December 10, 2012
Dear Rupert Murdoch
It is in human nature to want a governing force with
the interests of all citizens in mind to create a more utopian society, and
this notion of catering to a specific demographic is outdated and oppressive.
There have been numerous circumstances throughout history of tyrants and greedy
men in power who have blatantly used their influence to benefit their personal
gains with no regard to the well-being of the people they claim rule over. This
rule, in the modern era is not exclusively the President, the Military, the
House or the Senate. No, the power is in the control of the constituencies of
these Governmental processes, the owners of the fortune 500’s and those who
feel it is their right as the wealthy, to get what they want. Inequality is a
common enemy to all the human race and anything that can be done to combat it
should be considered admirable. Discouraging education, healthcare, women’s
rights and the staples of life to women and minorities is in itself the war
every human is fighting. This is a balancing act between allowing those who
deserve opportunities a chance to make a difference while maintaining a
beneficial ruling class with those in power acting responsibly. Masculinity in
society is a powerful tool used by those in control to retain the status quo of
the culture and reap the benefits that come with oppressing the less fortunate.
The working class has been dominated by men until
recent history, and while this is considered a social norm we can never see
true equality at home. The culture of the world is changing with new jobs in
new fields being created every year. We have a need for a diverse work force
with a variety of different skills that do not necessarily cater towards men
and their masculinity. Rather than having the men be the main bread earners
there should be an equal balance between the sexes as to what their individual
responsibilities truly are. Already, we are seeing women snatching a vast
number of jobs as they become available because they are qualified and have the
need to make a name for themselves. According to the Educational Attainment in the United States:2010, 36 percent of
women ages 25 to 30 hold bachelor’s degrees or higher, while men hold only 28
percent. This alone proves that women are preparing for a work force shift that
men are not ready for. They are getting their education, motivation and equipment
needed to not only enter the workforce, but take control of it. The notion of a
stay at home mom is disappearing while in many fields women are holding more
jobs than men. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, women now hold 51.4 percent of managerial and
professional jobs—up from 26.1 percent in 1980. The man with the weight of the
world on his shoulders is simply disappearing. It is interesting, seeing these
changes come about, in the short 22 years I’ve been around I have seen more and
more families since 1990 who either have both parents working or the mom
working while the dad takes care of the children. That man whose sole
responsibility is earning is an outcast, he stands alone in a world where joint
responsibility is quickly becoming a social norm. So, with women getting more prepared to work
and taking more available jobs we see how it is imperative for men to stop
fighting this clearly evident movement of women in the workforce and learn to
relinquish their testosterone based power struggle when it is in the best interests
of an entire nation.
Greed and power seem to
coincide in every culture and those that suffer for it are the lower and middle
class when their needs are not being met by a masculine driven ruling class.
Rather than having one demographic making decisions for an entire populace it
should be more equally dispersed to reduce the overwhelming odds for or against
a bias cause. The recent depression was caused by greedy men spending
frivolously with no consequences which resulted in the majority of the working
class paying for it. Having more women and minorities in power would reduce
this unchecked greed and provide more equality for a vast demographic. We have
seen instances of women in power throughout Europe and Asia and the apparent
good they have done for their countries. Iceland is called the most feminine
place in the world and after the bank crash in 2008 they had to go into crisis
mode. After firing a number of male administrators and replacing them with
women, along with not bailing out 3 of their biggest banks, Iceland fared much
better than other European nations. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
as of 2012 Rwanda, Andorra and Cuba all have a majority of women that are occupying
lower house seats and there are many others that are approaching very quickly.
With the world moving towards a fresh look at women in power we see results and
attitudes shifting towards the better for equality and general well-being. Now,
not all men seem so gung-ho to refute this feminist movement and reduce the
male power monopoly. In fact, since the birth of this country we have seen
numerous prominent male figures get involved in the feminist movement for
example “men such as Thomas Paine, John Dewey and Ralph Waldo Emerson supported
women’s campaigns for property rights, equal access to education and suffrage”
(Kimmel and Mosmiller 1992). During a lecture on women’s suffrage Emerson
continued his support by saying “[L]et the laws be purged of every barbarous
impediment to women” (Emerson 1992: 219).
