I rather hijacked this thread when I brought Germaine Greer into the topic. Apologies, Ian: I do think the original topic should be properly aired, but first,

Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post
IMHO: I think this is all another symptom that stems directly from the ill conceived feminist pendulum swinging too far yet again in one direction in great part with the help of a faceless unaccountable corperate media that doesnt care about anything but lining its own pockets by promoting violence and controversy becuase thats what gets the ratings.
I agree with the first part, den. Feminism that adopts a positive approach to societal reform is to be encouraged, but militant feminism of the kind Greer espouses is no better than the male sexism it despises, and it should be shunned. You don't get equality by oppressing your oppressor, you simply turn the table.

However, the BBC gets its money whether it tops the ratings or no-one watches at all. It carries no advertising in the UK. It does like to get good ratings, of course, but the profit motive isn't there like it is for the other channels.

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According to another news item, one in six men in a relationship suffer abuse from their partner, whereas one in four women are abused. Clearly, women's need is greater than men's, and this must not be overlooked in this discussion. However, as the number of men and women in a relationship is roughly equal, it would seem that for every 12 partnerships, 3 women suffer abuse, and 2 men do so too. If my simple arithmetic is right, then the fact that nearly half of UK relationships are abusive is shocking, and the number of instances where the abuser is the woman is surprising (to me anyway). It also seems that, among the younger generation - those in their 20's - the level of abuse is more or less equal.

We know that women prefer to suffer in silence (or think they deserve it), and I suggest that men also prefer to keep the abuse to themselves. Not only might they think they deserve their treatment, but they are ashamed to admit it, because they would rather endure the misery than be seen to be weak.

I suggested above that female abuse might be less obvious to outsiders for this reason, or because the female abuser claims that she is the victim of her partner. Someone suggested this could not be, because the man could show the marks made on his body when he was attacked. While that is true, I am sure that such women are capable of marking themselves if they want to, but, more likely, the abuse takes a different form, a form women are far more able to inflict than physical violence, namely, mental abuse.

Mental torture can be more insidious, more degrading and more permanent in its effects than physical violence. Its marks are invisible, however.