anti-feminist.

That last entry left a bad taste in my mouth, sorry.

A couple days ago I had a short exchange with an American of Japanese descent about feminism, but I felt a little bit tongue tied and P.C.-bound. I feel like I'm holding back for fear of offending pretty often, but that's beside the point. I was trying to partially redeem the state of women's roles in Japan, by means of critiquing the way things run back home in the states, but I think I sorta choked.

I think I realize now what I was trying to get at. The state of feminism in America is such that not only do people insist that there should be a Women's NBA, but that it IS interesting and that more people should give more attention and money to it. The insistence on equality in the states is so brainlessly literal that men aren't allowed to be better at anything.

The thing is women are allowed to be better at some things. For example, we all take for granted the time-tested idea that women are better at human relations and emotional type stuff, to the point where the courts will give children to women with no means of support over loaded fathers in custody cases.

Now, I know it's not even close to this simple, but!

The things that men are good at, for example feats of strength and violence, are given far too much clout... IN AMERICA. Women are inclined to claim equality on these matters because America is the kind of country where these virtues are "more equal" than the others. In a country where murder by random strangers (or well armed family members or coworkers) can't be ruled out, of course your ability to kill or prevent your own death is important.

Japan isn't that sort of country... thanks in part to the constitution America wrote, but thanks much more to a Zillion year tradition clearly defined roles not only for men and women, but for everyone in each of their 100's of roles.
Now that doesn't mean that women have got it really really good here, but unlike 'merica, women aren't chasing impossible dreams by default. Just really really severe ideals.

the end.