around since the concept of feminism existed, so it's not really a new idea. Even this question is probably as old as the idea of oppression.

I brought up Sweden earlier and one thing it gets lampooned as is the rape capital of Europe, but that information is a bit misleading. It has the most reported rapes and convictions. That doesn't mean that rape is more common in Sweden, just that it's dealt with more often. I could be wrong, but there doesn't seem to be the stigma against reporting rape attached to Sweden like it is in many other "western nations", Canada included. So stuff like that does need a cultural change, with how people deal with rape, how law enforcement deals with it, etc.

What I'm saying is, boy do I want to travel again and Sweden is probably a destination as I've never been there, or anywhere in Scandanavia. I know I'm getting more money but I have adult responsibilities and it makes me consider wanting to stay at work for an extra few weeks.

eliechallita · 2017-09-13T18:32:39+00:00

I don't think that they suffer from explicit oppression in most cases, but that they are dealing with many implicit biases that work against them. These biases are often similar to those that affect non-white people in the US, such as having to justify their ability to work in certain professions as well as being made to represent their entire group.

I would like to see those biases and expectations handled, whether they are based on gender or ethnicity.

Small example: I'm a male computer engineer. I sucked pretty badly at math throughout college, and was pretty far from the top of my class, but I have never been asked if engineering was really for me, nor were my math grades treated as anything other than my personal shortcomings.

However, I have had many female classmates or colleagues who were constantly told that they weren't "real" engineers or that they weren't "real" women because they wanted to be engineers, that they were wasting their time because they should be focusing on having children instead, and whose shortcomings were often treated as proof that women in general were less suited to the field.

Other example: I'm also a fairly large man, and rarely get unwanted attention or aggression. A few people have tried to mug me, but beyond that I've rarely had to fear for my physical safety since coming to San Francisco. However, many of my female friends have been groped, harassed, shoved into corners or trapped in less visible spaces in loud venues like clubs or party houses by men who refused to take no for an answer, or who assumed that "no" was simply a ploy. Generally speaking, when I refuse something people tend to believe me but this doesn't seem to apply to women in many situations.

pinkgoldrose · 2017-09-13T14:21:30+00:00

For one thing, I don't think we should separate between western nations and other nations. We're all on this planet together, and we have a long common history.

pill_throwawaybrp · 2017-09-13T07:54:28+00:00

Women in third-world and Muslim-majority countries, yes.

Women in the western world, nope. They're arguably more privileged than the majority of men are (but not more privileged than rich men).

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justtypingcuz · Wed Sep 13 8:30:56 2017 UTC

No.

Women are coddled and given special treatment.

If anything, a higher level of oppression would actually lower modern women to men's level and bring us closer to that equality feminists want so much.

Princeso_Bubblegum · 2017-09-13T11:45:04+00:00

If they are, under what conditions would you claim they would no longer be oppressed?

The end of capitalism.

EliteSpartanRanger · 2017-09-13T17:24:33+00:00

Do I consider women are oppressed? No.

Do I consider that there are still a lot of gender social expectations that are unfair? yes

[deleted] · 2017-09-13T21:23:21+00:00

Oppression is a state of mind that is voluntary

VermiciousKnidzz · 2017-09-13T22:57:03+00:00

yes
women need to have equal representation by our leaders and in government and not be seen as inferior. femininity needs to stop being seen as submissive to masculinity. but im a dude, this is all speculation

[deleted] · 2017-09-14T10:10:44+00:00

Yep.

When there is equality.

Those specific scenarios and more contribute to the oppression.

fatchobanispliff · 2017-09-17T17:02:40+00:00

There is a lack of women's voices in nearly every facet of society. I also feel that we have a very sex-negative culture, in which sex is tied to power, and so women are preyed on instead of treated as equal sexual partners (porn is a good example). Corporations are run by and even all branches of our government are mostly men, so reproductive rights and women's rights in general are never top priority. So all in all, yes.

Title	Q4BP: Do you consider women to be oppressed? If they are, under what conditions would you claim they would no longer be oppressed?
Author	soccerstar77
Upvotes	2
Comments	154
Date	September 13, 2017 5:51 AM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/6zsplw/q4bp_do_you_consider_women_to_be_oppressed_if/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/q4bp-do-you-consider-women-to-be-oppressed-if-they.266085 https://theredarchive.com/post/266085

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