the old vikings believe women were only a container to place the fully formed baby in, so she'd nurse it till it was born and feed it to be strong.

they full on believed a man could be the sole maker of a baby, that they could just as well had placed the fetus in a cow or a jar, but chose the woman that would follow them if ordered to. Jars break and cows ran away...

or this is what my history teacher taught us, never did look it up thought

*Googles*

can't find anything about it online, so maybe it was complete and utter BS to see if anyone was listening, but then again, I can't find anything about pregnancy, at all. It's like they just married and had babies

I saw that a baby wasn't born until it was considered healthy, so they could carry it out into the forest as wolf feed if there was something wrong with it.

the olden days was harsh

many cultures of the time period a child was not seen as person until they had survived a certain amount of time after birth and been recognized or acknowledged by the family, particularly the father (The Troth, 2007). This is logical given the high rates of infant mortality, and also allowed for the newborn to be killed or exposed if it was unwanted, sickly, or unacceptable to the parents (after being officially acknowledged such actions would be treated as murder). Although extremely harsh and unacceptable to modern heathens such infanticide of newborns was a widespread practice in most, if not all, ancient cultures. The result of this for a modern heathen seeking traditional pregnancy practices may be that there just isn't that much to be found, although there is more in the category of birth practices and child blessings. http://lairbhan.blogspot.fi/20...norse-tradition.html

Wow.  I did not know that about the Vikings.  They sound a lot like the Spartans of Greece.

If you want to have some fun, look at French history around the time of the revolution.  I listened to an audiobook about the history during that time period and the one thing that struck me was how important women were to the revolution.

Examples:
- Women were part of the storming of the Bastille.

- The revolutionary committee wanted to figure out a way to convince the King and Queen to move from Versailles to Paris, but the men of the committee couldn't agree on how to do it.  A group of women from Paris got fed up and took matters into their own hands.  They marched from Paris to Versailles and convinced the Royal couple to accompany them back to Paris.

- During the economic hard times that the revolution faced, such as the price of bread or sugar rising to unacceptable levels, the women of Paris would rise up and riot, forcing the men of the government to stop humming and hawing and actually do something.

- Things got so bad with the women rioting and causing 'problems' that the government had to put laws in place restricting them.  Women's clubs were closed down because that was where they all met up and came up with crazy ideas, like riots.  Women were forbidden to gather in groups of more than 5, because the government was afraid that they'd riot.

Women usually let men do a lot of weird things, up until you threaten their kids, then you have a mama bear to deal with

And well, anyone will go insane from watching nothing happen, so yes, I need to look into the french revolution

I now really understand that painting one associates with the french revolution

http://artandwomen.weebly.com/...630/1424224_orig.jpg

a woman leading the masses, liberty leading the people

I've heard a similar theory about childbirth (the man literally puts a "baby" into a woman who's just a container) from Old England as well.   It's pretty typical of the medieval science of the time, where the easiest observations told them all they needed to know.  It's like how they thought flies appeared magically from horse manure or rotten fish.

Women have had many incredible impacts on history.  I just heard about a story from the American Revolution where a 16 year old girl Sybil Ludington, who rode 40 miles and many hours to gather an army of 400 men to fight one of the early battles of the Revolutionary War, in Danbury.

So really all women do is let men be men, so their feelings won't be hurt

till they get angry, then they'll make shit happen

but now I generalize

We've been taught from small with small comments and how people react how to be, all based on our gender

boys need to be strong and not cry, while girls need to like pink and be able to whine

it's so annoying, how a small comment as "it's so easy, even a girl can do it" makes me rage

ooooh, and if a woman is angry and some boys say "are you on your period or something?"

are the boy really saying that women can't be angry unless they on their period? really? Are females some sort of subhuman that was made without anger cells?

