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ATS says:
April 28, 2010 at 1:49 am
To nova and grerp–the problem is that the Catholic Church in my country (the Philippines) has enough power to block government policy. Which they have and still do. The Reproductive Health Bill which still merely aims to provide condoms and birth control to public health centers so that poverty stricken women (most of whom are illiterate and most of whom have had more children than they should–we're talking of women I've met who have had 5 kids almost every year since they were teenagers, with more coming) can avail of them has been called sinful, and misleadingly accused of encouraging women to have abortions. Congress has not been able to pass this law because of fear of backlash from the Church. Priests preach against it during masses. And we're 90% Catholic, so opting out hasn't been an option for a lot of people here who are very religious, and where 50% live below the poverty level and are illiterate and so would put their faith on God and the Church unquestioningly. Their influence is so pervasive politicians court Church approval. This is a case where a particular religion has had a direct impact on government policy, to our detriment. We're 90 million and counting, with no population control in sight, and still mired in poverty.
ATS says:
April 28, 2010 at 2:09 am
Oh, and something I forgot to add–I'd be fine with the Catholic Church picking what they want to believe in and preaching it to their flock, but not when there's already active interference on their part re government policy that directly affects women's choices. The CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference has been a very vocal voice against the Bill, and in fact, has candidates running for elections this year tiptoeing around them. I've added the latest news about the issue so you can get a clear picture of the Church influence the proponents of the Bill are up against:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50643
susanawalsh says:
April 28, 2010 at 2:12 am
Hmmm, I'm not sure. I think one factor is that men are more comfortable in confrontation – they're happy to duke it out without a lot of hard feelings either way. Women are far more emotional, and we take things personally. I know I have tossed and turned in the middle of the night about insults I've received online. I doubt many men have had that experience.
Or perhaps it reflects some awareness of the weakness of the argument? IDK, so much of feminism depends on portraying men as the opposition. I haven't spent much time commenting on MRA sites, and when I have it's been with an open mind, so I've not encountered too much hostility. In truth, though, I was deeply mistrusted at the beginning. I received some very threatening emails that I found frightening. I don't think men censor as much, but they are perhaps equally as aggressive and argumentative.
