DNA testing disempowers women?

nanomagnetic · 2010-10-29T17:19:35+00:00

Many men have, of course, ended up raising children who were not genetically their own, but really, does it matter?

Yes.

Yes it does.

Would we ever consider giving a woman a child which isn't theirs, and saying "raise it, pay for it, help make sure it eventually propagates its genes, and we don't give a fuck that it isn't yous"? I doubt it.

I'm not going to help another man's spawn succeed in the world. Period.

If my brother or best friend died, I'd raise the children, but that'd be by choice.

cynwrig · 2010-10-29T15:36:09+00:00

Who's the daddy?

Uncertainty allows mothers to select for their children the father who would be best for them.

Ah yes, the "Won't somebody think of the children - Gimmie,Gimmie!!" slight of hand.

But in making paternity conditional on a test rather than the say-so of the mother, it has removed from women a powerful instrument of choice. I’m not sure that many people are much happier for it.

Can you believe this vile little gnome? I wonder how many unhappy 'instruments of choice' the suffrage movements or anti-slavery efforts destroyed?

The subject has resurfaced lately, courtesy of a story in the Daily Mail, about a married television presenter who for years had been paying for the support of a child conceived, as he thought, as a result of his relationship with a writer. It seems that after meeting the child for the first time, he asked for a DNA test; it duly turned out that he was not, after all, the father. Poor child.

Hah. Ok, this is a troll piece. Good one.

a_true_bro · 2010-10-29T19:25:41+00:00

Reposting her article in r/feminisms (http://www.reddit.com/r/feminisms/comments/dy9et/is_paternity_testing_antifeminist/) just got me banned by "yellowmix".

you have been banned from posting to Things of interest to feminist-ish people, male, female, and more.

I may understand that they dislike criticism, but that article was written by a feminist, so it's a bit ridiculous.

2010-10-29T22:58:20+00:00

DNA testing disempowers women in the same way that justice disempowers criminals.
The same way that mental hospitals disempower the insane.
The same way that parents disempower children.

wolfsktaag · 2010-10-29T19:28:37+00:00

is this what feminism has been reduced to? crying that they can no longer deceive men into raising children that arent their own?

EvilPundit · 2010-10-29T14:33:46+00:00

This was supposed to link to an external site: http://davidthompson.typepad.com/davidthompson/2010/10/an-instrument-of-choice.html

Sorry, I'm new to reddit.

Godspiral · 2010-10-30T03:17:54+00:00

keep in mind that medical and legal institutions intentionally propagate this "empowerment" of women. It is most medical associations policy not to inform men they are not the fathers, or even to point out to the mother thaat the father she wants to claim cannot be. In canada, the courts take the view that every man who believes he is the father or has acted as a father to the child owes child support. A mother can collect child support from every man she remaries/common laws with.

This is think of the children rationale. If men don't pay, welfare might have to.

thetrollking · 2010-10-29T15:08:32+00:00

DNA tests are an anti-feminist appliance of science, a change in the balance of power between the sexes that we’ve hardly come to terms with. And that holds true even though many women have the economic potential to provide for their children themselves… In making paternity conditional on a test rather than the say-so of the mother, it has removed from women a powerful instrument of choice.

[...]

Uncertainty allows mothers to select for their children the father who would be best for them.[so women really do select men/sperm donors on genetic benefit and then choose husbands based on economic benefit]

[...]

The old situation, in which women presented men with a child, and the man either did the decent thing and offered support, or made a run for it, allowed women a certain leeway… Paternity was ambiguous and it was effectively up to the mother to name her child’s father, or not… Many men have, of course, ended up raising children who were not genetically their own, but really, does it matter?

aetheralloy · 2010-10-29T17:27:19+00:00

I read through the comments in that article, trying to find where other women were going to try to justify not letting men determine paternity.

I didn't really see any though - most of the comments were against women being able to hide paternity. Could someone point to justifications women give for hiding it? I tend to think most women will stay somewhat quiet on this issue, as it is hard to argue for the right to keep something secret when the only reason for it to be secret is to trick someone.

thetrollking · 2010-10-29T23:03:23+00:00

If women are free have children with undesirable men, then force desirable men to do the parenting/paying, it undermines the ability of desirable men to have their own children and hence to procreate.

mean0dean0 · 2010-10-29T23:25:06+00:00

If DNA disempowers women, then women should not be picky which baby they take home from the hospital. After all, it was their CHOICE, right? Plenty of babies to choose from--why should women be saddled with the responsibility to their own genetic progeny? Steal someone else's!

Hamakua · 2010-10-29T16:55:04+00:00

Source from where he is quoting?

rageingnonsense · 2010-10-31T16:58:01+00:00

The same people who believe this dribble are probably also the first people to cry "inequality!" should a man try to play the gender role card.

How is this any better than me saying something like "Only men can be soldiers because men have an instinct to fight and women are nurturers"?

Basically, you can't scream about the injustice of inequality while at the same time keeping the awesome parts of inequality to yourself. Just doesn't work that way.

2010-10-31T03:24:26+00:00

This article was also posted in the feminist forum and everyone ripped that person to shreds cause the article is a load of shit.

nanomagnetic · 2010-10-31T00:06:42+00:00

Source

Not that I expected any more from this reddit. That blog is awful. I mean McDonagh's wrong in saying that DNA testing is anti-feminist, but can we at least get her quotes in context?

pcarvious · 2010-10-30T05:32:42+00:00

A lot of states don't care about the actual paternity of the child to begin with. They care more about whether or not the person is filling the father role and is seen as a father by the child. Paternity is always messy. There is no doubt of that. However, the future of the child in an unstable household is a hell of a lot worse.

pcarvious · 2010-10-30T06:03:49+00:00

The problem I've seen is, paternity doesn't always assume that someone is the actual parent. The role is more important than the genetic donation so to speak. If someone is a poor parent they will lose the child. If someone is a good parent they support the child. Emotional connections are not solely based on paternity, as is illustrated by adoptions/family relationships. Removing a child or parent solely based on paternity is a damaging and dangerous action. It has been shown, if I can find the studies I will link them, that having consistent change in parental figures, or no role models severely cripples children's educational capacity, and therefore effects their longterm capabilities in society.

Title	DNA testing disempowers women?
Author	EvilPundit
Upvotes	35
Comments	51
Date	October 29, 2010 1:19 PM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/dy86w/dna_testing_disempowers_women/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/dna-testing-disempowers-women.1046376 https://theredarchive.com/post/1046376

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