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The Perception of Normality

Since writing my recent blog post which mentioned the male chauvinism and other bigotries of some 1970's TV shows, and how present-day statistics for domestic violence demonstrate how misogyny still damages far too many lives, America has banned abortion in thirteen states.

So much for "the land of the free". America's female population is no longer free to control their own bodies.

Apparently, Justice Samuel Alito, who presided over the Wroe vs. Wade case, quoted the writings of the 17th century jurist Mathew Hale, who was known for his part in the trial of  Amy Duney and Rose Cullender, who were accused of bewitching their neighbours' children and who were subsequently killed by hanging. Quite how a dealer in such superstitious nonsense could offer relevance to a 21st century legal case is beyond me. Meanwhile, America has introduced this retrogressive and oppressive law which is really about control - the control of women by men.

Consider this: if the anti-abortion lobby were truly pro-life, then they would aim to ensure that all children would have adequate medical care from birth to adulthood, adequate housing and food, and adequate education with the option of working towards higher education and therefore, in theory at least, towards a decent standard of living.  But this would require money, not just self-righteous hot air.

In her 1949 book, The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir wrote "It must be added that the men who most respect embryonic life are the same ones who do not hesitate to send adults to death in war."

Inequality is all around us, despite all the wonderful work done by so many strong, pro-active, constructive voices.

For example, in the art world paintings by men still sell for much higher prices than those produced by women. According to Helen Gorrill, for every £1 that a male artist earns, a female artist earns a mere 10p. For the top 10 bestselling women authors, men account for only 19% of their readers. One study concluded that books written by women are priced 45% lower than similar works by men. Novels with male lead characters sell approximately 10 million more copies than those with a female lead character.

This demonstrates how misogyny is so deeply ingrained that many people - women as well as men - perpetuate its myths and attitudes hardly without noticing, because that which is familiar is "normal".

Your thoughts on this topic are welcomed.


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