I have a bit of a differenet perspective than you on this, becasue a) I'm female and b) I'm currently living in Kentucky, where we're a wee bit more backwards than in Cali.
In the rural areas around here, it can be very difficult for a woman to prepare herself financially. Even today, there are many instances of women who don't have job skills, due to the fact that they got married as soon as they were legally able, and all they've ever done is take care of their children. I don't think it's fair to just drop them on their arses and say "Have fun!", particuarly if the reason for the divorce lies with the husband. Now, before you jump down my throat, no, I don't think they should just be supported by someone else, but they should be supported while they are making a name for themselves. I know things are different in Stereotypical Cali, but around here, both parties CAN'T "just walk away and move on" - there's often nowhere to move on TO (and maintain ties with family, something that's a big deal here.).
As for your contention that a woman should plan for something to go wrong... well, that's not exactly an action that builds trust. I mean, how would you feel if your wife said "Sorry, sweetie, but I don't want I joint bank account because you might divorce me some day. Oh, and we can't get a house or cars that we both help pay for, because we might divorce and it would be difficult figuring out who got what. Furthermore, we're not going to have kids. They just complicate thing." Nope... isn't going to happen. Byond that, I know some women who don't (or their mothers don't) have finantial things in their name - finantial records are in either their father's or husband's name. When a woman grows up in a house where her father doesn't allow her to have her own bank account, have a job, or go to school (Yes, occasionally even high school), and she's given no choice but to marry young, to a husband who's just like her father... is it really her fault that she doesn't have any money? Are you willing to tell her to just "get a job and move on"? I couldn't.
I'm also a bit confused on your thoughts on who should have custody of children in case of a divorce. I'm sure you want equality and all, but that's not going to happen. Yes, the women are going to, to a vast extent, get coustidy of children in a divorce. Yes, women will have been their primary caretakers. Go back to bio 101. That's not going to change.
Finally, I resent your comment about women in this country deciding we don't need fiscal responsibility. Either you don't have enough female friends, or you don't pay attention to your male ones - from my perspective, both women and men are terrible in the fiscal responsibility department. Furthermore, as a 19 year old female with two stock portfolios, and appx $5k liquid available to me (Yes, all from my own hard work, I wasn't given anything from my parents) (Also, I pay all of my own bills, including the one for my education) I feel that there women in this country who are totally finantially responsable. |
