Very interesting analysis. I think the underlying problem is that many feminists, male and female, insist that women are and should be not only absolutely equal to men but also absolutely the same as men. Well, if you “are” the same then you should “be” the same and “act” the same and “do” the same. It’s perfectly fine with me to accept that the female cycle in fact results in women being different from men and having different thoughts and experiences, but then go back to the original feminist thesis and get rid of this mantra that women are, should be, and should be treated as, absolutely the same as men.
I've spent time with four generations of women in my family. from my Great Grandmother to my sister. At no time was there chaos. Each woman had things in control, and ran her house like she wanted to. The men in the house were enforcers of the rules. The women set the rules.
It's just sad that we're trying to delete the feminine goddess from our world. There's something to be said about a woman who's grace could launch a thousand ships.
The cruelest thing our government ever did is tell women that they have to work a 9-5 job. In doing so, they've wrecked the family.
If it wasn’t for Substack, we wouldn’t even be able to address this. I’ve been trying to write this for the last 40 years on any comments of any newspaper and magazine I could find
Exceptional perspective and should be expound upon even further. But isn't that the trade-off of entering the world of the male experience? I'm not being a biggot or whatever with my statement but if the tables were turned I'd be wondering why there's tampons in the restroom too. But seriously I believe that the movement outpaced the preparation. We're all just catching up - still. Besides women have a great "deal" going on these days. Eventually the woman will get back to basics and realize what's important, hopefully.
Underlying that push is the defacto acceptance that masculine structures are the most valuable and anything feminine is not. It's kind of a shocking misogyny to start with and then compounded when women aren't thrilled by that sort of living and we view them as somehow failing.
Agreed. We're experiencing the effects of the difference between the manufactured society versus the natural instinctual prowess of human nature. It's that resistance that which creates a sort of entropy. And in this matter benefits the manufactured social structure by design. IMO
"When was the last time a woman was allowed to acknowledge that her monthly cycle was affecting her work performance?"
At my business, the last time this happened was last week. It should certainly be 100% common and normalized, as you suggest, and I will continue to do my part.
I'm sorry that Lisa had such a poor experience with hormonal contraception, and so did a number of her acquaintances and friends. But your selective evidence and blanket statements about it seem like a major generalization, focusing only on the downsides and not acknowledging the major advantages for many women for whom hormonal contraception has been a safe and effective solution. For example, you might have pointed out that many women don't gain excess weight, even when using hormonal contraception for decades. The truth is that for some reason the pharmaceutical industry has been letting women down: we are still using pills based on the same research from 30-40 years ago, and research programs have essentially stopped (the most recent successful innovation, NuvaRing, was launched in 2002, and it was a change in delivery method only). How would you feel if we treated stroke, heart disease, and cholesterol with the same stuff we used in the 1980s? Also, there seems to be zero coordination between authorities in the US, the UK, India, China, Europe, etc. - for the same biology, what we have is a patchwork of contraceptive solutions that are approved in one jurisdiction and not approved elsewhere. Yet what I see now, especially in Silicon Valley, instead of a push for more research into effective contraception with fewer side effects, is a push to scare young women away from it (which I guess can only increase their anxiety levels, not decrease them!). You might want to write another story, if you're interested in the feminine: that of peri-menopausal and post-menopausal hormonal therapy. For decades, women with severe menopause symptoms were dissuaded from using hormonal therapy due to one flawed study. One study. Now that it's clear that the benefits for many women outweigh the risks, hormonal therapy is making a comeback. But there's a whole generation of women who could have had it and didn't (women who are now in their 60s and 70s) and who are now angry, very angry.
Very interesting analysis. I think the underlying problem is that many feminists, male and female, insist that women are and should be not only absolutely equal to men but also absolutely the same as men. Well, if you “are” the same then you should “be” the same and “act” the same and “do” the same. It’s perfectly fine with me to accept that the female cycle in fact results in women being different from men and having different thoughts and experiences, but then go back to the original feminist thesis and get rid of this mantra that women are, should be, and should be treated as, absolutely the same as men.
