Female privilege: Difference between revisions
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==History== | ==History== | ||
In ancient times although women did benefit from female privilege and lived on average much longer and much better than men, as a counterpart they weren't free and were to a variable extent the property of their husband or family. | In ancient times although women did benefit from female privilege and lived on average much longer and much better than men in much of the West, as a counterpart they weren't free and were to a variable extent the property of their husband or family. In non-western societies the extent of female privilege was a lot less obvious however. In ancient and medieval India and China men typically had higher life expectancies and were given better food and medical care than women, a situation that reversed only in the 20th century. Similarly, studies of pre-Columbian Maya graves have indicated that males on average died at a later age, mostly due to the extremely dangerous nature of childbirth as well as better access to luxury foods among males. | ||
In contemporary times the need for female lives to be valued higher than male lives has ceased to exist. Because of the demographic transition, the number of children per woman needed to maintain or expand a tribe or the species's size as a whole is less than 3 and thus a woman's life is perfectly disposable from an evolutionary standpoint. Moreover, women have been granted equal rights with men, or in the other words, the counterpart of female privilege has been revoked. Yet female privilege persisted in modern societies. | In contemporary times the need for female lives to be valued higher than male lives has ceased to exist. Because of the demographic transition, the number of children per woman needed to maintain or expand a tribe or the species's size as a whole is less than 3 and thus a woman's life is perfectly disposable from an evolutionary standpoint. Moreover, women have been granted equal rights with men, or in the other words, the counterpart of female privilege has been revoked. Yet female privilege persisted in modern societies. | ||