The Gender War: A War Men Lost Before The War Began

The 1960s protest folk song "White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land by the late, great Phil Ochs, was written about the Vietnam War.  With lyrics like, "Every battle won is just another grain of sand," and "Oh, we're fighting in a war we lost, before the war began", that were as poignant as they were prescient, it really described that war quite well indeed.  And would also apply by anticipation to the later wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iran as well.

I can't help but think that such a song also applies a fortiori to the 7000+ year gender war.  You know the War on Women, that we call "patriarchy" to make it sound nicer.  Truly, much like the Americans in Vietnam, it's a war men have already lost before the war began, despite winning nearly every single battle.  Most are just too dumb or ignorant to see it, but more and more are catching on, hence all the angry, violent, and testerical lashing out we are seeing lately from reactionary men.

Men's biggest fear is of course that they will lose. That is, what what losing would really mean?  But at the same time, Women's biggest fear in that regard is actually that Women will win.  That is, what would winning really mean?  Yes, fear of winning!  That goes to show just how deep the toxic patriarchal brainwashing goes.

The mutually beneficial solution, then, is simple.  Men need to accept that they have lost the gender war, and thus surrender to Women.  And Women need to accept they they have won the gender war, and whatever the terms of surrender that are mutually agreed upon.  Only then can humanity's longest war finally end, Goddess willing.

So what are we waiting for?  Let the planetary healing begin!

"White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land", Phil Ochs, 1965 Demo Version 

"White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land", Phil Ochs, 1968 Album Version 

Does Paid Family Leave Really Hurt Women?

Last year, an op-ed at CNN by Vanessa Brown Calder of the pro-corporate LOLbertarian Cato Institute claimed that paid family leave policies actually backfire on Women by making companies less likely to hire them as well as entrenching traditional gender roles.  She seems to see it as a zero-sum game.  And to this day, the article is still being linked to on other articles discussing this important topic.

First of all, except for a very few states, the USA is the only modern or even semi-modern country that does not offer any paid leave for Mothers, let alone fathers or anyone else for that matter.  And even then, the few states that do are rather stingy  compared to most other industrialized nations.  The USA makes Scrooge look like Santa Claus by comparison in that regard. (So much for "Mothers and apple pie".)

Secondly, is there really any truth to the op-ed author's specious claim?  According to the weight of research evidence over the past decade or two, not really.  Except perhaps for poorly-designed programs that 1) force employers to pay for it, rather than via taxes (or money creation), 2) are limited only to mothers or are otherwise not gender neutral, and/or 3) have an unusually long duration--though that last one remains debatable, given the stunning success in the Nordic countries (whose durations of paid leave often exceed a year).  In fact, the only robust downside--if one can even call it that--to long leave durations (i.e. longer than a year) is that they tend to discourage Mothers from returning to paid work compared with durations between nine months and a year.  (A very subjective "downside" at that.)

Otherwise, the well-documented benefits to Women, children, society, and even men as well outweigh any supposed costs.  Ultimately, everyone is better off as a result. It is a win-win-win situation for everyone but the oligarchs.

Of course, once Women finally reclaim their rightful place as the new leaders of the free world, this will no longer even be a debate anymore.

True, paid family leave is not an end goal, but merely a good starting point for a more equitable society overall.  Other things need to happen as well, such as Universal Basic Income, single-payer Medicare For All, shorter and more flexible workweeks for all workers, equal pay, affordable high-quality childcare, as well as longer-term cultural changes as well.  And of course, the biggest elephant in the room--MEN--need to start pulling their weight for once.  But in the meantime, if we make the perfect the enemy of the good, we ultimately end up with neither.  So what are we waiting for?