It's honestly kind of absurd when we say the quiet part out loud.
I've spent time with four generations of women in my family. from my Great Grandmother to my sister. At no time was there chaos. Each woman had things in control, and ran her house like she wanted to. The men in the house were enforcers of the rules. The women set the rules.
It's just sad that we're trying to delete the feminine goddess from our world. There's something to be said about a woman who's grace could launch a thousand ships.
The cruelest thing our government ever did is tell women that they have to work a 9-5 job. In doing so, they've wrecked the family.
Wrecking the family is the goal of collective control.
It is crazy that we strive to delete the feminine.
If it wasn’t for Substack, we wouldn’t even be able to address this. I’ve been trying to write this for the last 40 years on any comments of any newspaper and magazine I could find
It was always censored
And even here it's a topic that's inflammatory but impossible to refute once said out loud. Thanks for setting the stage over the years!
It’s so sad for us women who are very much on the feminine side.
There are so many of us who are tired of all this.
I remember commercial where the guy said oh I had a daughter, but now the US military changed into a soldier!!! isn’t that great?!?
Isn’t that so much better than a real woman??!?!
Scumbags!!!
Crazy world.
How equal rights became - how about we compete with men or even replace them - is beyond me.
No one ever bothered to ask why women's work wasn't just as valuable. It's just like any lie. It's the helping hand that smacks you in the face.
All people want is some dignity. Not some complete meltdown of all roles and sanity.
Agree
Exceptional perspective and should be expound upon even further. But isn't that the trade-off of entering the world of the male experience? I'm not being a biggot or whatever with my statement but if the tables were turned I'd be wondering why there's tampons in the restroom too. But seriously I believe that the movement outpaced the preparation. We're all just catching up - still. Besides women have a great "deal" going on these days. Eventually the woman will get back to basics and realize what's important, hopefully.
Underlying that push is the defacto acceptance that masculine structures are the most valuable and anything feminine is not. It's kind of a shocking misogyny to start with and then compounded when women aren't thrilled by that sort of living and we view them as somehow failing.
Agreed. We're experiencing the effects of the difference between the manufactured society versus the natural instinctual prowess of human nature. It's that resistance that which creates a sort of entropy. And in this matter benefits the manufactured social structure by design. IMO
I'm going to answer pithily and literally:
"When was the last time a woman was allowed to acknowledge that her monthly cycle was affecting her work performance?"
At my business, the last time this happened was last week. It should certainly be 100% common and normalized, as you suggest, and I will continue to do my part.
Fantastic!
I'm sorry that Lisa had such a poor experience with hormonal contraception, and so did a number of her acquaintances and friends. But your selective evidence and blanket statements about it seem like a major generalization, focusing only on the downsides and not acknowledging the major advantages for many women for whom hormonal contraception has been a safe and effective solution. For example, you might have pointed out that many women don't gain excess weight, even when using hormonal contraception for decades. The truth is that for some reason the pharmaceutical industry has been letting women down: we are still using pills based on the same research from 30-40 years ago, and research programs have essentially stopped (the most recent successful innovation, NuvaRing, was launched in 2002, and it was a change in delivery method only). How would you feel if we treated stroke, heart disease, and cholesterol with the same stuff we used in the 1980s? Also, there seems to be zero coordination between authorities in the US, the UK, India, China, Europe, etc. - for the same biology, what we have is a patchwork of contraceptive solutions that are approved in one jurisdiction and not approved elsewhere. Yet what I see now, especially in Silicon Valley, instead of a push for more research into effective contraception with fewer side effects, is a push to scare young women away from it (which I guess can only increase their anxiety levels, not decrease them!). You might want to write another story, if you're interested in the feminine: that of peri-menopausal and post-menopausal hormonal therapy. For decades, women with severe menopause symptoms were dissuaded from using hormonal therapy due to one flawed study. One study. Now that it's clear that the benefits for many women outweigh the risks, hormonal therapy is making a comeback. But there's a whole generation of women who could have had it and didn't (women who are now in their 60s and 70s) and who are now angry, very angry.