# Do men control all womanly things? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371 "2003-03-18T21:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/1 "2003-03-18T21:14:54Z")
[In this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=170702), **Duck Duck Goose** said > [@](#): > > If men could get pregnant as easily as women, I predict that we’d have a lot more money spent on research into safe, effective birth control. Really? Is the world of research so controlled by men that women have absolutely no power? Not one woman is able to take up such research herself? And men harbor some conspiracy against women? Not to pick on **DDG** , this is just an example. I’ve also heard things like “If men had breasts, they’d invent a comfortable bra”, or “If men had periods, they’d figure out a way to make them less uncomfortable.” Are women truly this powerless? ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/2 "2003-03-18T21:30:52Z")
Yeah, if men got prostate cancer then it would be cured by now!! And if most of the people in prison were men, there’d be a law against it!! Uh, wait a sec… Okay, if men were killed in wars then…oh forget it. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/3 "2003-03-18T21:56:55Z")
Which comedian said that if men got pregnant, not only would abortion have always been legal, it would always have been free? ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/4 "2003-03-18T22:36:43Z")
Until the Women’s Health Initiative was launched 1991 by the National Institutes of Health, women’s health issues were largely ignored. In 1990 the General Accounting Office found that women were largely excluded from research. ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/5 "2003-03-18T23:50:23Z")
The point of those “if men could X, then Y would be Z” bromides is that men have historically dominated women economically–they’ve made and controlled more money, so they have a disproportionate market share (or on the public sector side, control more funds) and so a greater control over research and development priorities. Thus, you have situations such as Japan, where viagra was approved within months of its release, but birth control pills were only approved for public use in 1999. The situation is changing, most notably in the area of breast cancer, which receives far more funding than prostate cancer, even though prostate cancer strikes a larger portion of men than breast cancer does women. This is partly the result of a very effective public awareness campaign in the 80s and 90s regarding breast cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/6 "2003-03-18T23:50:42Z")
I think it’s true, but only to the extent that virtually 100% of the population would have a much greater interest in the problem, rather than the less than 100%. I don’t think it’s a ‘powerless women’ thing, just a factor of how many more people would be closer to the problem, hence looking for a better solution. Yes, a lot of men are conscientious about contraceptives, and I too bemoan the fact that they have little contraceptive options. On the other hand, a lot of men are used to the status quo, and calculate their behaviour based on the fact that they won’t fall pregnant. Same as a lot of women base their behaviour on the fact that abortion is available. JMHO. ---
**Author:** ![candida](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@candida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candida)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/7 "2003-03-19T00:02:13Z")
Who was it who argued along the lines that, if men could get pregnant, abortion would have made a sacrament? ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/8 "2003-03-19T00:59:43Z")
[Flo Kennedy.](http://www.newsandletters.org/Issues/2001/Jan-Feb/1.01_flo.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/9 "2003-03-19T01:31:46Z")
If men got pregnant, not only would abortion be illegal, it would be a hanging offense. I’m not sure if male domination, per se, is a satisfactory explanation to historic ignorance of feminine health issues, but a squemishness about dabbling in the realms of reproductive health. It’s just that “women’s health issues” become more important, while “masculine health issues” can be ignored by a greater number of men. After all, how often did one hear good information about erectile disfunction, male sterility, prostate or testicular concer in the bad old days? And yes, if there was a better way to build a bra, women should have found it by now. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/10 "2003-03-19T01:56:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tdn \* > \*\*Are women truly this powerless? \*\* Probably not in America, today. As several have pointed out here, opportunities exist for women to invent a “better bra” etc. Couple hundred years ago? Probably. Women traditionally held some resentment at not having more control about “womanly things”. Here’s one theory (from a book called Giving Birth which I looked for in the bookcase just now but couldn’t find): In ancient society women were in charge of the birth process. Over time, as the study of medicine evolved, men became more interested in the medical aspects of birth. However, the medical “model” was the male body. Pregnancy and birth were treated as an anomaly to the body. Some women feel that pregnancy and birth are mis-managed by medical society’s view of them as aberrant states instead of normal processes of a woman’s body. I’ts a matter of perception, IMO. Polite folks, however, should refrain from throwing out generalized “male-bashing” or “female-bashing” statements. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![candida](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@candida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candida)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/11 "2003-03-19T13:05:14Z")
