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In high school, I remember distinctly thinking that in order to stop discrimination and violence against women we need to involve men. I figured if that was the case, it wasn’t really my responsibility to be involved because we didn’t need more women working for gender equality we needed more men. It wasn’t until I was in college and heard Stephen Lewis, the former United Nations Special Envoy for Aids in Africa, explain that anyone interested in social justice should be working for women’s rights that I was able to understand the importance of getting involved in the advancement of women and working towards gender equality.
Once the importance of the advancement of women became clear to me, I remained uncertain about how to go about actually advancing women. Advancing them to where? Is it enough to ensure that women have the same rights as men? Are men the benchmarks towards which we should be striving? Are men done advancing? I needed some understanding of what the equality of women and men should look like. In March of 2010, I read a document from the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity that addressed my questions.
When I was offered the opportunity to spend a year working with this document, I didn’t hesitate. Ever since, I’ve been trying to think of ways of sharing this document with everyone and thanks to the the suggestion of individuals much more technologically savvy than myself, the idea of creating this blog emerged. The purpose of this blog is to allow people to engage with the document and share their understandings and comments about it and the advancement of the equality of women and men in general.
Am I alone in being slow to participate in the advancement of equality between women and men? What motivates your interest?
Hi May!
First off I just want to say that I too have trouble with analogue clocks, and I’m super excited to read this document- it sounds like it’s full of intellectual goodies!
Secondly, I would totally agree with the idea that women and men need to be equally involved in the advancement of women. I think so many people make the mistake of expecting those who are discriminated against to pull themselves up, but this is an endeavor that truly needs universal participation, if not a completely revolutionary approach to gender issues.
And to say that the advancement of women simply means accepting the same behavior from women as we do from men also doesn’t sit right with me, because it seems (like you said) to indicate that men are done advancing. Rather, I think we need to start thinking of ways for women and men to advance together, each recognizing the humanity and capacity of the other.
I’m so excited to see what this document says with regards to these issues!
Love and peace,
I completely agree with you ore_gone.
These are some really interesting questions you’ve brought up dear blogger, and I do think it’s necessary to step back and consider what exactly it is that we’re striving to accomplish when we talk about advancing women.
It will be so exciting to start reading this document and people’s reactions to it, see you tomorrow!
I also agree with ore_gone (I would like to note that I *just* got that your name is Oregon and not some weird way of spelling are gone) and May about the necessity of the necessity for universal participation (some might even say that justice demands universal participation….) May you ask if some of us have also been slow to participate in this area and I started wondering, have I really eve begun? Maybe in ways such as supporting children’s classes, junior youth groups and educational enterprises that seek to broaden the understanding of human identity, but more directly than that I dont think I ever have… I guess this blog is a starting point.
Am I the last one to participate in the discourse on “engendering equality”? There have so much been already written that I am first going to have to read all the posts to catch up with the flow of the discourse. Anyway, at least I can comment on the first question that was posed: “What motivates your interest?” I am married and have often questioned myself whether I am living by the principle of gender equality. It is difficult to answer as my understanding of the principle does not go far beyond thinking of men and women as two wings of a bird. Now that I am going to be a father in few weeks time, the question will take a whole new dimension and the reason to find answers even more critical. Will I be a good father who is able to demonstrate to his children the implications of principles that he often reads to them in the Holy Writings? My interest in the topic is very personal and I hope that as I participate and advance in “engendering equality” I am able to share insights that will be useful for others as well.