tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post7976403640461308337..comments2024-03-28T17:44:17.403-07:00Comments on The Weaver of Grass: AttitudesThe Weaver of Grasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-42412982132941439722023-02-16T07:28:15.841-08:002023-02-16T07:28:15.841-08:00Your garden must be a picture just now, with many ...Your garden must be a picture just now, with many more delights to follow. <br />You have certainly given us a big topic to think about. I can see why feminism took hold, but in some respects it has backfired. I enjoyed the days when men respected women and raised their hats, held a door open, or gave up their seat on a train or bus. That doesn't happen any more because too many young women didn't appreciate it. I know some men treated women badly, and still do, but they shouldn't all be 'tarred with the same brush'. If we all respect each other maybe the future will be better for everyone.<br />Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06826501916623305535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-20469229992051747992023-02-16T03:36:54.972-08:002023-02-16T03:36:54.972-08:00Tom - yes it is interesting just how many things ...Tom - yes it is interesting just how many things have changed in our lifetime isn't it<br /><br />Thanks to you all..The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-20508382300631204362023-02-15T09:46:14.167-08:002023-02-15T09:46:14.167-08:00I am a retired librarian, still a rather female do...I am a retired librarian, still a rather female dominated profession and know how fortunate I am to live in the USA with all of our protections and blessings and which many other countries have including the UK and Europe and Australia and New Zealand. I note these countries' customs and laws are based on Judeo-Christian Greek and Roman roots. Nice to hear about all of the spring flowers you are enjoying.Terra https://www.blogger.com/profile/04396481049075747940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-23854971790190142252023-02-15T06:19:31.992-08:002023-02-15T06:19:31.992-08:00Hope you are better soon.
Hope you are better soon. <br />Debbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09531125606268748793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-60348060987441095242023-02-15T04:31:42.608-08:002023-02-15T04:31:42.608-08:00I hope you are feeling better soon.I hope you are feeling better soon.Travellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04074252019053387130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-52732334749117424782023-02-15T02:52:32.319-08:002023-02-15T02:52:32.319-08:00I still find it hard to believe that a woman's...I still find it hard to believe that a woman's property became the man's after marriage not so long ago.Tom Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979590950587415840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-9213320098805173842023-02-14T12:58:20.455-08:002023-02-14T12:58:20.455-08:00I hear you arnt well ? Chin up deArheart xI hear you arnt well ? Chin up deArheart xJohn Going Gentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14958171262765033946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-1745911998090017242023-02-14T10:41:02.852-08:002023-02-14T10:41:02.852-08:00Than you everyone. Yes a large topic but your re...Than you everyone. Yes a large topic but your replies have certainly givenme - and I hope others- such food for thought.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-4914151790324188732023-02-14T09:49:06.271-08:002023-02-14T09:49:06.271-08:00Hi Debby - you are absolutely right I should have ...Hi Debby - you are absolutely right I should have been more precise and said 43% of women who voted, voted for Trump.<br />One source can be found here:<br />https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/<br /><br />Agree with you completely that it is incredible that 30% of eligible women voters didn’t vote.Snowdrop Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-61803725752606394232023-02-14T06:10:49.160-08:002023-02-14T06:10:49.160-08:00Snowdrop Jan: I would be very interested to see wh...Snowdrop Jan: I would be very interested to see where that 43% figure came from. First of all only 68.4% of eligible women voted in 2020 (unimaginable to me). In 2016 only 39% of women voted for Donald Trump. 43% of REPUBLICAN women voters, perhaps in 2020. I really would like to see where your figures came from. I see nothing that validates this. Debbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09531125606268748793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-76873953276487402622023-02-14T03:46:20.344-08:002023-02-14T03:46:20.344-08:00This is an interesting post and it is nice to see ...This is an interesting post and it is nice to see that the responses have been respectful <br /><br />I look forward to the day when all that matters is the person…not their colour, sex, gender, sexual orientation, shoe size, hair colour, race, religion, social status (that will probably be one of the last to go), what school they attended or hat size.