The only way it’d be a hanging a “hanging offense” would be if it was done by a “heretical” priest! There’d probably be huge theological disputes and even religious wars over the precise interpretation of the ‘sacrament’ and how it should be precisely undertaken. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/12 "2003-03-19T21:20:23Z")
> [@](#): > > In ancient society women were in charge of the birth process. Really? In those days women were little more than property and they had sex whenever the men who possessed them demanded it. And men had little regard for the techniques for avoiding pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/13 "2003-03-19T21:39:16Z")
I think she may mean “birth process” as in the actual birth process—which was taken care of not by men but by midwives or female family members and men weren’t a part of that. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/14 "2003-03-19T22:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NinetyWt \* > \*\*Probably not in America, today. As several have pointed out here, opportunities exist for women to invent a “better bra” etc. > > \*\* Warning, Severe hijack. Though no one manufactures a good fitting bra commercially. Here is the ultimate page for “do it yourselfers”. [http://www.geocities.com/ultimatebras/](http://www.geocities.com/ultimatebras/) ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/15 "2003-03-19T23:04:30Z")
I must admit, I’ve never heard the ‘uncomfortable bra’ thing. I must have abnormal breasts, because I’ve never had problems finding good comfortable bras. YBMV 😃 Also, I’ve never found periods to be uncomfortable. YPMV, too 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/16 "2003-03-20T02:31:41Z")
\*\*Goo !!! \*\* You lucky devil !!! Maybe it’s because you are upside down ? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/17 "2003-03-20T06:01:15Z")
Could be **Ninety** 😃 (took me a second to get it!) ---
**Author:** ![rogue4007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@rogue4007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogue4007)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/18 "2003-03-20T16:54:53Z")
Until the Women’s Health Initiative was launched 1991 by the National Institutes of Health, women’s health issues were largely ignored. In 1990 the General Accounting Office found that women were largely excluded from research. Why is it that women live longer than men then? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/19 "2003-03-20T19:36:30Z")
As with many many other aspects of culture, health issues are affected by the fact that we are midway between patriarchal and postpatriarchal. Similarly, analyses of inequalities based on sex are affected by the fact that we are midway between feminist and postfeminist understandings of the situation. Geez, you notice an unfairness or an inequality, you set out to fix it and make some progress, and then as a result of the progress you’ve made people start acting as if you’re lying when you refer to the unequal situation. Well, OK, once you’ve finished fixing it, it presumably is no longer there, but can we have a little greyscale going on in this tired old black-n-white argument? Yeah, it’s no longer true that men occupy all positions of power and make all the laws and policies. And not only the women who now occupy some of those positions but also some of the men have changed many of the laws and policies so that not all of them are reflections of the sexual politics of yesteryear. While we’re at it, a crumb’s worth of acknowledgement for chivalrous behaviors on the part of male policymakers dating to back when. But I think it’s quite a stretch to say sexual inequality does not at this point exist. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371/20 "2003-03-21T06:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NinetyWt \* > \*\* > In ancient society women were in charge of the birth process. Over time, as the study of medicine evolved, men became more interested in the medical aspects of birth. However, the medical “model” was the male body. Pregnancy and birth were treated as an anomaly to the body. Some women feel that pregnancy and birth are mis-managed by medical society’s view of them as aberrant states instead of normal processes of a woman’s body. > \*\* Fresh out of the Women’s Studies major, are we? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-control-all-womanly-things/162371.md?page=2)