Nonesuch:
I agree. It's a totally subjective and arbitrary observation.
I base it primarily on the numerous on-line chat rooms I've been in. I haven't as of yet had enough face-to-face contact with Canadian women to make a more detailed appraisal.
[ August 23, 2002: Message edited by: josh ]
I'm not convinced that expressing an opinion, particularly in text, has any relevancy to gender.
Well constructed arguments that adhere to reason and are delivered in a confident manner are just arguments. I get the feeling that some believe that this is a 'masculine' style.
It's not.
Or, if it is, we've got some ballsy little women here (insert music) and i'm a'gonna get me one.
josh* - i won't hold my breath, but i'd still like some ground-level observations. Interesting subject, how women from different backgrounds express opinions on socially important (which involve all of us) matters, and whether geography plays a significant part. See, i think women -generally - have a more fundamental grasp on events and trends than do men. Not being sexist, just considering different perspectives: nothing major goes down, but both kinds of prespective are needed to understand it.
*breakthough. I started a sentence, with a name, in lower case and Hell did not open to gobble me up, nor did i get sent to the vice-principal's office. See? It's just talk.
[ August 23, 2002: Message edited by: nonesuch ]
Actually, my original observation was probably stupid. See, I can call myself stupid and not get offended.
How can you ever make such a comparison without it being totally subjective and arbitrary? How many women to you need to discuss politics with in each country in order to make the comparison objective?
All I know is that on this site alone, I've encountered more bright, ballsy (take that as a complement) women than in most of my personal political encounters with American women.
[ August 23, 2002: Message edited by: josh ]
100, plus a control group of the same size.
Point taken.
quote:
I feel as though I don't know enough; that my views will easily be argued with and I'll be left without a leg to stand on; that my politics aren't as valid as those already being argued. Policies and precedents arise and my head spins; not because I can't keep up, but because I'm worried I'll not know enough to prove that what I think is worthy of public viewing.
quote:
Originally posted by penelope:
[b]Sometimes I fear that I haven't internalized any of the lessons feminism has given me. A quick and easy example: I'm terrified of posting in the political forums on these boards.I feel as though I don't know enough; that my views will easily be argued with and I'll be left without a leg to stand on; that my politics aren't as valid as those already being argued. Policies and precedents arise and my head spins; not because I can't keep up, but because I'm worried I'll not know enough to prove that what I think is worthy of public viewing.
I know through some chatting online that I'm not the only woman who feels this way. Do the rest of you? Do any of the men on here? Is this a gender thing, a confidence thing? Can the two be separated?
Is this format of political discussion inherently biased because of the general difference between men's and women's approaches to dialectic, or should the problems obviously involved with the format be left up to each individual to solve, since in the end we all decide to be outspoken or not, confident or not?
These aren't loaded questions. I very much want to know what you think.
small note: I was originally going to post this in body and soul cause I didn't think it was worthy of the politics forum. Second wave didn't leave me entirely helpless, though; the personal [i]is[/i] political. So here we are.[/b]
Wow, powerful, and says it like it is, and then people ask where are the feminist voices, here, and ti is true the men want this to be like a boys club where the little woman can just be hectored away.
