General Discussion

DirkGently

(12,151 posts)

76. The womb is a potentially hugely threatening power.

Sat Jun 15, 2013, 07:58 PM

Jun 2013

Last edited Sun Jun 16, 2013, 01:33 AM - Edit history (1)

The entire power structure in Europe had to do with sons inheriting lands from their fathers. What if the father doesn't know whether his sons are his? Or if some possible son ends in utero? A woman could stop or subvert or control all of that.

Women could have conceivably wielded the womb the way men wield their fists and weaponry.

I don't mean to say it's a real threat, or that even if it conceivably could be, that it's reasonable to act upon it. But those in power can see other avenues of control, and despise them, automatically.

They banned the female gods. Wiped god's wife from the Bible. Made the priesthood an all-male club. Put the entire onus of sexual "misdeeds" on women. Qualities associated with the feminine were derided as weak or foolish.

It may not have been a conscious act, and certainly wasn't a single event.

But women and their entire physicality and biology and the feminine itself have been stripped and shamed so as to be less dangerous.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

98 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

women are male-controlled technologies of production and reproduction [View all] niyad Jun 2013 OP

Arguably, in some places its a little better and in some regions, getting worse. nt stevenleser Jun 2013 #1

getting worse, like in this country, and everywhere the damned woman-hating crowd has any niyad Jun 2013 #3

check out this thread niyad Jun 2013 #5

Men who engage in Reproductive coercion have to be mentally ill stevenleser Jun 2013 #10

thank you for the link--will have to listen later. niyad Jun 2013 #11

depends where you are, but yes, a lot has changed in several thousand years just as cali Jun 2013 #2

yes, it is getting worse by the minute here, for example niyad Jun 2013 #4

what is getting worse here? cali Jun 2013 #6

reproductive rights was the point of the quote, so, yes, that is what I meant. niyad Jun 2013 #8

how often do you get out of the house? datasuspect Jun 2013 #7

oh, thank you so much for that helpful advice. perhaps you have something equally helpful to say niyad Jun 2013 #9

Is this one of those deals where you say something unexpected in order Romulus Quirinus Jun 2013 #14

no, it's a serious question datasuspect Jun 2013 #16

perhaps you should trying paying a little more attention to the war on women--THAT is what niyad Jun 2013 #18

What precisely leads you to imagine the topic is unhinged? LanternWaste Jun 2013 #21

see the transparency page. geek tragedy Jun 2013 #23

Unhinged? Seriously? I was married to a man who thought that he owned me. Trailrider1951 Jun 2013 #37

no, any time there is a discussion of issues affecting women, the war on women, the fight for niyad Jun 2013 #19

Dude, your head is COVERED in sand! How'd that happen? Squinch Jun 2013 #52

Some misguided soul feels that they can control women? Buzz Clik Jun 2013 #12

I know you pay more attention than that comment indicates niyad Jun 2013 #13

You are correct. And, I agree with the OP Buzz Clik Jun 2013 #17

How else to explain that in 2013, our right to control our own reproductive systems redqueen Jun 2013 #15

but, according to some, even discussing this indicates that WE are crazy. niyad Jun 2013 #20

I believe the time-honored word is "hysterical". Trailrider1951 Jun 2013 #44

you are correct, and thanks for posting the link. I do know the origin of the word, but I imagine niyad Jun 2013 #46

Thanks for the link... TeeYiYi Jun 2013 #80

Whining about prose they dislike while our right to control our own bodies is slowly chipped away. redqueen Jun 2013 #62

and totally dismissing evidence of that chipping away of what few rights we do have. the fact niyad Jun 2013 #64

Women are not allowed to possess identities independent of men. Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #22

see this discussion: niyad Jun 2013 #24

if you are walking around in 2013 still thinking this is true galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #25

Absolutely unfettered absurdity. We have barely scratched the surface of gender inequity. Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #26

considering i believe you and I stomp around the same hood, ASU galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #31

You are confused. Women never left the role of servant. Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #34

maybe you should ask around some. nt galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #35

The incorrect assumption you make is that I don't interact with the world around me. Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #36

Huh? Abq_Sarah Jun 2013 #73

Please do not confuse my social commentary with probability... Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #75

no, the suggestion was the same level of attack that ANY discussion of women's issues seems niyad Jun 2013 #29

attack? galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #32

I don't know about that... "Mainstream America" ain't looking so good these days... nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #48

