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Society as a whole does not respect women. There are a flood gate of attitudes about women that have nothing to do with who we really are. There is the Madonna / Whore syndrome. This gives women only two ways of being; either the pure virgin who is ignorant of the ways of sex and devoid of any sexual interest or desire; or the sexually promiscuous woman who has had more than one partner or sexual experience. Religion and the belief in sin has promoted this view of women since the 3rd century. Then there is the lingering belief that women are property. And as property it is their job to provide men with sex when the man demands it and to bear his children. Women are seen as a commodity to serve the needs and enrichment of the male. Only since the women's movement that started in the late 1800's did these views start to be challenged. Women are also seen as free labor or at least cheap labor. . Jobs that are traditionally considered women's work are the lowest paid jobs out there. Much of the work that women do is not even included in the calculations of the Gross National Product of the Nation. Meaning what we do is invisible and that adds to us being invisible.
So, when we protest or object or complain about how we are being treated, we are seen as not knowing our place. Or of being a bitch who needs to be cut down to size. Society as a whole condones mistreatment of women. It is only since the 1960's that domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape was seen as an issue. Up until then, it was no ones business if the husband threw his wife against the wall and broke her ribs or her arm.. Or in the case of rape, well she was asking for it... why just look at what she was wearing. Today in some parts of the world, women are stoned to death for something as simple as learning to read against her husband's wishes. And if she is raped, she is the one blamed and punished, often by being killed.
Date rape and the drugs used to render the young lady helpless are part of the belief that men are entitled to sex and the female has to provide even if she needed to be drugged to make her compliant. The current trend of some pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions is part of the mentality that women don't have rights onto themselves. Society still punishes us in all sorts of ways. In divorce proceedings, the husband often hides the bulk of the assets so as to not have to divide equally. After the divorce, the lifestyle of the man goes up while the life style of the woman goes down. Society condemns women who go on welfare to feed their kids but doesn't condemn the fathers who skip out on child support. Women with small children is the fastest growing segment of people living in poverty. If we really were a nation of family values as the politicians love to boast about, then why aren't we doing more for these women and their kids? Again, because our society does not value or respect women.