In the 21st Century, women are not going to become warriors. War is becoming obsolete.

I resist the idea that we are inherently morally superior to men. My genitalia does not make me any less envious, jealous, addicted to flattery, money or power. I am no less deadly. Some of the most horrific fighters can be women. Etruscan women were Sea Captains and the Amazons were based on known Matriarchal societies and had women warriors. Queen Elizabeth the first was a formidable 'warrior.' Yes, Men's aggression is most often outwardly manifested, but the type of sins in the realm of women are most often the silent and poisonous kind - just as ruthless and fatal. 

I resist the idea that we are inherently morally superior to men. My genitalia does not make me any less envious, jealous, addicted to flattery, money or power. I am no less deadly. Some of the most horrific fighters can be women. Etruscan women were Sea Captains and the Amazons were based on known Matriarchal societies and had women warriors. Queen Elizabeth the first was a formidable 'warrior.' Yes, Men's aggression is most often outwardly manifested, but the type of sins in the realm of women are most often the silent and poisonous kind - just as ruthless and fatal. 

Definitely not true, men became powerful through might, and this is not characteristic of women.

We are moving forward, not going backward.      

First, the majority do not make that kind of $$$, especially now, with the prolifieration of free internet porn.
Second, they may have gone to Hollywood to become stars, but most don't take the demeaning step of going that route.
Defend porn if you will, but for most women who participate, it is a sad life. AIDS is a constant worry, as are other diseases, and many of them are hooked on drugs.   

When the usual comment is made of how men have been in charge all these millennia and and they are inevitably blamed for the world being effed up, I like to remind people that no one gender has a monopoly on being an asshole — Give Women 2,000 years of dominion over the earth .... and we'll most likely have our flaws eventually screw things up too.
Just give us 2,000 years to find out. 

there is a huge amount of money for those that become big porn stars. Annual salaries of hundred of thousand of dollars up into the millions are possible. Plus as someone else mentioned many start out to be "legitimate" actors and end up in the "adult" industry where they see the possible income to be made.

But on the other hand, do little girls generally grow up thinking, "I want to be a porn star when I grow up"? A lot of the women do say that they enjoy it, but few of them indicate that they turned to porn as their first career choice. Many of them resort to it because of economics. Still, if it floats their boat, who am I to try to shoot holes into someone else's deck?

I don't believe in silver bullets, but an excellent education would help significantly.  How do we achieve it, indeed?  First we have to agree on what constitutes an excellent education (that's a whole 'nother topic).

Could it truly be that education- an excellent, unbiased education- really is the silver bullet for all of these issues? How in the world do we ever achieve it?

Complex problems, complex solutions, complex discussions.

But on the other hand, do little girls generally grow up thinking, "I want to be a porn star when I grow up"? A lot of the women do say that they enjoy it, but few of them indicate that they turned to porn as their first career choice. Many of them resort to it because of economics. Still, if it floats their boat, who am I to try to shoot holes into someone else's deck?

But on the other hand, do little girls generally grow up thinking, "I want to be a porn star when I grow up"? A lot of the women do say that they enjoy it, but few of them indicate that they turned to porn as their first career choice. Many of them resort to it because of economics. Still, if it floats their boat, who am I to try to shoot holes into someone else's deck?

I dunno, if disrespect for women is a cultural issue, if educating children in a way that teaches them to value and respect others is a cultural or social issue, then aren't cultural issues like these really political issues?  We know we can't simply wave a wand and legislate prejudice away; but we certainly have a lot of politicians doing battle over what and how our schools should be teaching.  So in that sense, maybe all cultural issues are political issues as well.

Maybe Tipper Gore, with her PMRC campaign, was trying in an overreaching way to create a more respectful culture. Maybe Marlo Thomas had the right idea for our country.  If banning video games, songs, books, magazines etc. that are perceived as disrespecting women is unconstitutional, maybe the most effective way of countering or diminishing the impact of such disrespectful messages is to offer a positive alternative.

Officer thinking, there, afl.

Here's what's weird for me as a feminist: I'm not against porn. I'm not exactly in favor of it, either, because I do believe that it offers a distorted view of women as sexual handmaidens to men, but 1) I'm all about free speech; 2) I believe adults should be the ones to decide individually what they read and watch and; 3) I know perfectly well that the women in the porn industry are payed far, far more than the men, so calling them "exploited" isn't exactly accurate.

Could it truly be that education- an excellent, unbiased education- really is the silver bullet for all of these issues? How in the world do we ever achieve it?

Complex problems, complex solutions, complex discussions.

Another not talked about aspect of the porn or adult entertainment industry in general is that the industry attracts women that are exhibitionists and actually enjoy what they do. Now, does this mean that a lot of women aren't exploited in this shady industry? Absolutely not, I have seen very few women that have enjoyed successful lives and careers without the industry eventually dragging them into drug addiction, poverty and poor health.  My point is that at first at least there are many women who actually enjoy and choose the lifestyle. To each his own I guess.

Officer thinking, there, afl.

Here's what's weird for me as a feminist: I'm not against porn. I'm not exactly in favor of it, either, because I do believe that it offers a distorted view of women as sexual handmaidens to men, but 1) I'm all about free speech; 2) I believe adults should be the ones to decide individually what they read and watch and; 3) I know perfectly well that the women in the porn industry are payed far, far more than the men, so calling them "exploited" isn't exactly accurate.

Could it truly be that education- an excellent, unbiased education- really is the silver bullet for all of these issues? How in the world do we ever achieve it?

Complex problems, complex solutions, complex discussions.

i totally agree, and I'm not sure, other than wages (and educational access/teaching men and women about female leadership,) how much of our battle is political these days, and how much of it is about being strong women and mentoring strong women and working toward raising boys and girls to see a strong woman as, well a strength.

I dunno, if disrespect for women is a cultural issue, if educating children in a way that teaches them to value and respect others is a cultural or social issue, then aren't cultural issues like these really political issues?  We know we can't simply wave a wand and legislate prejudice away; but we certainly have a lot of politicians doing battle over what and how our schools should be teaching.  So in that sense, maybe all cultural issues are political issues as well.

Maybe Tipper Gore, with her PMRC campaign, was trying in an overreaching way to create a more respectful culture. Maybe Marlo Thomas had the right idea for our country.  If banning video games, songs, books, magazines etc. that are perceived as disrespecting women is unconstitutional, maybe the most effective way of countering or diminishing the impact of such disrespectful messages is to offer a positive alternative.