If the general consensus around masculinity is that educated, successful
and influential men are joining this movement for whatever reason be it
rational or not, there is merit to it. This merit adds power to the movement
allowing the idea of a more diverse ruling class to take form in the minds of
all citizens.
Fox News is a shining example of the media
portraying a completely dysfunctional modern perspective of women, minorities
and masculinity. From The Five to Fox and friends, this news organization
reinforces ancient gender roles through every station they put on the air. The
men are white, the women are slow but attractive, and in every single piece of
what they call journalism they manage to subliminally brainwash their die-hard
viewers to believing what they say is truth through rhetoric and playing on
previously established social biases. This news organization has lost all
credibility and merit through their backwards views and support of backwards
people. Recently, the infamous Suzanne Venker was welcomed back to Fox and
friends, after her declaration on the fictional “war on men”, to give her views
on women’s roles in the home, workplace and to her husband, she argues that “ women “like to gather and nest and take
care of people” while men “are hunters: they like to build things and kill things.”
As a consequence, she maintains a man’s place is in the office; “his” woman
should simply “surrender” to his rule” (Zack Baeuchamp). Perhaps if we lived in
caves and relied on roaming herds of buffalo to survive this perception of a
woman might have merit. But, by modern standards any free thinking human being
completely rejects this notion. Not only are these views a massive
generalization of women and men, they are insulting to any woman who perceives
herself and is perceived as independent and has a rational understanding of not
only relationships but how men truly do operate. Rather than fox attempting to
retain the masculine status quo in which it was bred, where women were objects,
men were white and people actually watched it’s programing, can’t the
conservative agenda be portrayed within the parameters of this culture and this
reality? The simple answer is, as long as the needs of the owners are being
catered to, the country can burn. A disconnect must be made from the supplier
to the news story, news is not a tool to be manipulated into a weapon, it is
just a tool every citizen should be able to rely on. Fox news is dying, and with it so are it’s
viewers. According to the Politicususa, CNN and MSNBC saw their ratings
increase in 2011, while Fox saw a 3% drop. The average viewer for Fox is 65 and
they have the lowest ratings by far for the younger viewer. If this News
organization is any indication of the growing support for equality, based on
the endorsements Fox has, there is still hope for equality and a less masculine
driven media in the future.
How women are perceived
is a mixture of a self-perpetuation by individuals who see an easy road to what
they want and how that is all tailored to what men want because they hold all
the prizes. Masculinity thrives on these pretenses by allowing women to make
their own rules as to who is on top through the lens of a male perspective. This
comes in varying forms, from wives submitting to their man’s rule to selfish,
success-driven single women who use their sexuality to hold some invisible
title of dominance. Masculinity views these women as objects to a man’s needs
for success in the eyes of other men, a completely natural cycle to show who is
dominant. The byproduct of this nature vs. nurture approach is an increase to
men’s entitlement to women and power, which seemingly separates all classes and
walks of life at a fundamental level. Rather than having women of certain
classes and social standings deciding what they want and how to get there for
all women, it should be a universal understanding between women about their
struggles and what a common goal for all of them could be, in this instance :
equality in the home, work force, and in their relationships with men. This
movement of women as equal citizens cannot possibly come to fruition if there
are those still trying to claw their way up the social ladder or submitting to
the objectivism of a poor relationship. Both genders are susceptible to this
easy path of playing off the advantages you have as opposed to working hard and
showing moral fiber. The ignorance of not seeing the bigger picture by
thousands if not millions of women is disintegrating this feminist movement by
reinforcing men’s perception of women and women’s own perception of themselves.
Men have the
opportunity to change the face of this planet and the future of the entire
human race, and all that is required of them is to relinquish power that they
have proven incapable of handling on their own. As the geography of the planet
changes, the human race must adapt in order to survive. The same can be said
for this new generation of workers and a new era of equality. Learning from our
mistakes is one of the most valuable tools we have been given and to squander
that gift is committing to ideals that will limit us. Masculinity is what we
make it to be, our living standards are what we make them to be and if our goal
is to make a better society for all humans our definition of masculinity must
coincide with that of equality and understanding.
Sincerely,
Ethan Ahlstrom
