What do you think should be done about these gender inequalities?

VIOLENCE

*Violence against men minimalized or taken less seriously than violence against women otherwise completly ignored.
* Women are more violent than men in some research studies asking both men and women.
* Depiction of violence against men as humorous, in the media and elsewhere (see Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!), when women are also violent.
* Assumption of female innocence or sympathy for women, which will always result in problems such as disproportionate penalties for men and women for similar crimes, lack of sympathy for male victims in domestic violence cases, and dismissal of female-on-male rape cases.
* Societal failure to address prison rape, including issues such as prevention (e.g., reducing prison crowding that requires sharing of cells), impunity for prison rapists, and even correctional staff punishing prisoners by confining them with known rapists. Prison rape is often used as a subject of humor in films such as Let’s Go to Prison.
* Only men are called up during a military draft.
* Circumcision (characterized as harmless tradition by some, and as male genital mutilation by others) being advocated while female genital mutilation is prohibited.
* In American popular culture, sex between a boy coerced by an older woman is generally considered not to be a big deal- Time has remarked that it is “viewed with a wink”- even though this form of child molestation can have serious repercussions for the male victim, including clinical mental illness.
* A 1992 study found that boys are subject to the stereotype that they need significantly less protection against sexual abuse compared to girls. It also found that this leads to less reporting of abuse and to discrimination in which victims receive less treatment and less support from others if they are male.
* Controversy exists that laws that criminalize rape of men when perpetrated by women are not properly enforced. Research has shown that when men are raped (by either women or other men), the rapists will use their bodys’ unconscious natural responses- erections, feelings of dizziness, ejaculation, et cetera- to make them think they “actually wanted it”. Psychologist Helen Smith has written, “Our society [in the U.S.] shames men who are abused by women just as it shamed and blamed women many years ago who were abused by men. Neither strategy is a good one for a society that purports to promote justice and fairness.”

PARENTING

* Discrimination with regard to child custody.
* Unfairness in the way the alimony and child support systems are structured.
* Related to both of the above, gynocentric divorce law.
* Pregnancies carried to term despite agreements ahead of time that they would not be, subjecting men to unwanted parental responsibilities and/or child support expectations. (see Dubay v. Wells)
* The opposite of the above, where a man who wants to have a child has no say in whether his partner aborts their child and is not even notified if the abortion takes place. (see paternal rights and abortion)
* Equality in adoption rights allowing either unmarried males or females to adopt.

DISCRIMINATION

* Legislation that addresses women’s needs without considering the corresponding need in men. (e.g., Women, Infants, and Children Act; Violence Against Women Act)
* Biases in the justice system against men, such as higher incarceration rates and longer sentences for men (compared to women) for the same crimes.
* Statutory rape laws enforced more vehemently in instances where the victim is female and/or the perpetrator is male.[17]
* Rape shield laws, which may prevent some men from adequately challenging their accuser.
* Cathy Young, who does not consider herself a “masculinist,” argues that in rape cases, “the dogma that ‘women never lie’ means that there is, for all intents and purposes, no presumption of innocence for the defendant”.[18]
* Women are allowed to marry at younger ages than men in several countries e.g., Argentina, Uruguay and some U.S. states.[19]
* Men pay higher premiums for auto,[20] life and disability insurance, though discrimination according to race or other criteria is prohibited.
* In some countries, men have to pay more income tax than their female counterparts. E.g. in India the income tax exemption limit for men is Rs 150,000 per annum while that for women is Rs 180,000 per annum.[21]

SOCIAL CONCERNS

* Increasing suicide rate among young men, four times higher than among young women.[22]
* Men have a lower average lifespan than women.
* Men constitute the majority of the prison population.
* It’s usually seen as socially acceptable for a female to try out or follow masculine social norms, whereas if a male does the same for feminine social norms they often attract unwanted attention and are
* victims of ridicule, insult, harassment, and threatening behavior. For example, stay-at-home dads, men who want to be nannies or babysitters, men who cry or express emotions can all be treated poorly.
* Similarly to the previous point, female homosexuality is more accepted than male homosexuality, the latter resulting in a higher degree of homophobia.
* Lack of advocacy for men’s rights; little domestic abuse support for men.
* Prostate cancer funding disproportionately lower than breast cancer funding.[1][23][24][25][26]
* Incarceration for not paying child support, particularly for unwanted children, in contrast to women’s right to abort. (see Male abortion)
* Special government agencies for women’s affairs with no corresponding agencies for men’s affairs.
* Lack of legal ramifications or enforcement for paternity fraud.

EDUCATION

* Some studies have indicated that because boys attract more teacher attention in classrooms compared to girls, boys al
boys also receive harsher forms of punishment as well as more frequent punishment than girls for the same offenses.[1]

EMPLOYMENT

* Harder physical entrance criteria for men in many occupations, such as the army, police and fire service. Requiring men to be physically stronger than women in these occupations leaves men responsible for a greater share of the physical work, for no more pay.[27]
* Legal inequality and protections of paternal vs. maternal leave in most countries.
* Data from 1994 in the U.S. reported that 94% of workplace fatalities occur to men. Masculist Warren Farrell has argued that men are often clustered in dirty, physically demanding and hazardous jobs in an unjustifiably disproportionate manner.[1]

Is being a midwife, a rewarding career?