Did you read the paper today? You seem to have missed... a lot. Squinch Jun 2013 #53

You mean passing bills further restricting abortion rights and the continuing salary discrepancies? uppityperson Jun 2013 #54

I'd like to point that out to my wife LondonReign2 Jun 2013 #27

No, it hasn't. southerncrone Jun 2013 #28

but, to hear the whining, you would think the statement in the op was some horrific piece niyad Jun 2013 #30

what crap. women aren't 'technologies' nor are they or were they ever simplistically HiPointDem Jun 2013 #33

perhaps you ought to study your history a bit more carefully, because, clearly, you haven't got a niyad Jun 2013 #38

i've studied plenty of history, as opposed to ideological polemics. HiPointDem Jun 2013 #39

if you had, you wouldn't make the absurd statement you did. but, nice try. niyad Jun 2013 #40

the only absurb statement is the unqualified nonsense quoted from 'chalice' HiPointDem Jun 2013 #60

It is not simplistic. It is immeasurably complex and retroactively invisible. Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #43

it's not retroactively invisible and the statement is not complex. HiPointDem Jun 2013 #51

keep trying. niyad Jun 2013 #56

no reason to 'try,' the facts are straightforward. women are not technologies. women have HiPointDem Jun 2013 #57

like I said, keep trying, I really need the laughs today niyad Jun 2013 #58

laugh away, dixie lamb. HiPointDem Jun 2013 #61

if anything you are saying were true, it would not have been necessary for me to spend the last niyad Jun 2013 #63

"Change" and "progress" (culturally speaking) are always very relative. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #41

so where do you see women around the world with regard to the statement in the op? niyad Jun 2013 #42

That's an extremely broad question. Difficult to answer. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #45

as witness the senate vote in wisconsin on abortion this week. niyad Jun 2013 #47

Yes, exactly. We're not as advanced as we (generally) think we are. nomorenomore08 Jun 2013 #50

Sadly, it has not. Kath1 Jun 2013 #49

check out this depressing thread niyad Jun 2013 #55

Post removed Post removed Jun 2013 #59

Or everything will be reshaped within a hundred years One_Life_To_Give Jun 2013 #65

perhaps a hopeful optimist? I wish I could share your optimism, but, seeing what we see on a niyad Jun 2013 #66

Where were you when I had a pack of folks calling this "stupid?" dogknob Jun 2013 #67

I LOVE IT. too bad I didn't see this when you first posted it--would have been there for you. niyad Jun 2013 #68

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #69

thinking about just the last few days--the three anti-choice bills in WI, the house bill banning niyad Jun 2013 #70

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #71

Hyperbole. And much has changed in several thousand years. eom yawnmaster Jun 2013 #72

really? exactly what do you call the puke war on women, the endless new laws and regulations niyad Jun 2013 #74

You shouldn't let your life be defined by Republicans muriel_volestrangler Jun 2013 #79

are you serious? are you NOT payig attention to what they are DOING? I repeat, what part of niyad Jun 2013 #83

you have blinders on as to progress in the last "thousands of years"... yawnmaster Jun 2013 #82

sorry, YOU are being totally oblivious. try answering the question about the woman-hating laws niyad Jun 2013 #84

hyperbolate - to bloat a discussion with hyperbole. eom yawnmaster Jun 2013 #88

as I said, the dictionary does not recognize your word. and, again, you have failed to answer niyad Jun 2013 #89

I guess that sucks for the dictionary. eom yawnmaster Jun 2013 #90

The womb is a potentially hugely threatening power. DirkGently Jun 2013 #76

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #77

Holy shit... OneGrassRoot Jun 2013 #78

"a video suggesting all women past menopause be euthanized" redqueen Jun 2013 #86

sadly, I am not in the least surprised by the usual suspects and their drivel. they are so niyad Jun 2013 #87

No. Everything has changed in the last thousand years. lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #81

what are we supposed to be looking at? niyad Jun 2013 #85

This is an artifact with which you are unfamiliar? lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #91

nice try. men create the wars, men get killed in wars (not too bright, yes?) but guess what-- niyad Jun 2013 #92

so you disagree that men are meatshields for women. galileoreloaded Jun 2013 #94

What possible rationale exists to die for "their breeding machines" or machines of any sort? lumberjack_jeff Jun 2013 #95

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #93

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #96

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #97

. . . niyad Jun 2013 #98