I want a new look, period, but I can't seem to figure out how to go about it. I'm stuck in a rut. I wish I had makeover-minded friends to give me a hand.
In conclusion, I FUCKING HATE SNOW. Stop snowing you goddamn clouds! I hate you!
... If equality were instituted tomorrow, do you REALLY think there'd be as much war? ... If 50% of our government were female, do you really think a majority of them would be war-mongerers? ...
Yes, I do believe there would be as much war. I think those statements speak to a rather hurtful stereotype that men are more warlike and vicious than women. "The gentler sex" is unfair to the many men out there who are against war, fighting, etc. I believe the percentage of women who can be combative, vengeful, petty, and warmongering is the same as the percentage of men with those traits.
And if, as you say, "all politicians are corrupt", then, even if 50% of them were women, they would still be politicians. I don't believe that changing the ratio of men to women in government would necessarily change the ratio of warmongers to peaceniks. I've known many women who are staunch Republicans, who are still fully in favor of the war in Iraq, and George W. Bush.
As far as equality goes, having an equal number of men and women in a specific industry, i.e., government, finance, IT, salon ownership, etc., isn't necessary to equality. In many cases, the variance in the number of men and women working in a specific field is more due to interest level than anything else.
From my personal experience in the IT field, any woman enough of a computer geek to want to work in tech support or networking is pretty much guaranteed a job - provided she's qualified. Or maybe just enthusiastic. Most guys I know in the field would be more than happy to have a woman to work alongside with, and being geeks ourselves, we know it's all about the know-how. The women I have worked with in IT have all been equally respected for their abilities, and treated, at least by their male coworkers, the same as any other geek. Even so, it seems that there is only one female computer geek for every ten or twenty male ones out there.
I don't know if this is a symptom of the inequalites in our society, or if it simply a difference of interest. I suspect the latter. There do seem to be some things that men, or women, are more interested in. As long as there are no artificial barriers to someone's entry into a field, barriers based on gender, then I don't see a problem with there being an uneven distribution in the workforce.
Anyway, I've rambled on a bit, but I think your article was very well thought out and very well written. And I would hold the door open for you if I got there first. But, if you got to it first, I would expect you to hold it for me.