It's good for a very small number of women - beautiful ones. The vast majority not only get nothing out of them, but are actually harmed by the practice because it reinforces a system where a desirable and I assume lucrative career is only open to privileged women.

I'd rather people listened more and expressed support as allies instead of presuming to speak on behalf of others.

AND it's patronising to those other women in foreign countries. Because it's usually said with a tone that makes them seem like victims waiting for westerners' mercy and enlightenment, and presumes that mentioning them in a speech means something to them.

But why should she (about foreign women's problems I mean)? I'm from the non-western hemisphere. I don't see how her giving us some lip-service without possessing the basic knowledge about our specific context and how our problems are situated in it will help us in any way. This seems like something that would only…

But why should she? I'm from the non-western hemisphere. I don't see how her giving us some lip-service without possessing the basic knowledge about our specific context and how our problems are situated in it will help us in any way. This seems like something that would only help first-world people feel better about…

"but there are women in the rest of the world who have it far worse"

"So, you know — I went to Catholic school and all this crazy stuff happened. I was going, 'Oh, is this just the way adults are?'...I was very naive."

Because that's what they have on their side of the list. The direction of thought is opposite: they don't make conclusions based on facts, but seek facts to back up already made conclusions.

Fight back until it's normialised. I'm seeing a great change from a few years ago, personally. The tone of discourse has changed.

I know it makes me uncomfortable because they usually speak from a place of ignorance. And it's very interesting that they don't dare make these sweeping generalisations about countries such as Pakistan, for example, because they know it would be racist (and it would be). But if it's an Eastern European country, it's…

Yeah, welcome to Gawker media. Or American forums everywhere. I've been reading Jezebel for 5 years now and I swear, Americans seem all but incapable of holding more than one idea of any given culture at a time. I've read astounding shit in here - an article about a horrible rape case in New Zealand means NZ is more…

Same shit in Bulgaria. I've been noticing more and more insidious instances of trying to institute a "conservative" ideas about the sexes - mummies staying home in children's books while daddies go to work, women homemakers in ads - while it's a country of 90%+ working women because that's the legacy of Socialism. And…

How can unselfaware can you be?! You scold people for being racist while dividing Russia and the West as though you're talking about barbarians and Civilisation. I think westerners would do well to at least try and check their seemingly inextricable imperialist ideas before daring to speak about peoples they know next…

Magical realism is a real genre, associated mainly with Latin American and Indian authors. There are other genre classifications apart from American ones, you know.

EDIT: Replied before I'd read your other comment addressing this. I'm sorry and disregard please.

But see, if a man writes about love, he writes about the human capacity for love and explores the spiritual and social boundaries of emotion. When a woman writes about love, it's chicklit. I hope it's all clear now.

Same for labradors. The only thing I've seen her turn away from are mussels, for some reason.

I wouldn't be surprised - they've even made it to Eastern Europe, where we haven't had a problem with abortion for decades, and now I'm seeing pro-life leaflets from American organisations.

I know, but 500? That sounds expensive, and organised.

They were shipped with 500 buses. Doesn't that tell you something about the organisation of the protest? In my country, when the protesters are shipped en masse, they're usually paid - that's why I'm sceptical.

500 buses? Based on my experience with this tactic in my country (happens regularly), this must have been organised by an entity of means. Co-opting one of the most powerful means of expressing social discontent makes me very very angry.