<br /><br />As to abortion, to me it is not a black and white issue and I certainly don’t think it is an issue that should be decided only by women.<br /><br />Thanks for raising these question Weaver of Grass and giving us something to think about.<br /><br />Travellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04074252019053387130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-9139551527307715642023-02-14T02:26:06.622-08:002023-02-14T02:26:06.622-08:00It’s a large topic, no doubt, but very important a...It’s a large topic, no doubt, but very important and I have found the comments really interesting. I want to pick up on what Pixie said about women being hated because I think it is the nub of the debate. Years ago when I read Germaine Greer’s The female eunuch it upended my life. My gaze, my perspective, my life was turned around. And why? Because there is a part of the book (I no longer have a copy) when Germaine talked about the words some men used about women. They were so hateful and ugly and it shocked me. And yes I know not all men share those views, but there are enough to be a concern.<br /><br />When I started working I was paid less than male counterparts, that has changed, but this is recent history. Recent history. This needs to be remembered. I can remember thinking that while the women’s movement was making great progress it was all a bit academic to women in low paid jobs who had no ability to change their situation. <br /><br />There is so much to say, but the topic is huge.<br /><br />Oh, and just for interest my first husband was a Muslim (from Malaysia) who was a Colombo plan student here in Australia. I was lucky enough to live there after marrying him and learned respect and love for a very different culture.<br /><br />Thanks for introducing this topic.<br /><br />Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01829592100827048506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-11264121978479139572023-02-14T02:23:09.586-08:002023-02-14T02:23:09.586-08:00My first job in the 1960's was with Sheffield ...My first job in the 1960's was with Sheffield City Library. They had 2 recruitment leaflets, pink for girls and blue for boys. Boys could only apply for qualified librarian posts, because it was said that men could not live on a library assistants wage. I was a qualified librarian and later was given a job as a Branch Librarian "because I was not afraid to tell a man what to do"!<br /><br />Fast forward to Australia where I live now. I knew a girl who met her husband at university and married him. He was a muslim. They were happy at first, running an oriental carpet business, and had two sons. The real fly in the ointment was his mother. This matriarch did not allow her daughter-in-law even to read books; she had to spend all her time with the children. She resorted to reading in the toilet! The marriage failed and she escaped with a number of expensive carpets!Margaret Butterworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01132595996801386452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-43192235667184991492023-02-13T22:01:36.958-08:002023-02-13T22:01:36.958-08:00I was raised, almost exclusively, by women up unti...I was raised, almost exclusively, by women up until the age of about 8, so always had great respect for them which has never diminished. In the UK we have had 3 female PM's (all Con), and my current MP (Lucas, Green) is also female. Throughout my life our national figurehead was female; as is my wife. I cannot imagine ever seeing women as inferior; it is madness.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-372955139503372752023-02-13T19:07:04.817-08:002023-02-13T19:07:04.817-08:00What a massive topic. When I was a child, my fathe...What a massive topic. When I was a child, my father was very firmly head of the house. But in the 60s my mother began to rebel. She got a job and had her own money. Dad was not happy and their marriage went through some rough times but they held together for 61 years, and although Dad always was pretty controlling I know there was deep love there.<br /><br />In my career as a librarian, the Library Journal published an annual salary survey. Every year, male librarians started at higher salaries, advanced more quickly and were hired for higher positions more often than women. It was infuriating. <br /><br />As a girl in high school I wanted to take the electricity class, as my Dad was an electricianand I often helped him around the house. I was told that Shop class was a prerequisite for electricity class...and girls were not allowed to take shop. Thankfully that changed some years later.<br /><br />Here in the states, and my state in particular, it seems we are moving backward, not ahead with women's rights and roles. I am hopeful that my granddaughters' generation will get things back on a progressive track...as soon as a lot of old white men finally give up the power they hold onto so firmly.