Just throwing out there: Something about sexism occurred to me yesterday.

[closeupready]

Sexism and misogyny continues to flourish strongly mostly at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder because women serve as unpaid domestic servants for poorer men. Affluent men can pay for domestic help and other personal services, but poor men do not have that ability. Thus, subjugating females (who biologically are physically weaker, on average) is one of the few means they have of effortlessly improving their standards of living.

Your thoughts?

[yardwork]

1. Rush Limbaugh is not at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder.

[closeupready]

3. So he never had any excuse.

Makes him a double eff-up, I suppose.

[Skittles]

7. he does appeal, in great part, to those at the lower end

ESPECIALLY men

[shcrane71]

15. You read my mind.

[Swamp Lover]

2. Long string of conjecture without supporting data.

I know of no study to suggest the accuracy of the premise, although everyone short of resources is more at risk to the ravages of abuse. This is true regardless of sex.

[closeupready]

4. Okay, but why does poverty tend to lead to abuse?

Maybe that's the underlying question here.

[RC]

8. Frustration. Need to blame someone when things go pear shaped.

The way the person was brought up in the first place, so that's all they know. This applies to both genders. No place to go for the victim.

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. three obvious possible answers:

1) the stress of poverty leads to violence.
2) the disruption of violence leads to poverty
3) Violence and poverty can have a common root cause.

I think it's safe to reject your basic premise for a very simple reason. Why would a woman volunteer to be conscripted into that kind of arrangement?

[closeupready]

11. "Why would a woman volunteer to be conscripted into that kind of arrangement?"

Because being a spinster is even worse?

[lsewpershad]

5. Weneed to empower women

even how poor....I once advised kneecap his ass...hehe

[MissMarple]

6. Sexism and misogyny are forms of bigotry, and they are found at all income and educational levels.

It's just what people tend to do if left to their own devices. Some people tend that way more than others. Some learn better and grow out of it, others don't. And then there are the ones who just wallow in it.

on edit: Must remember to proof read. And where is my spellcheck ?

[RC]

12. It is not what people tend to do if left to their own devices.

At least not in my circles. And at 67, I have seen a lot of circles. Your mileage must vary?

[MissMarple]

17. Sorry, I was really unclear...

Making emotional judgements about others and then using "reason" to validate those judgements is what people tend to do. Liberal, conservative, and all points in between, we all do it. Some do more than others, and some do in more egregious ways than others and some are more objective. Education, personal experience, and individual temperment can affect how we do this. We all have our prejudices, our biases and we tend to protect them. Rude and selfish people, kind and thoughtful people, the indifferent, the insecure, and the unengaged all tend to judge instinctively. Sometimes it's not pretty and so we have racism and misogyny. It's a bit like the old saying "I think the whole world is queer except for thee and me, and sometimes I wonder about thee."

And, I'm 63.

[RC]

20. That's more better. I'll subscribe to that.

[EFerrari]

10. Poor men don't set policy.

They don't bust unions or keep women out of Congress or boardrooms. They don't choose who goes on camera.

Poor people mostly try to survive, no matter what gender they are.

[closeupready]

13. However, poor men are doing the cat-calling, not the investment bankers.

I just see far more objectification and disregard for the equality of women among poor men than among rich men.

[EFerrari]

14. The 1% pays lip service and they speak in code, not catcalls.

You're noticing a difference in class behavior, not in values, imo.

[lapislzi]

16. Wrong. The investment bankers just do it more subtly.

If you think that misogyny is NOT woven into the very fabric of our society, you need to think again. All the way up and down the chain, from "journalists" for whom "shrill" is a dog whistle, all the way down to the beer-swilling scumbucket who beats his partner because it makes him feel powerful.

If you know four women, chances are you know a victim of abuse.

And abuse is the extreme end of the spectrum. Gender bias is everywhere, if you care to look for it. Just ask any woman with a functioning brain.

[TNLib]

18. I can only speak from my own experiences

I was in an obusive marriage. I got engaged and moved in with this person at 19 Married at 21. We didn't have allot of money initially but even when economic conditions imporoved the abuse continued. This person had serious mental issues.

I myself have had self esteem issues and continue to battle social anxiety. I think this was one of the reasons I stayed with this person as long as I did. I didn't believe I could make it on my own.

He was a college grad and I had some college. We weren't what I would call poor but the stress of economic pressure did play a role in the abuse at times.

My lack of self esteem and the feeling that there was nothing better for me kept me in a bad situation.

Fortunately things have turned around for me after I left the marriage. Went back to school and have a fairly successful career in the IT field as a System Analyst. I'm also married to a nice guy.

I think economic conditions do play a role. And women with limited economic opportunites are more likely to stay with an abusive partner.

[noiretextatique]

19. i think it is deeper than that

the ruling class has convinced a lot of men that their plight has more to do with feminism, abortion, contraception, affirmative action, climate change...etc, than the policies foisted on them by the ruling class.