General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]werknotgoin2takeit
(172 posts)Regarding your sisters curfew or your ability to work late without worry several more things.
If you have never felt afraid to go any where alone at night (a concert, a bar, the movies) you benefit from it.
If you never turn on all the lights or jump at any unfamiliar sound when home alone,
you benefit.
If you were never admonished to always use the buddy system or never leave your drink unattended you benefit.
If you felt free to apply or take jobs in certain fields without worrying about assault, discrimination, or harrasment, you benefit.
It's really not that hard of a concept to grasp. These are things that I who have lived with this sort of subtle fear my whole life am only now starting to grasp. It's not any individual mans fault but it is inherent in our culture just the same. Being a man gives you a degree of freedom I've never had. Being a woman makes mundane activities frightening and does dictate the choices I may make. When I graduated from college I was approached by a military recruiter. I decided to go in for testing and was a very high percentile. The recruiter said I would have been perfect for their language program and been trained to be a translator. I decided not to because I was afraid, not of war, this was one of the few times we were not fighting somewhere. It was fear of being seperated from my family and being at the mercy of so many men who could tell me what to do. Men don't have that worry, they feel free to take the opportunities that come their way and mostly it works out. Honestly, the degree of obtuseness of some on this thread is stunning and is yet another example of what is being discussed.