Why it’s great to be a woman…

I am proud to call myself a feminist. I support the Fawcett Society, I co-edit Women’s Views on News, I try to be a positive female role model for my daughters… basically I do my bit.

But…

Sometimes I find it a tiny bit depressing.

It’s not that I don’t care about equality – I absolutely do. The fact that women earn less than men isn’t right. Underrepresentation of women in politics and business bothers me. Sometimes though, feeling passionate about an injustice means you focus on the negative, on the things you feel are wrong and that you want to put right, and this sometimes makes me sad, because I become so tied up in all the things that aren’t fair, that I forget all the good things.

So today, when I read in The Daily Mail that men are losing out to women in many areas of life, I ignored my first instinct, namely to rubbish everything the Mail says, and thought instead about how lucky I am. This doesn’t mean I think there isn’t anything left to fight for, just that I’m not in a battling mood today.

The Daily Mail are reporting on the findings of the ‘How Fair is Britain?’ report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and highlight the fact that women are less likely to lose their jobs in a recession, more likely to eat well and look after their health, less likely to be victims of violent crimes, and so on. Well that’s all well and good, but you can read that anywhere can’t you? So, instead I’ve decided to come up with my own list of reasons why it’s great to be a woman:

We have boobs. It’s something we take for granted, but perhaps we shouldn’t. Perhaps we need to take a more male perspective on this one…

We can grow people inside of us. How clever is that?? Sure, it hurts a bit getting them out, but basically it means our bodies are amazing. Once these tiny people are born, we can even feed them ourselves and make them grow. Pretty cool huh?

We can talk about our insecurities, cry in front of our friends and not feel too silly. Unless it’s in front of our friends in the middle of a restaurant or something, then you do tend to feel a bit silly, but it’s still forgivable.

We get first dibs on the kids. Yes you could argue that it’s an awful lot of unrewarded, unpaid, boring hard work – the relentless washing, cooking, childcare, no personal freedom, sole responsibility for turning vulnerable children into fully formed adults… but… um… what was my point? Oh yes… kids. Well, you’ve gotta love ’em haven’t you? Not by law or anything of course. But you just do.

We get to wear dresses. Wouldn’t it be dull if you just had to wear trousers all the time? And you couldn’t wear high heels and stockings sometimes? Not that you can’t do these things if you’re a man, but it tends to be less acceptable in an office environment.

We don’t have a penis. Thank God. No embarrassing erections, no communal shower anxiety, so worries over length or girth. Phew!

We are happier in our jobs. We may not always get paid as much, but there is plenty of research to show that despite often being in crappier jobs, with less responsibility and less recognition, women on average are happier at work than men.

We don’t have to like sport. Watching or playing. We don’t have to be good at football and there is no expectation that we will understand either the rules or the point of cricket.

Well that’s plenty to get you started I think. I’d love to hear your additions for my ‘why it’s great to be a woman’ manifesto…

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19 Comments

  1. 12 October, 2010 / 11:04 am

    I suspect that it’s pretty much a case of pros and cons Jo. There’s pros to being a woman sure, but there’s pros to being a man as well. Same as both genders have “cons”.

    Boobs: Some men have them as well :)

    Grow “people” inside: Sure it’s a neat “trick (lol) but look at the downside of all that once a month nonsense.

    Talk about insecurities: You’re right, it’s a lot harder for a man to be “open” about such things. We’re still expected to be macho hunter gatherer “me Tarzan you Jane” types ugh ugh etc.

    First dibs on the kids: Not entirely fair in some cases. I don’t like the way that women use children as a manipulative tool after a divorce/separation. However, women are more predisposed to the nurturing role so first dibs (as you put it) seems fair. Says he who has “first dibs” (only dibs in fact” on his one and only daughter for what seems like forever.

    Wearing dresses: It’s not just the dresses. Women’s “dress code” is far more relaxed in general. Like the office workplace where men are expected to be suited and booted (tie etc) women have a lot more “options”. As for the lingerie, well some men do get a kick out of wearing it. I’ve even been known to wear a lime green mini skirt with suspenders and white stockings myself at university ! I’ll have to see if I can find the pictures (I went to a fancy dress do as an “Essex girl”, I’ve also “done” the Rocky Horror Show thing at least twice).

    Penis: They are quite useful. It’s certainly a lot easier to “aim” :)

    Job happiness: Not sure really. I tend to enjoy my work, not necessarily the salary though.

    Liking sport: I’m not keen myself, and I must admit it can alienate me from some men. I’m not into sport, getting pissed, and discussing which “birds” I’ve pulled. I suppose generally my interests are less “masculine”.

