Gender Inequity in the 21st Century

For about two and a half years I represented men exclusively.  Why did I do that?  Because I really like men.  What does this have to do with divorce?  Well, plenty.  Courts are slowly catching up to the fact that special treatment of any kind is unfair, but there are still many challenges for men --- spousal support, sole custody of children and double-standards in joint custody.  For example, I can't tell you how many times I've heard judges and children's attorneys ask fathers who have joint custody whether they called the school, or the doctor, or so on.  But nobody asks that question of moms, even when they don't do it but have primary residential custody.  It's as if men have to do twice as much to get the same consideration women do.  Sound familiar?  Sure it does.  It's what women were saying in the early 1970s.  The tables have turned.

I suppose there are many "feminists" out there who might sue me for such a "radical" statement.  Because you aren't really feminist if you hate men.  You aren't really feminist if you whine about getting special treatment because of all the years of being a downtrodden class.  In fact,  if you do that, you are just perpetuating the myth that women need some kind of special treatment to survive and succeed in this world.  We real women don't need you and we don't need to live our lives like you do to be considered a feminist.

You fall into two classes, the very young women who have been indoctrinated in women's studies courses and majors all over the country into believing that men are bad and women are good and that is that.  Or those of you who are in the second half of adulthood and teach those courses.  Maybe you've forgotten what we stood for back then in the early 70s.  Maybe you've forgotten that the watchword was "equality" not "superiority."   The good news is that many young (30s to 40s) women are enjoying being women.  Proud to be wives and mothers, if they choose.  Proud to have husbands and fathers who are equal partners in parenting.  Proud to like men.

Either way, it's tough being a "real" feminist if you don't ascribe to the party line propounded by both groups.  It's tough to like men.  To say many are wonderful.  Indeed, to prefer their company to that of women.  Heaven forbid!  (Hey, most of them don't stab you in the back, gossip about you because they can't feel good about themselves without making you small, or act with passive-aggressive politeness).

But I am a real feminist.  I was there.  To add to those famous words, "Ain't I a woman?" I'd say, "too."