Confused

[Coffeeflavouredbiscuit]

Are women oppressed by their sex (being generally shorter,less muscular, having to carry and breastfeed children, the damage that pregnancy and childbirth can inflict on our bodies) or by society induced gender roles?
Will we always need women safe spaces even if everything was equal?
Could everything actually be equal one day?
Or will biology always play a factor?

[VestalVirgin]

Women are obviously not oppressed by our sex, but by men. Men oppress women because women's ability to get pregnant makes it both possible and desirable for them, and most men don't have enough of a conscience to oppose this oppression.

We can end male oppression, but we cannot end biology, obviously, and pretending that everyone is the same will ultimately profit men, because men do not bear the burden of childbirth.

It might be possible to create a society where no men are rapists, and if that happens, then perhaps women might not need safe spaces any more, but that's far, far, far in the future, if possible at all.

[Coffeeflavouredbiscuit]

Thank you for the reply. I am starting to read up about feminism but I still don't know a lot about it. I've also found a lot of strong differing opinions from feminists so I'm trying to make sense of it all, if that make sense.
I have a daughter and two sons and I'm trying to raise them exactly the same way although I did feel more protective over my daughter when she was born than my sons.
I'm finding myself questioning everything I do and wondering the reason for doing it. For example cutting my sons hair and letting my daughters grow long. Am I giving into gender stereotypes? I don't know.
It's quite amazing how feminism opens your eyes to everything but I'm also finding it quite exhausting if I'm honest.

[Datun]

It's quite amazing how feminism opens your eyes to everything but I'm also finding it quite exhausting if I'm honest.

I'm with you there!

[0phelia]

It's a mixture of both sex and gender based opression. Gender is basically a social system that exacerbates and accentuates the difference between the sexes.

Because of our sex, being weaker, shorter etc and ones who fall pregnant, we are "easier" to control. We are more vulnerable as a result of biology.

In completely equal societies (The only living examples of this being post Marxist communism) you still get a patriarchy. The communist party is almost always run by men. So society is "equal" but in a way that suits men. Men still rape in Marxist societies (although in the more egalitarian socialist countries eg Scandinavian, rape is much rarer).

Vestal is right that it's men doing the oppressing, but to confuse matters women are also compliant in women's opression, most FGM is committed by a woman on the girl.

[mistressWiseGuy]

I think we are oppressed using gender but because of our sex. Our biology is what leaves us vulnerable to oppression, but gender is the tool that oppresses us.

[HelenDenver]

agree mistress WG

[Datun]

Our biology is what leaves us vulnerable to oppression, but gender is the tool that oppresses us.

Sums it up perfectly.