Thursday, May 20, 2010

Do Women Hate Men?

Andrew Denton: You said in 'The Female Eunuch' that women have little idea how much men hate them. Is that still true?

Germaine Greer: Yep. Otherwise they wouldn't get killed all the time, would they?

Andrew Denton: People get killed for many reasons.

Germaine Greer: No, but women get killed at home, most often by their partners.

Andrew Denton: Is it…

Germaine Greer: At a rate which is absolutely astounding. I mean, in Britain it's two women a week killed by their partner. That's a shocking statistic.

Andrew Denton: As a statement in relationships, however, do you believe that to be true, that…that there is a hatred from men towards women?

Germaine Greer: Yep. I think…

Andrew Denton: In what way?

Germaine Greer: ..all men hate some women some of the time and some men hate all women all of the time, and there are every gradation in between those two extremes.

Andrew Denton: Is it that gender-specific, men towards women, or is it… And why is that gender-specific, why does it go that way?
link via abc.net.au

here's where I'll opportunistically jump in. In my experience, for any man who cultivates his own masculinity - the body hair, facial hair, ear hair, callouses - basically a mighty lumberjack the most common result is mancrushes.

Do women actually dig masculinity? Do they dream of laying down by the fire in a log cabin and running their hands through thick curls of chest hair? Do they wistfully imagine some domestic bliss future where a man is at hand to open jars and bottles with his teeth?

These are all very impressive things to men. But they seem to have limited appeal to women. I can understand the marketing forces that are emasculating men, trying to make them feel fat ugly and poorly attired... it's profitable, as potentially profitable as making women feel fat ugly and poorly attired.

But is this marketing push 'going with the flow' of 'what women want' and that is presumably not men*.

I guess it's understandable that people want lambs instead of lions (except with manes on their chest) if they are getting eaten by lions all the time.

*but I assume is also not a drunken anti-semitic man.

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