Equality On The Horizon

Transcript:

By That Cynical Cynicism: It is often proclaimed by many self-described crusaders for social justice that women ought to be granted equality, but that somehow, we’re not quite there yet. Well, in this video I’m going to demonstrate their logic – or lack thereof – through the use of metaphors.

Before I upset the sensibilities of the professionally offended though, don’t worry, I’m going to start with something that should be fairly uncontroversial.

The Earth is a spherical object.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to imagine what it must be like to not know that. Imagine sitting on a beach and staring out at the horizon; wondering what it must be like to sail out to sea in an effort to reach it. Would you eventually hit a wall decorated with sky? Or would you simply fall off the edge of the Earth?
Of course, today we know that there is no horizon, it’s merely an optical illusion created by the curvature of the Earth. We’ve known this since the 3^rd Century BC, when Eratosthenes – often hailed as the father of geography – calculated the circumference of the Earth’s surface using only columns and shadows. By comparing the length of the shadows cast by equivalent objects in Alexandria and Syene; he was able to calculate that the angle of the sunlight differed by 7 degrees. Once this was established; all he needed to do was pace out the distance between Alexandria and Syene, and then he would be able to translate the result into a 360 degree model to find that the Earth had a circumference of 40,000 kilometres. Remarkably accurate given the technological limitations he was burdened with.
I bring this up because just as the horizon is an abstract illusion that can never be reached; so too is the unqualified gender equality that the social justice brigade appoint themselves to fight for. It will always be proclaimed that women are still not viewed as men’s equals; regardless of the number of measures in place which seek to grant women preferential treatment. All in the name of furthering the strive towards gender equality.
At what point do you have to concede that this approach is a fool’s errand though? Is equality really the goal if you’re simply seeking to grant women preferential treatment in order to counteract inequality of outcome? And is it really some illusive and ingrained prejudice that permeates our society that causes inequality of outcome to begin with?
Perhaps instead of some grandiose societal oppression, the real cause of this inequality lies much closer to home. After all, early feminism showed that women had the ability to group together and campaign for recognition which they felt they deserved, and modern feminism has simply followed in it’s footsteps. Except today, feminists seem unable to point towards specific rights that women are demonstrably denied. They attained equal property rights for women, they attained the vote, the attained anti-discrimination laws; they even attained affirmation action and social welfare programs.
How far do we have to go before “equality” has finally been reached? Well, as far as can be gotten away with by the looks of things, because by turning equality into a vague ideal on some distant horizon; feminists have allowed themselves to move the goalposts whenever it happens to benefit women. The more we commit ourselves to pursuing equality, the more we will be told that it eludes us, and on the way; women will gain cumulatively more entitlements and privileges bought and paid for by men.
I am suggesting a different approach. Let’s give men and women a level playing field under the law, and allow both of them to take charge of their own lives. It’s no good getting a degree in women’s studies only to complain about the lack of women in engineering, and it’s no good blaming one sex for the fact that both sexes have their own skills and interests; which typically tend to be different.
I don’t know about you but I’m not interested in chasing horizons. I prefer to keep both feet on solid ground.

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