4 ms·

>We are always on the verge of taking away freedoms from women and people of color. Do you honestly believe this? Do you think that tomorrow, most people will

>We are always on the verge of taking away freedoms from women and people of color. Do you honestly believe this? Do you think that tomorrow, most people will wake up and decide women shouldn't be allowed to vote? Is that an active thing that you fear?

camgunz 9y ago
I think there are a lot of ways to make it harder for specific groups of people to vote. There are active voter intimidation and misinformation campaigns in every federal election. I don't think we'll repeal the 19th Amendment. I do think it's possible we change how people vote so that it's a lot easier for men to vote than women. Many women work retail and service jobs. It's possible to move voting from public precincts to private workplaces (Indiana's Vote Centers are like this in some ways), with some safeguards about traffic, exposure, etc. You could argue, like the proponents of Vote Centers did, that this is far more convenient and that in order to protect voters and votes, we'll only put Vote Centers in secure offices. Afterwards, fewer people will need precincts so we'll save money by shutting many of them down. Would a policy like that ever pass? Again, Indiana's doesn't have the "office" stuff but it's pretty close. Would it prevent all women from voting? No. But you don't need to do that really, you just need to pull their turnout down. Same thing with gerrymandering, voter intimidation, etc. You just need to give yourself an solid advantage. And putting Vote Centers in secure offices where the majority of people are male, and then cutting precincts where the makeup is balanced, increases voting access for men and decreases it for everyone else (well OK, middle class and higher men, but you get my point). Or if limiting voting access is too abstract, look at equal pay. Look at women's health clinics being forced to shut down because they provide abortion services (a crucial component of women's health). Look at women not being allowed in active combat until very, very recently (military promotions are hard to get w/o active combat -- wonder why only 7% of the US' generals are women...). So no, I don't think we'll repeal the 19th Amendment tomorrow. I think people who are racists, anti-feminists, homophobes, etc. have other tools they use that are actually pretty effective.
- arkh 9y ago
  > I think there are a lot of ways to make it harder for specific groups of people to vote. Like requiring them to register on some list making them volunteer for war before they can vote?
  - camgunz 9y ago
    I don't think that has an effect on male voter turnout because far worse things happen to you if you don't sign up for selective service. But you're right, gender roles harm everyone. You can look at the effects of our idea of "masculinity" on male health, they're pretty devastating. One of the main goals of feminism is to eradicate gender roles so people are free to live how they like without laboring under some ancient, outdated ideas on how they should act based on their sex -- which they had no part in choosing.

camgunz 9y ago

I think there are a lot of ways to make it harder for specific groups of people to vote. There are active voter intimidation and misinformation campaigns in every federal election. I don't think we'll repeal the 19th Amendment. I do think it's possible we change how people vote so that it's a lot easier for men to vote than women. Many women work retail and service jobs. It's possible to move voting from public precincts to private workplaces (Indiana's Vote Centers are like this in some ways), with some safeguards about traffic, exposure, etc. You could argue, like the proponents of Vote Centers did, that this is far more convenient and that in order to protect voters and votes, we'll only put Vote Centers in secure offices. Afterwards, fewer people will need precincts so we'll save money by shutting many of them down. Would a policy like that ever pass? Again, Indiana's doesn't have the "office" stuff but it's pretty close. Would it prevent all women from voting? No. But you don't need to do that really, you just need to pull their turnout down. Same thing with gerrymandering, voter intimidation, etc. You just need to give yourself an solid advantage. And putting Vote Centers in secure offices where the majority of people are male, and then cutting precincts where the makeup is balanced, increases voting access for men and decreases it for everyone else (well OK, middle class and higher men, but you get my point). Or if limiting voting access is too abstract, look at equal pay. Look at women's health clinics being forced to shut down because they provide abortion services (a crucial component of women's health). Look at women not being allowed in active combat until very, very recently (military promotions are hard to get w/o active combat -- wonder why only 7% of the US' generals are women...). So no, I don't think we'll repeal the 19th Amendment tomorrow. I think people who are racists, anti-feminists, homophobes, etc. have other tools they use that are actually pretty effective.

arkh 9y ago
> I think there are a lot of ways to make it harder for specific groups of people to vote. Like requiring them to register on some list making them volunteer for war before they can vote?
- camgunz 9y ago
  I don't think that has an effect on male voter turnout because far worse things happen to you if you don't sign up for selective service. But you're right, gender roles harm everyone. You can look at the effects of our idea of "masculinity" on male health, they're pretty devastating. One of the main goals of feminism is to eradicate gender roles so people are free to live how they like without laboring under some ancient, outdated ideas on how they should act based on their sex -- which they had no part in choosing.