Yes, I've been having odd ideas and questions lately, and I was angry and a boy, well he was an adult... I just don't think he deserves to be called an adult.. asked me if I was on my period. I almost wanted to snap his neck

*laughs*   sadly, snapping his neck would have only confirmed his suspicions that you were on your period.
Just kidding!!!

Yes, I hate that sexist, misogynistic stuff, too, and try to correct it when I see it.
American has swings back and forth, where we'll do pretty good with stereotypes and making dismissive comments about women, then someone, probably a man, will feel threatened, then we'll have some "old school" sexism.

We'll see a cartoon where the main character is a woman who kicks butt, then have a commercial where little girls can get a Barbie Makeup Mirror, or something.

I've gotten into several arguments on Facebook with men who think that sexism doesn't exist, or is exaggerated by women who are too sensitive.
There's a video going around about a women who taped herself walking down a street in New York City, and showed the dozens of times she was whistled at, leered at, and propositioned in the ten blocks she walked by herself.
Many people rallied to her defense, saying how horrible it was that a woman couldn't walk down the street without men hassling her.
Many man, however, were reacting badly to it, saying that it "wasn't that bad", or that it was "exaggerated" or even "What does she expect, dressed like that?!?"

Very disgusting.

Yeah I saw the video

the weirdest part to me was, she was dressed in a normal t-shirt

I wear less clothes than that...

One gets used to being commented on, and when one sees videos like that, brain goes: "Oh yeah, we're not supposed to be whistled after and oogled"

It's scary how... White-noisey it gets

I did have a nice set of clothes I wore a few days ago, that made some man ask how much it was, I got so flabberghasted I just stared at him (Colorful tights, a dress)

I should have asked him if I actually look over 13... Scare the shit out of him, not that I'm sure if it'd been scary...

I'm rather sure I can't pretend to be younger than 18 thought...

I just got done arguing about feminism on Facebook.  There are FAR too many people who hate feminists there.  There are plenty of vocal feminists who are offended at practically everything, I'll grant you, but lots of men also seem to think that all feminists are man haters who hate sex, or whatever they're saying now.

So many men love to look at beautiful women, so they lash out defensively at anyone who doesn't want them to "be men".   So many of us feel entitled to say whatever we want about women, and sometimes even do whatever we want to them.  But when someone suggests that we stop, lots of men freak out as if we're stomping on their human rights (which is ironic)

hah, I once made a man angry with me, as he'd said something really... harsh about my appearance

so I looked him up and down, and just said something harsh back, and apparently I'm not supposed to do the same back as what he did to me...

so, I've always said I'm an equalitarian, if any man comments on me, I'll sure as hell comment on their appearance in an equal amount of, mean.

Feminism is all about equal rights and so, but some just have to take it too far

they are militant-feminists, and no one realizes they see it as pay-back for the thousands of years of oppression

men weren't oppressed in the same way, they had to follow what their father said, but as soon as they got old enough they could start to make decisions, it wasn't so far back in history that women never became of age, as in their property always belonged to either their father, the man of the house, their brother, or their husband

I understand some militant-feminism, I just don't understand why they'd started victimizing themselves...

as in, someone on the internet says what trolls say "make me a sammich" and suddenly, the receiving woman has PTSD... no, it doesn't work that way, one does not get PTSD from the internet

It's trolls, one just ignore them and handle the people one sees face-to-face, they can't hide behind, their screens

this is of course my personal opinion, and I do not speak about any other woman's reaction to what happens online

*smiles*   Yes, the rights and treatment of women is a problem with no easy solutions.  Or no quick ones, anyway.
It's easy for people to try to say "Well, you have female world leaders, so sexism and discrimination against women must be over."
That's obviously not true, just like there's still racism in America after President Obama's election.

But thousands, or tens of thousands, of years of oppression and degradation won't be solved by a single grand gesture.   And sexism and male privilege is so tightly interwoven and saturated into the culture even over the last hundred years that it'll take more generations to untangle.
and the problem is, or at least one of the problems, is that everyone wants a simple solution, or they don't want to bother.   They want to solve everything at once, or they get frustrated and want to forget about trying.

