Comments on: Should Men Have A Voice In The Abortion Debate? http://popsych.org/should-men-have-a-voice-in-the-abortion-debate/ The Internet's Best Evolutionary Psycholo-guy Wed, 03 Jan 2018 01:05:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Stella http://popsych.org/should-men-have-a-voice-in-the-abortion-debate/#comment-1014 Stella Wed, 11 Mar 2015 18:48:31 +0000 http://popsych.org/?p=3985#comment-1014 Once, while talking to a male friend who is more pro-choice than I am about abortion, he said, "I'm a man. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be raped." But, of course, I had never been raped either. I have never even been in a situation where I feared rape. My friend seemed to think that rape was something women just sort of own, as condition of womanhood. Similarly, I have never been pregnant. I have never worried about getting pregnant. I have never used birth control. Does my opinion on abortion still count? If so, than the validity of opinion doesn't have anything to with experiences--it's simple, straightforward sexism. If my opinion does *not* count, than the opinions of women who are less likely to support abortion (long-term maters, as you term it) are shut out of the discussion, which isn't really how discussion (or laws) should work. Once, while talking to a male friend who is more pro-choice than I am about abortion, he said, “I’m a man. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be raped.”

But, of course, I had never been raped either. I have never even been in a situation where I feared rape. My friend seemed to think that rape was something women just sort of own, as condition of womanhood.

Similarly, I have never been pregnant. I have never worried about getting pregnant. I have never used birth control. Does my opinion on abortion still count? If so, than the validity of opinion doesn’t have anything to with experiences–it’s simple, straightforward sexism. If my opinion does *not* count, than the opinions of women who are less likely to support abortion (long-term maters, as you term it) are shut out of the discussion, which isn’t really how discussion (or laws) should work.

]]> By: chris http://popsych.org/should-men-have-a-voice-in-the-abortion-debate/#comment-1013 chris Wed, 11 Mar 2015 15:55:41 +0000 http://popsych.org/?p=3985#comment-1013 The same person who claims that only women are allowed to have an opinion on abortion because it's a matter that is exclusive to women would also be the same person who would say that men aren't allowed to have an opinion on cuckoldry* (*using the definition of forcing a man to provide for a child against his will or without his consent)/financial abortion of men even though that's a matter exclusive to men. http://www.salon.com/2000/10/19/mens_choice/ This suggests to me that such a persons' arguments and beliefs are really about just shoring up that person's power. The same person who claims that only women are allowed to have an opinion on abortion because it’s a matter that is exclusive to women would also be the same person who would say that men aren’t allowed to have an opinion on cuckoldry* (*using the definition of forcing a man to provide for a child against his will or without his consent)/financial abortion of men even though that’s a matter exclusive to men.

http://www.salon.com/2000/10/19/mens_choice/

This suggests to me that such a persons’ arguments and beliefs are really about just shoring up that person’s power.

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