Dear Joan and friends,
I would like to turn the question around.
So, -- do men need women?
What do men desire in their lives?
If women are supposed to need men so much, it might be time for both women and men to consider here what it is that women bring to men, that they cannot do without, so that we women can be respected equally.
Don't laugh. I'm not talking about bedmates here. However, it has been clearly reported recently that when separated from women, many men turn to homosexuality. This happens on board ship, in prisons, in the priesthood, in Islam, in the upper class English public schools, wherever the sexes are strictly separated. I think you get my point.
It is important for men and women both, to realize how much, and what, women bring to their relationships and to civilization. I will cite a few of those things. There are many more I won't mention.
Let's just start with the fact that married men live quite a lot longer, (shown clearly by statistics,) than single men do. Statistics don't show the same advantage for women. They do show that single women survive very well, and their lives are not shortened by the fact that they were unmarried.
Another instance: women bring civilization. The gold rush camps in the north were brutal, rough, uncivilized and dirty, including the men themselves being ungroomed and unkempt until women arrived. In the presence of a few women, those men wanted to appear better. So they cleaned themselves up, and changed their behaviour, too. The women brought touches of comfort cleanliness and home. It was recognized that a few women, at least, needed to be present in the camps, otherwise men could revert to low conditions. Of course, the only women we read about or see in movies are the ones who danced, sang, and gave bed comfort. Any women present had a civilizing influence on the men.
Women contribute very much to the stability of civilization, but that is not often spoken about and treasured. It is time that it was valued at least as much as what men bring. In countries where small loans are made available to women to start small businesses, the women have an extremely high rate of repayment of the loans and success with their businesses, -- a much higher percentage of women than men faithfully repay loans.
These empowered women don't let their husbands sell the advances in housing that are made in this way. Often the men want to do so, but the women are in the business of building stability for the family. The next move toward advancement in these cultures is to make sure the home is in the woman's name so that they can keep it intact and their men can't sell it from under them. That way, families are finally making headway. There is a world wide bank that supplies these small loans to women, often only about $100 is needed to allow these little businesses to get started. The bank is The Gramin Bank. Studies have been done about what happens as a result of these loans, and the above information comes from there.
Another proof of the valuable role of women is it has been clearly proven over and over again that when women receive some education and become literate, the health of the whole family improves. It is well known that the best way to raise the level of a society is the educate its women. It isn't only women in third world countries who have these skills when they are awakened. These things are what women contribute to their men and their homes all over the world. It is women's way of being. As men have their values to the couple and family, so do women. Both are needed for a healthy world.
Continued in part 2....