I've had men argue that as long as they have to pay for meals on a first date, or hold the door for a woman, or are less likely to get custody of a child in a divorce, or get made fun of if they want to stay home with the kids, then there will be no equal rights.
No one seems to realize that this is a long term struggle, and won't be solved so easily.  We have had generations to learn many, many bad habits.  the good ones will take as long.

I thought we were on the right way when I worked in retail and we were told to stop saying words like "girls color, boys color" but use words as "this is pink and this is blue"

I used to work for a large chain, sadly they went into bankruptcy, but it was a positive thing to hear, how they changed how to talk about stuff for sale

I don't know thought, the girl having all pink stuff, it feels like it's been a big thing lately, I don't remember it being an issue when I was small

I remember buying a barbie dressed in a green dress, now I can't find a barbie that isn't pink. One sees the girl toy section in stores cause they "shine" pink

It used to be inside toys and outside toys sections when I was small...

now it's gender...

and it feels like it's happened in the last 20 years, the over-pinkification

maybe I just missed it before, didn't realize it before someone commented on it...?

The 70s and 80s there was a push for more gender equality, but in the 90s things swung back around, with many men protesting "that men couldn't be MEN anymore" or something equally stupid.
Things like gender equality tend to swing back and forth.   When one side gets some traction, the other side protests and things move back a bit.

But there's usually at least a little bit of movement towards equality.

yeah, the equality will happen, it just will take as much time as any other major changes, like cars, it used to be the devils tools, and one could get sick from it going too fast

then we had the sun goes around the earth, thing...

and other debunked facts

need to continuously work towards making it better, because it won't get better from stopping and giving up

so bit by bit, we push equality into effect

and kick the people wanting more power to either side, equality isn't about revenge, it's about being human

Very true.   People are very short sighted, and have a bad habit of thinking that NOW is the pinnacle of human development, not knowing, or caring, that millions of people have thought the same thing for untold generations.

This era will be looked at in the future as one where many things happened, but not one where everything reached its conclusion or its apex.

It's hard to be patient, though, especially knowing that we'll probably never live to see a world of equality as it should be.

Meah, I would be happy with some movement forward

I've seen so much that could have not been invented, like penicillin, vaccines, space-rockets and internet

I was born in a time where there existed no internet, and now, I can use internet everywhere

it's a step forward, and however many steps forward is taken, someone will always find something else that can be fixed or changed

so I don't expect perfect, I do expect movement forward, and some back, but hope for forward

I'm a lil of an optimist, but then again, I've seen images from the 70s of middle east, and now, they plunged into the dark ages

with women's clothes http://religionpoisons.files.w...470_1440132450_n.jpg
Iran

http://www.barenakedislam.com/...012/12/ATT000175.jpg
Afghanistan

*chuckles*  Yes, with the invention of the internet and smart phones, to name only two innovations, the world of the 1970s and 80s almost feels like the medieval age.
The world seems completely different now.
I was born in 1969, so I remember a world without the Internet very well.   :)




but religion has been taking the world back in time, and has been for several years.
Both in the middle east and in America.
There are many instances of fundamentalist groups stirring up trouble all over the world.  It's a little scary, but I'm hoping it'll be only a short term problem.

So much happens, that we sort of forget, cause the shit we want to happen, doesn't happen fast enough

in this instance, equality and racism-begone

The tech world has moved with giant leaps, the medical field has jumped leaps too, everything where a few people can sit in a lab and not be bothered by politicians has basically done a lot

it's as soon as politics or religion is mixed in, it's not happening fast, not fast at all

or then it's me generalizing again, it just feels like we run into problem when it's about larger bunches of people, labs and doctors are rather small, same with people that know how to operate tech

Am I completely wrong to think it's like this?