<br /><br />Granny Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01129064020727041161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-50213544013433124842023-02-13T14:05:14.044-08:002023-02-13T14:05:14.044-08:00While women are treated more equally in this count...While women are treated more equally in this country than in many others there is still a long way to go until we are truly equal. A very interesting and shocking read is Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez (also on Audible) which exposes the many ways our society is tailored for men. Things from government policy to medical research and even car safety. Well worth reading or at least dipping into. PS I'd had enough of cooking and once our sons left for university my husband willingly did his share while I was working. Now we're both retired we share the cooking duties.Ruta M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05722121700213642012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-5262139468636170672023-02-13T12:52:36.145-08:002023-02-13T12:52:36.145-08:00...colonisation in 1834, not 1836. - Pam....colonisation in 1834, not 1836. - Pam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-26467451566771151752023-02-13T12:43:16.309-08:002023-02-13T12:43:16.309-08:00Australia and New Zealand can be rightly proud of ...Australia and New Zealand can be rightly proud of gaining the right for women to vote. In South Australia it was the 18th Dec, 1894. A government site stated recently<br />"Following its colonisation in 1836, South Australian settlers lived under British common law whih made women subordinate to men in that they were subject to their fathers, and then to their husbands. Their property, income and children were the legal property of their husbands" I shudder to think what that must have been like, and as I researched my family tree, I came across the S. Aust suffragets petitions to Parliament and delighted to see many names from my husbands and my direct and extended family in support, - made me proud.<br />I have always rebelled against any male control or put-downs by my father, brother and bosses when I was a young woman. My mother was not strong on back-up, and then mercifully we had Women's Lib! My marriage is a partnership, and a strong one built on respect and friendship over 47 years.<br />Our state averages over four and a half thousand children in State Care each year. Perhaps those pregnancies could have been better planned and more responsibility taken on whatever level to prevent the disadvantage these children now suffer as a consequence.- PamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-52177536916000099742023-02-13T12:01:12.101-08:002023-02-13T12:01:12.101-08:00I'll just zero in on the abortion topic. You m...I'll just zero in on the abortion topic. You might know, here in the U.S. our Supreme Court overruled a 50-year-old decision that has returned this matter to the states. So many from both sides miss the point. It did NOT outlaw abortions. Again, it returned governance of same to individual states. As a federalist society, that is not an absurd proposition. Some of our more conservative states have passed very restrictive laws restricting abortion access, to the annoyance of the so-called pro-choice group and delight of so-called pro-lifers. Conversely, more progressive state legislatures now have laws on the books that protect abortion access. While I consider myself pro-life, I can see the other side and I do not necessarily celebrate the overturning of the aforementioned Supreme Court decision. Alas, the extremes on both sides refuse to listen to each other and have meaningful conversation, so the emotional battle continues. Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15978016568840318921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-48652090478755424902023-02-13T11:28:44.476-08:002023-02-13T11:28:44.476-08:00Oh, you have got us thinking, again!
I live in N...Oh, you have got us thinking, again! <br /><br />I live in New Zealand, which, in 1893 became the first self governing country in the world to give all women the vote, but still there is an ongoing battle for true equality. When I started Teachers Training, in the early 1970s, teachers for ‘bonded’ for three years after being paid during training, but if you were a woman and got married, your bond was cancelled, and you could walk away from the profession, and only continued your career if you re-signed your contract! There were certainly different pay rates for men and women in the public service at least until the 1950s. <br /><br />Personally I’ve not experienced much sexism, but I am a fairly strong individual who is likely to stand up for myself, and for anyone near me I see being mistreated. <br /><br />I am aware that it is young women who are in the majority in our universities- I think the figure for Law grads is around 60%. The balance of the Judiciary is moving towards equality. <br /><br />However, it seems that many of these successful women achieve the heights by doing all the professional work AND still doing the majority of the childcare, home organisation, etc. <br /><br />So, there’s a way to go. . .Virginiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06864657381173674455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-40728086692328902872023-02-13T10:55:30.612-08:002023-02-13T10:55:30.612-08:00Such fascinating replies so far - do please keep t...Such fascinating replies so far - do please keep them coming.