I define power as 'control over one's life.' A balanced life is far superior to the male definition of power: earning money someone else spends while he dies sooner.
Is there discrimination against women? Yes. There's no denying that the old boys' network is alive and well. But there's also discrimination against men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote addresses gender discrimination, acknowledging that both women and men face discrimination in different forms.
Warren Farrell's quote highlights the ongoing issue of discrimination within society, noting that while women often face systemic barriers such as the 'old boys' network', men also experience forms of discrimination. This dual acknowledgment invites a broader conversation about gender equality and the complexities of discrimination that impact all genders, challenging the perception that one gender's struggles can overshadow those of another.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about gender equality during a panel, one might reference this quote to illustrate the complexity of discrimination.
More from Warren Farrell
All quotes βMen rarely worry about using or being used because all relationships work that way. A man perceives himself as owning and being owned by a woman. 'Use' is a dirty word only when there's an imbalance in the relationship.
We always look at the 'Fortune 500,' and we say, men in power, but we don't look at the glass cellar as opposed to the glass ceiling and say, men also are the homeless, men are also the ones that are the garbage collectors. Men are also the ones dying in construction sites that aren't properly supervised for safety hazards.
So long as you create laws that define women as victims, as creatures that demand protection, that need bodyguards, you are going to perpetuate the very worst of our sexist past.
The key to wealth is not what we earn. It is in what is spent on us.
Throughout my life I have always been amazed that people couldn't listen to other people, that they couldn't hear their best intent, that there seemed to be an enormous need to demonize.
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