anti feminist on women & equalities committee

[Lorelei76]

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/philip-davies-women-equalities-committee-feminist-zealots-a7471901.html

the number of times I've had to check the date reading the news lately.....

You can tell he's anti-women and not pro-men because the committee already has two male members. He's full of crap with his bleating about getting men's views heard.

Thing with these MRA types is they don't ever want to actually help men, raise money do anything to help with stuff. What they actually want to do is get women to shut up, they are not pro-men they are anti-women

Got to agree with this. Nothing wrong with campaigning for improvements to - for example men's health. I cannot fathom why he is on this committee.

I don't understand what's happening in the world these days, or why so many women are so complacent. Is there some mad evil conspiracy underfoot?

"Is there some mad evil conspiracy underfoot?"

It's always been the same. But there have always been just enough people on the right side to keep things moving forward -even at a snail's pace. I think that forward movement is under threat. You only have to look on here- a forum of women- and see what happens if anyone expresses a feminist point of view.

"Is there some mad evil conspiracy underfoot"

Patriarchy!

lol

But actually, true.

I mean they don't have like james bond villain meetings where the heads of the main religions, heads of many states, mra groups etc sit around saying "how can we do women down". But actually, it's explicit in many of these parties aims and rules so, they don't need to.

If the Pope and the Isis men and the heads of some European nations and the leading lights of the "alt-right" (fascist) movements and the leaders of places like Mississippi and Saudi Arabia met, they might disagree on some things but it would go without saying, and they would all be in agreement, about where women should be and what should happen to them.

Absolutely. They don't have to deliberately act to do women down- they just have to not do anything positive not to.

I don't understand what's happening in the world these days, or why so many women are so complacent

I personally think life is fairly good for a decent number of British women. If you are middle class, well educated and haven't had kids yet or are child free you do actually have a lot of opportunities in the U.K.
Maybe that's where complacency sets in, for a lot of middle class women they get on pretty well in life till they have kids / need mat leave / expensive child care / have to juggle work & home.

Really great comments up above. Yeah I have started to thing that because things are easier now for most educated middle class women they just selfishly assume its this way for all and feminism has done its job so why do we need it? But things aren't moving forward for the poorer women in our society and all this austerity crap affects women more than men. Let alone what's happening to women all around the world.

Then of course some of my anti feminist friends will be hit by an issue and be crying down the phone to me, still unable to fully see the link.

On the bright side, he might be a bit more challenging on the identification debate and might ask some difficult questions.

That's not quite true though is it. Many main aims of feminism affect women irrespective of wealth etc -

Sexual Assault
Street Harrassment
DV
Reproductive rights
etc etc

While different groups of women can be affected more or less across teh board, no women anywhere are completely free of these things and concerns.

I think that blaming a certain type of woman for what looks to me like a massive global backlash is not looking at the whole picture.

Religion is a big problem - resurgence. The are fanatics all over the shop.

Nationalism / facism.

Women are no more immune to the rather dubious lure of these things than men. And I suppose sometimes they over-ride acting in their best interests. We see women "siding" with the patriarchy in all cultures - women voting for trump, women cutting girls, women supporting the BNP/ britain first / all those arseholes.

Not sure what the answer is.

Maybe. I'm just trying to make sense of it all and how it feels like we are going backwards in some ways.and noone seems bothered except the feminists I talk to on here.

What's really bothering me right now are the messages young girls are receiving from the media, especially music videos. Its all soft porn and when you really listen to the lyrics they are all about being sexually available and pleasing to men. Then the image that's promoted, so sexual. They would have been banned years ago when I was growing up and I think I miss those days.To give an example, this girls group 5th Harmony is clearly aimed at very young girls, just watch the video to their catchy wee track Work and listen to the lyrics.I would link but can't on my phone. I just despair of the messages we are sending out. All under the term 'empowerment'.ffs.

Yeah I don't know either.

It's all very worrying. I worry that this (position of women in UK & similar) is just a blip in history. I worry a lot.

Men can control us easily - defeat us physically, we bear the children, it makes us vulnerable in a lot of ways. If they want us down at the bottom, down we go. I feel very defeatist. What's in it for them? Why should they treat women as humans rather than servants / breeding stock? I mean that sounds extreme but look at the position of women in so many places and what the main religions say etc. That's what it boils down to. Is women as people a luxury for a society and when the chips are down, back down we go?

Titanias they would have been banned, but at the same time, child sexual abuse victims, rape victims, dv victims, they had nowhere to turn. Disbelief, victim blaming, don't make a fuss was the approach. We go forward on one hand and back on the other. It seems to me.

Exactly. I often struggle with my own religious beliefs because I see how they are used. I'm sorry but I can't have faith in a God that wants the female sex to be miserable and downtrodden. That's not my idea of God at all. But it seems to be many peoples.

The natural order of things

What I will never understand is why so so many women capitulate.

I hope Jess Phillips hand him his arse on a plate

Straight white male moaning that his voice isn't heard? Give me a fucking break.

To be loved, to be accepted, by men, by other women and by someone else's idea of God.

I went through the whole please your man be a good girl thing, its gotten me nowhere, except wiser. Now my young adult daughter has her struggles too but has become allergic to religion. Can't blame her.

^That's not quite true though is it. Many main aims of feminism affect women irrespective of wealth etc -
Sexual Assault
Street Harrassment
DV
Reproductive rights
etc etc^

Actually speaking generally (obviously individuals vary wildly) a lot of these things are worse in deprived areas.
For example abortion and repeat abortion is linked to deprivation.

No women is completely free of these issues but the effects are not equally felt by all women.

Hence why I said

"While different groups of women can be affected more or less across teh board, no women anywhere are completely free of these things and concerns."

Maybe you missed that bit.

Obviously instances vary wildly across the world and across different groups of women. My point is, that the idea that in the west wealthier white women are free of concerns that feminism focuses on, is inaccurate. I think the reasons for things are more complex. Some of the women who capitulate in really extreme ways are as far from wealthy white and western as you can get. I think that pointing the finger of blame at women generally is a bit lazy. The people who really need to explain themselves around this stuff is the men.

While different groups of women can be affected more or less across teh board, no women anywhere are completely free of these things and concerns

I didn't miss it, I think I missed that you meant - these things tend to affect white middle class women in the uk less than those from deprived communities. My mistake.

I think that pointing the finger of blame at women generally is a bit lazy

I'm not finger pointing. A pp asked why complacency seemed to be setting in. I was just pointing out that if you are a white, well educated, middle class woman you might not feel as oppressed as other women. Maybe that could explain complacency (if there is any).

There's a jean hatchet petition on change.org regarding this. I was going to link to it but scrolled down the page and it was showing my full name and home town