Non Modern, Non-Western Accounts of Rape

I believe the double standard can also be seem in more mundane situations. If a young boy gets hurt while playing in a relatively non-dangerous way, more often than not he will be told to stop being a crybaby or be ignored. If a girl gets hurt in the exaxt same way? She is probably going to be forbidden from partaking in the same activities for a week because she is too fragile and precious to be exposed.

Countless incidents like that one during childhood can shape how people think for their whole lives. This is why men are prone to ignore injuries and sicknesses when they should not, and thus live shorter lives on average, and also why women are often more passive and insecure.

This also has more grievous ramifications, like women being too afraid of denouncing domestic abuse because they feel dependant on the abuser, or abuse against men being seem as comical, because if a man needs help he does not deserve it.

And Sharysa, DeMarquis questioned how people would feel if all that was happening to a man, not to all males, so I don't see how a total inversion of gender roles in society would be necessary to speculate on the reactions.

As the parent of a young boy and a young girl, I can tell you that hormones also have something to do with it. You cant stop little boys from trying to take crazy risks, or at least pretending to. It's like they need to do it or something. Girls can take it or leave it depending on their mood, and it's easier to teach them to moderate their behavior.

All these differences have very primitive roots. A teenage male would be in a safer, more advantageous position, if there were no such thing as birth control and the 25 year old woman was risking an out-of-wedlock birth (in a society where protection of property primarily came from your family).

Man, you are a super-interesting person to speak with.

With what you said above, I wonder if you think we should expend energy trying to make the boy act like a girl (or vice versa) in order to foster greater equality?

Frankly, as a parent, I have other priorities. Teaching my kids to work hard, be safe, and feel confident in themselves without putting other people down is challenging enough.

I completely understand and I think I'd do the same.

However, do you think there will be consequences to letting your kids follow their gendered paths unimpeded?

I mean, off the top of my head, it seems that your risk craving son(s) would be more likely to a) die young b) achieve glory c) be a big failure or d) be a big success.

Of course! If it were up to me I woukd arrange a risk free life full of nothing but success and happiness. But I know it isnt up to me. Young as he is, I do not control him, I merely facilitate his self-development as best I can. There are certain choices only he can make, including what kinds of things he identifies with, and what kind of person he wants to be. Even if he makes a choice I dont agree with, theres not a lot I can do about it. I can explain the consequences of his choices, I can model better behavior, but ultimately he must decide what kind of boy he wants to be, and I have to respect that.

Of course, the exact same considerations apply to my daughter as well.

You can't protect your children from the world. You can only see to it that they're prepared for it.

In regards to risk, one of the most important things anyone can learn is that failure is survivable.

What I'm getting at is that it seems risk tolerance would go hand in hand with a low, flat bell curve of success. Lots of very bad outcomes and lots of very good outcomes. Risk aversion would tend to correlate with a tall and narrow bell curve with lots of people huddled around average with fewer triumphs and fewer tragedies.

I don't know if you could or should expect those two groups to occupy similar roles in society. Do you feel I'm missing something?

I honestly don't know how I feel about this. Part of me thinks men and women are just different. Part of me spends a lot of time encouraging young women to take more risks. No part of me encourages young men to take fewer risks, though.

I'm not claiming to be consistent.

edited 5th Nov '16 8:07:44 PM by garridob

Gednder roles evolved in a social environment where there was no rule of law to protect women and their rights. Thankfully, that is no longer the case, but impulse-driven life choices dont just go away, so aspects of our culture, including esp gender roles, still hold over. My own kids are exhibit "A".

I not sure if I should post this, but isn't the whole point of the thread to find non-western non-modern rape stories?

I showed up to this discussion really late, but pretty much only one or two people suggested stuff before it turned into a debate. I found this in Writer's Block, so aren't the people who post here asking about writing? I don't think the OP was interested in a debate.

I read the posts really recently, so if I'm missing context, sorry.

I think I just necro'd. Sorry. I am very new here. I will try not to necro a thread again.

I am so sorry.

Dont be sorry, but if you are aware of an example of such a thing, I would love to see it.