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-90044332504418546242023-02-13T10:53:33.628-08:002023-02-13T10:53:33.628-08:00You certainly don’t shy away from controversial to...You certainly don’t shy away from controversial topics and good for you.<br /><br />I worked in what was a male dominated profession and worked in that profession in four countries on three different continents. I did see a lot of discrimination - particularly in Australia. Women, especially at the more junior levels, were not treated the same as the men. One client I had didn’t like the fact that a woman (me) would be the senior manager on the job. They liked it even less whenI found quite a few problems. Being female did not impact my progression but that is because I was very good at my job.<br /><br />Turning to abortion. If you believe life starts at conception then abortion is murder - nothing to do with a “woman’s right to choose”. <br /><br />To close 43% of women voted for Trump<br /><br />Snowdrop JanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-35776014459369762072023-02-13T10:32:11.005-08:002023-02-13T10:32:11.005-08:00My sense is, as a woman, if you are brought up to ...My sense is, as a woman, if you are brought up to believe you can achieve anything you put your mind to achieve, you are confident and will succeed in this old world. Upbringing is key and strong mothers that are also good role models are important. You are also right about abortion in the US. Roe v. Wade was struck down on the Federal level. This was largely accomplished by a conservative majority within the US system. It was a sad day and women were outraged. Many States are legislating abortion rights within individual states and President Biden supports this. In the last election, women voted for Biden. He supports abortion rights. The income gap between men and women continues in the US. Women have made some progress but more progress is needed. Teaching in the US is largely women. Unions seem to dictate pay and time in grade. Unions also, in my opinion, have to much control over US schools and teaching. I like pay for performance and this is sometimes counter to what Unions believe. Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14473063249106111719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-79168762129335295582023-02-13T09:03:25.914-08:002023-02-13T09:03:25.914-08:00Like you, Pat, I have never felt inferior for bein...Like you, Pat, I have never felt inferior for being a girl or a woman. But I am fully aware of the fact that in my country (which prides itself on being progressive and modern), we are still far from equal pay. For exactly the same job, HR departments usually have a "male" and a "female" salary in the drawer, and if they really, really want a woman who has been applying for a job but withdraws her application for some reason or other, the "male" salary is pulled out of the drawer to entice her to join the company.<br />Also, it was only in the 1970s that wives in Germany could take up work outside the house without needing their husband's permission, or to open a bank account in their own name.<br />And rape within a marriage has become a criminal offence that can be fully persecuted only some time in the 1990s, as far as I know.<br /><br />Your parents set a wonderful example, as did mine. It is not for nothing that my Mum chose the term "life comrade" for the notification of my Dad's passing; they really were best friends, lovers and comrades ever since before my Mum turned 16. This is the kind of relationship I want with a man, and was lucky enough to find with my second husband, and now with O.K., too.Librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704656564078750607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-280582018791422638.post-10207279171491750382023-02-13T08:20:19.768-08:002023-02-13T08:20:19.768-08:00I remember so clearly being in a meeting (in the l...I remember so clearly being in a meeting (in the late 1970s) in a federal government job and one of the older men said that the men being hired in a special training program needed to make more money than the planned salary level because "they have families to support". As the youngest and most junior person by far (and the only woman) I perhaps should have kept my mouth shut but of course I didn't - "women can have families to support too - I wonder if you would be willing to put your proposal in writing". It got very quiet. <br /><br />The current furor here about abortion rights is to me very clearly about the ownership of women's bodies by men and is the thin edge of a wedge that will become more and more authoritarian if allowed to continue. <br /><br />Ceci<br /><br />CeciAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com