All Men Are Not Created Equal

This morning's hangover cure is going to be a smoothie made with math, history and sociology, garnished with a twist of lemon.  The need for this cure came about from a discussion with a bass player and a friend, after a few hops infused stress reducers.  What gave me the hangover was the statement "Women are not equal to men."

Time to throw in the math ingredients.  As everyone should know, if A = B, and B = C, then A = C.  This works as long as A, B and C are all constants.  People are not constants (or consistent), each is a conglomeration of constantly changing variables, and constants.  To make the equation more confusing, what is a constant with one person may be a variable with another.  A simple example is eye color.  Mine are brown, always have been and probably always will be.  Possibly because I'm full of ...  What all of this means is that no person is equal to another person, not even identical twins.  Obviously, women are not equal to men.  Duh.

No sane person is insisting that we all become equal in the mathematical definition.  Can you imagine 8 billion people that look like me and are always right?  Personally, I can't even handle me looking like me and there's probably something wrong about that.  What some people, myself included, want to see is a world (at least a country) where everyone is treated equally, by society, and by the law.  No person should be forced into a situation because of their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.  This means some allowances need to be made.  After all, men don't become pregnant and women don't worry about the size of their penises (shouldn't that be penii?).

Now it's time for a little history.  Following the ♀ ╪ ♂ (women not equal to men) comment came the expression that women were much better off before they tried to be equal.  Apparently, before they were placed on a pedestal, etc.  There is a small amount of truth there, mixed in with a historical view severely distorted by Hollywood.  Throughout history and around the world, the rights of women have been limited, restricted, and in many cases, non-existent.  In ancient Rome, a woman's father was her absolute ruler, until she married, then her husband effectively became her father.  Anything the husband/father did to the woman was within his rights, she had none.  In Medieval Europe, women were mostly barred from owning property, and in the cases where they were allowed to own it, title passed to their husband.  Later, some laws allowed the woman to retain ownership, but her husband was entitled to all income and allowed to manage the property as he saw fit.  Not until the 1840's did some of the states here begin removing restrictions on property rights for women.

Less than 150 years ago, the concept of "voluntary motherhood" was introduced in this country.  In other words, until that time, a woman had no say in whether or not she became pregnant.  This isn't saying that a woman could decide whether or not she wanted her husband to use a condom.  She was simply given the option of not having sex if she didn't want to get pregnant.  So, any women out there, which would you prefer:  Have men hold open doors for you, or be required, by law, to have sex with your husband, whenever he wishes (combined with a restriction that severely limits your ability to get a divorce)?

Within the confines of your own marriage, do what works for both of you.  If you believe the man is master and the woman's job is to serve him, find a partner that feels the same way and may you live happily ever after.  However, outside your home each person should be treated equally, regardless of their sex.  I don't hold open doors for women, I hold open doors for people.  Young or old, male or female, if the person is within a reasonable distance then I take a few seconds and hold the door.  Sometimes people will do the same for me.  Maybe we need to get beyond seeing each other as men and women and start treating everyone the same.  Save the gender issues for when they are actually an issue, rather than using them as a restriction or qualification.

The good news is that we are slowly improving.  In a 2011 survey by Newsweek magazine, the United States ranked 8th in the world for gender equality.  Interesting to me is the fact that all the countries above us on the list are northern countries.  Apparently, being in the doghouse is much worse in Finland.