Reply to Are men aware when they have sexist views about women and just don't care?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But part of this is that he's not against people getting things for free, or against the government mandating things. He has comprehensive insurance, goes for regular physicals, and further has asthma that requires preventative care for optimal outcomes. He also supports the individual mandate. He's also basically a Democrat, which, let's face it, generally involves support for a good deal of government benefits. My point with all the examples is that he has inconsistent viewpoints when sex and women (not men) are involved.[/quote]

Right, it's just women getting contraception for free...sex, that is.  At which point, I would, were i in your shoes, simply state: you're wrong and not logically consistent and then ask him: why is contraception (pregnancy prevention) different from asthma preventatives?

Honestly, I'm not familiar enough with asthma to think of a preventative - there aren't steps you can take to keep from getting asthma - you have it or don't; you can react to it by taking drugs that suppress attacks or using inhalers that respond to them...but you can't keep from 'catching' it.  Is this what he's hung up on? Insurance is strictly for reacting to new medical issues - like broken bones after an accident or getting antibiotics to treat Lyme after a tick bite?  If that's the case, what activities does he engage in that put him at risk of breaking a bone?  Like...crossing the street?  Clearly if he's choosing to take the risk of crossing the street, he shouldn't be expecting insurance to pick up the tab.  The distinction here is agency: are you doing something that might increase your risk...the way having sex puts you at risk for pregnancy.

That "agency" question is a real hangup for a lot of people who believe in a kind o libertarian horatio-alger magical thinking: the kind where all power rests in individual choices, not in plain dumb luck (good or bad).

[quote]And, to the bolded point, I completely agree but have used the needle exchange analogy in the past in discussing the point. Many people believe that drug use is wrong and/or illegal and that it's immoral/unethical to further drug use by offering clean needles. Many other people believe that drug use is inevitable for addicts and that we should try to stem the spread of disease by offering clean needles (and also do other things to prevent folks from taking up the habit in the first place). I'm in the second camp, because I consider it to be more pragmatic, akin to acknowledging that sex is going to happen. If someone else was in the harm reduction camp for needle exchanges but in the anti harm reduction camp for sex, I would consider those positions inconsistent and indicative of sexism. If someone held both positions consistently, fine - I don't happen to agree, but such is life.[/quote]

In all fairness, although I made this point, it is actually a sidestep of the initial issue and kind of orthogonal.  It says "doesn't matter if it should or shouldn't happen, it will".  If he's hung up on what is right (should or shouldn't) then this is a side issue.[/quote]

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