    • 12 October, 2010 / 7:26 pm

      Well yes, pros and cons obviously, I was just trying to be positive Steve :-)

  2. 12 October, 2010 / 12:29 pm

    I have one to add: Women know how to answer the question ‘does my bum look big in this/does this make me look fat/old?’
    Great post – and I have to agree (except I quite like sport.)

    • 12 October, 2010 / 7:27 pm

      Oooh yes, that’s a good one – we always know the right thing to say in a crisis/changing room.

  3. 12 October, 2010 / 5:02 pm

    Still I’d love to be a man (well maybe for a week!) …not to be a victim of hormonal surges and crying at drop of hat. Men are so easily pleased – show them a pair of tits and they purr like kittens!

    • 12 October, 2010 / 7:27 pm

      Good point. I did cry a bit today…

      I would quite like to be a man just for a few days, just to see if it really is all about the tits, or if you actually do think of other things…

  4. 12 October, 2010 / 6:34 pm

    I’m racking my brains here, but can’t think of anything to add. Except that it’s a bit bloody unfair that men on the whole tend to start looking sexier as they get older. I can confirm that I am not starting to look sexier as I get older. You on the other hand, being the young slip that you are, have YEARS before this need to concern you! (I think the fact that you mentioned tits as a plus is an example of this, women closer to 40 are talking more about how their tits can be tucked into their waistband…)

    Pigx

    • 12 October, 2010 / 7:30 pm

      Nothing at all?? That can’t be IT surely??

      Agree about the age thing – women just don’t become charming and handsome as they get greyer do they? Damn. Will have to keep dying my hair.

      I can confirm that as a mum of two, I do rely heavily on a sturdy bra :-)

    • 15 October, 2010 / 12:10 pm

      Men start to look sexier as they get older ….

      Hmmm. Don’t think this is true in my case !!

  5. 12 October, 2010 / 8:05 pm

    Women live longer, are more cunning and pretty much invented social networking before that Zuckermackerman (Facebook geeky-twat) dweeb. Women smell better than men, can exchange information faster than Cisco Systems and can spot fake handbags at 1000m. ALSO, can have multiple orgasms, don’t have beards and – AND – have better handwriting: 100% FACTORAMA.

    But – BUT! – I can park a car perfectly, anywhere; I can complete most video games and I can THROW A BALL…VERY FAR. I know how to read an instruction manual, use a map and open jars of marmalade. I (can) age better, pee standing up (accurately) and put up a shelf without making a tits of it.

    [runs for cover]

    • 12 October, 2010 / 9:15 pm

      Can I just say I am an AWESOME parker. Seriously, I can get cars in the tiniest of spaces, it is one of my Best Things.

      I do have nice handwriting, but I know nothing about handbags. I can throw a ball about 10 metres and it’s true that I don’t have a beard. I don’t even NEED maps. Maps are for people who don’t trust their instincts…

      I would have to say too that I think men smell better. I love the smell of Man. You got me on the orgasm thing though. I can’t believe I missed that off the original list.

  6. Kerry
    12 October, 2010 / 9:05 pm

    The Daily Mail is awful isn’t it? But somehow, you can’t help but read it everyday. Or is that just me? :D The comments are pure evil!

    We are good at getting our own way :D..

    • 12 October, 2010 / 9:11 pm

      Well I must say I was only looking for work purposes, but once you’re there it sucks you in…

      I’ve never actually been very good at getting my own way. I obviously need more practice :-)

  7. Kerry
    12 October, 2010 / 11:01 pm

    I think I only read it for the catty comments. I should of mentioned, I read it online rather than buy it :D

  8. 13 October, 2010 / 9:59 am

    And we can dye our hair wthout anyone wanting to know if we are awaiting gender reassignment surgery. And we can wear sequins without anyone getting nervous. Don’t wear them a lot, but it is a good thing to be able to do now and again. Shoes, shoes, & perfect Top Shop ‘Vamp’ lipstick.

    • 13 October, 2010 / 9:22 pm

      I love sequins :-)

      If I was a man I wouldn’t have been able to buy the denim ra-ra skirt in H&M today. Although to be fair, just being 32 should have been enough to stop me. I brought it home and showed Bee and she said ‘was that actually for sale in a real shop?’. Hmmm…

  9. 13 October, 2010 / 7:52 pm

    Thanks for re-instating the balance. i do sometimes find ardent feminists a bit, well, ungrateful. IN a lot of relationships we do call an awful lot of the shots these days. And in many respects men don’t know whether they’re coming or going a lot of the time.
    Still say *uck the Daily Mail though.

    M2M

  10. 17 August, 2013 / 6:44 am

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