Yes, there needs to be moderation in everything, but sometimes people stop progress just because they don't understand it.
Many politicians, especially in America, think we're moving too fast with technology, particularly medical technology, and interfere with it.
But any technological leap has to consider the effect it will have on the world and whether we're ready for it, too.

It doesn't help that lots of us on science fiction where robots take over or scientists destroy the world.

yeah, progress is against nature

well, some progress may have saved some animals before extinction, but noo, we have to do as it's always been done

I talk about rhinoceros and viagra then, or tigers and viagra, or so many other countless weird uses for animals, that poachers get, cause they are on the brink of extinction

sadly, so many has died out, because people can't take medication that works, instead of weird powder made from something that may work, but now when they all dead, surely won't work anymore, as there is no more of it to get

yeah, I'm sad at some... reasons to hunt and kill animals to extinction

no reason to do so, really, it doesn't work

use all the oil, why accept new ways to manufacture energy? Why invent cars that can move on other things, cause it's all about money

the thing is, when the oil runs out, no matter the amount of money, we will be screwed

oil is used in everything, plastic, rubber, roads, clothes...

Yes, so many rich people get so much from doing things the way they've always done them, and actively discourage anything that changes the status quo.
There's a documentary called "Who Killed The Electric Car?"  About how the electric car, which was around during the earliest days of the automobile, has been kept from becoming popular during the last century.   A combination, it seems, of the oil companies, car companies, and other interests.

And the horrible selfishness of people is even more horrible.   Yes, killing exotic animals for their horns and tusks is on the rise, and it's sickening.   It's bad enough to kill them for ivory items, which are at least decorative, but to kill tigers and rhinos for magical powders that don't even work is just stupid.  It's embarrassing to be a human sometimes.

Sometimes I jokingly say I'm like a greek goddess, cause they actually had faults...

And it's not me placing myself as better as all the rest, I just have really really bad self-esteem, so saying I'm more than a speck of dust is rather impressive

in my own opinion that is, or maybe I should call myself human and the selfish money grabbing people be called something else

oh well, I'm all for equality, but sadly some are so used to having more money that they think it makes them better, which isn't how it work, it only says that they can afford better quality stuff and education, but it doesn't really make them better

Yes, there's a strange philosophy taking hold in this country that rich people are just better than us "poor people" and they deserve money more than we do, almost as if they'd been blessed by god.
It's not a totally new philosophy, of course.  The late 1800s had seen the rise of "robber barons", rich people like Andrew Carnegie who built the railroads and other great industries, while using up poor workers like a race car uses up spark plugs and tires.

But the conservative movement in this country has been embracing that philosophy more and more over the years, until it's almost part of their religion.

So basically, we back to the egyptian pharaohs times

the pharaoh was a god, and he could do anything he wanted

it's truly scary to read what they considered "normal"

As the saying goes: "Rich people aren't like us".   Yes, many of the super rich are so out of touch that they've forgotten how the rest of us live.  Or think that we're close enough to abject poverty that we like it there.

The Koch brothers, two very conservative billionaires here in America, have been spending a lot of money to try to shape American laws and culture.  It's scary stuff.

yes, I read on, funny and stupid customer stories, not always right-site

about someone overhearing a woman not understanding what living paycheck-to-paycheck meant

as she kept insisting that if they don't get enough money, they should earn more money

Reading it, knowing that someone had thought that, it made me blink for hours from confusion

How can anyone be that removed from actual life...?

But apparently they can, if born rich and inherited the family money, and it's been going on for generations, of course they have no idea how real people live.

There was one time, in the 1900s I believe, in UK when all rich people stopped having servants, and had to go to stores themselves, and well, they were robbed blind by people telling them too high a price, as their servants had done all the bargaining and lowering of prices, they just didn't know how to do it

They were called something too, but I can't remember it

they bought the first thing they were looking for, and wouldn't even try to find the best quality or so, it's still used to this day

my google-fu can't help me remember the name for that sort of fool