I am a medical student. I have always planned on specializing in OB/GYN.

Lately though, I have really been considering midwifery, for a couple of reasons.
1. The more I study and learn, the more I love the idea of natural childbirth. By natural I mean, minimum medical intervention, so long as the pregnancy is healthy. Until I really started learning, I always thought that women who had natural childbirths were a little crazy. I see the error of my ways.

2. I love the idea of being able to be with a woman, and support her and encourage her, and help her find the best possible pregnancy plan for her and her bub.Then, to actually be there to sup[port her through labour. It feels much more relaxed, and comfortable. As opposed to an OB, who does those things, but generally, have a limited amount of time with each patient, and is only with her for the actual birth.
3. It gives my husband and I more time to start, and enjoy a family. I don’t want to have children until I am done with school, and I won’t be out of med school for a very long time. I feel like Midwifery is more flexible.

The only thing I worry about, is being 80 years old, and reflecting on my life, and wishing I had taken the time to go the whole way with my career. I don’t want to look back on my life, and feel like I let myself down.

I am really confused, lol

So, is being a Midwife the extremely rewarding career I think it will be?
If you’re a midwife, do you have any regrets?

BQ: If you have used an OB and a Midwife, which experience did you prefer?

Please and thank you to all who answer. 🙂
Sorry, I forgot to add, I will be a Registered Nurse-Midwife. Not just a certified Midwife. I would also likely go on to complete a Masters in Women’s health or midwifery later.

Being a Registered Nurse-Midwife, allows me to train and use more medical intervention, such as pain medication during the labour, and it pays considerably better.

I would also likely work in a hospital or birthing clinic, as opposed to doing home births, just in case an OB is needed for an emergency C-Section, or something similar.

period problems. any advice welcome, but please, no judgement!?

okay, here’s the rundown. i am 21 years old, sexually active, with irregular periods since i first started getting them in 2004.

back in feb of this year i accidentally got pregnant because me and my boyfriend didn’t use a condom. i had a medicine abortion on mar 10 and everything went as smoothly as possible. then on apr 3 of this year, me and my boyfriend had sex and the condom broke. with the bad luck we had just experienced a month prior, i decided to take the morning after pill the next day, and all was well again. we’ve definitely learned our lesson, and have not only been sure to use condoms every time, but my boyfriend pulls out each time as well.

and now, my current worry: i had my last period on jul 23. we’ve had sex a few times since then, and also switched condom brands. i’ve noticed a few times after my boyfriend finishes that it looks as though semen is leaking out of the base of the condom, though he seems to think it is well contained inside and swears that that liquid is from me. i have done my research, and it is true that a woman‘s natural lubrication can turn from clear to a whitish color during rigorous sex and look a lot like semen, so i tried to relax. the last time we did anything was aug 17. my period should have came sometime at the end of august, but has not. now i’m starting to really worry. i’ve taken 2 ept digital pregnancy tests, one on aug 27 and one on sept 2, both of which said “not pregnant.” i’ve had some symptoms of my period coming, but they are the same symptoms as pregnancy. however, last time i was pregnant, i was extremely tired and had severe nausea. not the case this time (at least so far).

like i said, i’ve done research. LOTS. i know that it is unlikely to get pregnant from semen just being deposited around the vagina. i know you have to be ovulating to get pregnant. and i also know that stress can cause a delayed period. almost all signs point to no for me, but i simply can’t stop thinking about it and wondering what if.

so i guess my questions would be, how likely does it seem that i could be pregnant? do you think that this irregularity could be from purely from stress (it’s been 45 days now)? could my cycle still be messing up from the back to back hormone changes with my abortion and morning after pill incident (nearly 5 months ago)? what are the chances that both those pregnancy tests have given me false negatives? should i take another test now or wait a little longer? what other possible reason could there be for my period being this late, with my health being normal? any suggestions on what to do or specific signs to look for? if i am pregnant, would a second abortion completely mess up my body? HELP PLEASE.

If God cares about free will, why has the majority of humanity never reached the age to use their free will?

Since humans appeared, the number of infants and older children who died before maturity probably exceeds 50 billion, or at least half the total born (Paul 2008).

Combining deceased, unborn, infants, and children, the estimated total prematurity loss of conceived humans is in the area of 350 billion. The number who have lived to maturity probably approaches only 50 billion.

A spontaneous abortion or miscarriage is where the life of an embryo or fetus of a human baby is terminated. 15% of all pregnancies end in a spontaneous abortion and many of these women do not even know they are pregnant. Sometimes the pregnancy will only last a few weeks and the women may think the spontaneous abortions is just her menses. 25% percent of all women will have a natural spontaneous abortion in their life.

http://gregspaul.webs.com/Philosophy&Theology.pdf
http://truth-saves.com/chapter1.php?section=2