why i disagree with (polish) feminists

while i admire the suffragists of the break of XIX and XX centuries, who so courageously and with such unity fought for women's right to vote and run for office - and, in effect, won the right for all of us to speak up about issues that matter to us, i can't help being turned off by the contemporary feminist movement. here are a few of the many reasons why. most of these, of necessity, refer specifically to poland, but i think the underlying principles can be translated into many other milieus.


you say that polish schools educate young people for a patriarchal society where male domination is natural. yet, at the same time, you point out that teaching is considered a "feminine" profession and that boys (mysteriously) don't do as well academically as girls do.
allow me to shed some light on this seeming paradox. the school system, as you rightly note, is dominated by women. if you have ever seen a male teacher (and i've had a few), even in an administrative position, you might have noticed that those poor guys are for the most part completely dominated by the female community of teachers. what's worse, most women who teach in public schools seem to never have heard of the diversity of needs between boys and girls, as far as discipline and teaching methods go and naturally tend to tolerate or even reward, the girls' misbehavior, which they understand naturally. as a result, girls come across as better behaved (!) and more interested in academics than boys. also, this time from my teaching experience - it is extremely difficult to find any teaching materials suitable for boys. most literature (other than the classics, which have been gradually withdrawn from the curriculum) is feminine, uninteresting for boys. gadgets and toys that address boyish interests are much harder to find and offered in much poorer variety (notice in toy stores or paper stores, the proportion of pink, princessy-flowery items to non-violent boyish style items, like structures, vehicles, insects, dinosaurs, etc.) i'm more inclined to say that the school system teaches boys to be insecure and effeminate than dominating. on the other hand, it teaches girls that they are better and smarter than boys and therefore should dominate.


you want more women in "the public sphere" - preferably 50% of top positions in politics, business, and the academic world.
well. i have a few questions for you.
first off, legally and in all other ways, they have the right to be there. there are also legal ways of making sure that the law is kept. if you think those are inefficient, why not first go that way?
secondly, perhaps the reason there aren't as many women as you'd like to see in the "public sphere" is that women have other priorities and are not interested in entering "the public sphere"? you did answer to that and said research (what research - please quote?) showed that many women would like to participate in their local politics, but are discouraged by their male relatives. okay, so what are you doing to encourage them? are there any local women's groups set up where you discuss issues with women and help them build their confidence? (a shrug and silence for an answer)
thirdly, if you do manage to fill 50% of the highest positions in every sphere of public life with females, who do you suggest will fulfill their "traditional role"? there are two options: either they do both - and how do you imagine them doing either thing efficiently and not lose it? or they drop their "traditional role". in the second case, who will pick it up? the frustrated men who have been pushed out of their own game? (then, i guess, you would also have men bear children, right?)

you demand an unconditional right for women to have an abortion if they "find themselves" pregnant.
my question is - is pregnancy a virus you involuntarily catch? or perhaps a woman who "finds herself" pregnant has already made a choice? and - if you are so concerned with the well being of women in this area, what are you doing towards improving sex education among the polish youth? (no answer) and what are you doing towards reforming the dysfunctional polish adoption law? (silence)

just a couple of main issues, but it seems to me that your program has nothing to do with women's rights, but everything to do with your personal ambitions. it seems to me that you despise your womanhood and the role that comes with it, and in which women are irreplaceable (please note that child-raising and nurturing a family is more than changing diapers, cooking and cleaning) and envy men their apparent power. apparent, because a wise woman knows that she can make a man do anything without dominating him. if you put as much energy in building up women's self-esteem, awareness, and confidence, as you put into humiliating men, we'd all be in a much better shape. i mean, how many of the modern inventions that make our life easier have been invented by women...?

there's much more, but it'll have to wait till next time.