National Geographic Places Women's Suffering Above Men's

	posted by Matt on 10:17 PM December 30th, 2004
	mens_issues writes "The newly arrived January 2005 issue of the National Geographic has the following text on page 89 "The women of Anefgou mourn the death of one of their own, from old age. Tied to the countryside by tradition and lack of education, women "do the heavy lifting," says GEOGRAPHIC researcher Marisa Larson, who served this region as a Peace Corps volunteer. Women plow the fields and raise the children while their men increasingly toil in the cities." Ed. note: On-line excerpt from article is found here. Click "Read more..." for more.

	So, it seems that the Moroccan Patriarchy is oppressing the Berber women in the Atlas Mountains, while their men have the privilege of living in shantytowns on the outskirts of Casablanca and Rabat where they work long hours for a pittance to send home. Granted, it sounds like a tough life for BOTH genders, but is it necessary to denigrate the Berber men like this? The National Geographic is a fine magazine otherwise, but it has this annoying tendency to insert "academic" feminism into many of its articles. Ironically, on page 85 the following text may be found "Bold strokes of saffron mark a woman in Zaouia Ahansal as the mother of a boy being circumsised and also as a Berber, or Amazigh (Free Person)." Also, page 91 has "Following Muslim custom, villagers circumcise a two-year-old [boy] in a Taarart courtyard." Where is the outcry against male genital mutilation by the National Geographic? Contact the National Geographic via this page, or send a letter to the editor at: ngsforum@nationalgeographic.com. Steve"

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Kiwi Shoe Polish ad in Dec. '04 NG (Score:2) by mens_issues on 12:01 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#1) There is one other thing to point out that recently appeared in National Geographic. The December 2004 issue has an ad for Kiwi Shoe Polish that states: Men, your shoes should be polished regularly. Also, your sleeve is not a napkin. (This appears at the end of the "Forum" section near the beginning of the magazine.) Very funny. Perhaps both National Geographic and Kiwi Shoe Polish need to be informed of how we feel. Kiwi Shoe Polish is owned by Sara Lee Household Products and Body Care. To contact them, go to: http://www.saralee.com/ourcompany/contactus.aspx Steve

NG: Japanese misandrist sneers at men (Score:2) by mens_issues on 01:42 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#2) While on the subject of anti-male writing in the National Geographic, I thought I'd bring up an excerpt from an article on Tokyo Bay (by Tracy Dahlby) in the October 2002 issue on page 52: "We women don't expect much from men today," Yamanaka said matter-of-factly. "But we do want to better ourselves." We had paused near a boutique called Accessory Creation Mix. Inside, customers pressed the counter, ordering cosmetics tailored to their skin's precise complexion. Did today's freer spirit connect with bigger ideas of feminism and equality? I asked. That might come later, said Yamanaka, but for now women were enjoying the gender jujitsu. "Men are good for taking you out to dinner," she said, "but in the future women will make the decisions." At time I read this I was livid, and was unsure if I would want to read this magazine anymore. Isn't this the country where the word "karoshi" (death from overwork - guess which gender) was invented? However, it was a gift subscription to me, which is why I still get it. As this was two years ago, it seem a bit moot to bring this up now, but this excerpt really antagonized me at the time. Steve

Re:NG: Japanese misandrist sneers at men (Score:2) by TLE on 02:56 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#3) You're absolutely right about National Geographic. I don't get their magazine anymore, but the NG channel on cable is saturated with anti-male feminist propaganda. There was an hour special on how great the female smoke jumpers are doing (no mention of gender normed standards), and several animal shows depicting male animals as lazy and ruthless and female animals as nurturing.

Female cheetahs oppressed by male cheetahs (Score:2) by mens_issues on 05:17 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#4) ...several animal shows depicting male animals as lazy and ruthless and female animals as nurturing. In the same issue (Jan. '05) there is an article on page 34 praising mother cheetahs in their struggle to raise a litter of cubs. This is what is said about male cheetahs: "Cheetah motherhood is a solitary job. Males appear briefly for mating but play no role in rearing the young." On the NG website there is the following information: "A lack of genetic variation, which makes the individual animals more susceptible to disease and death, also threatens the cheetah population. Captive breeding programs have attempted to mate animals, but many males, already inbred, suffer from poor sperm quality and have difficulties producing offspring." Wow, these male cheetahs sure are useless. Their sperm quality is poor, and they also abandon their mates. Perhaps we need cheetah feminists to ensure equality between male and female cheetahs. Steve

Re:Female cheetahs oppressed by male cheetahs (Score:2) by TLE on 08:14 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#6) And don't forget, National Geographic's observations of animal mating has revealed a universe of rape committed against weak and underage female animals by the dominant and insensitive males. The beasts!

My email letter to the National Geographic (Score:2) by mens_issues on 06:13 PM December 31st, 2004 EST (#5) Dear National Geographic, Berber life sounds tough for both men and women, but your article denigrates Berber men by saying that women “do the heavy lifting.” At the end of the article you note that these men have the privilege of living in shantytowns on the outskirts of Casablanca or Rabat where they work long hours for a pittance to send home. This doesn’t sound particularly easy either. The same article mentions in two places a boy being circumcised, but does not challenge this practice as it would female genital mutilation. Sincerely, Steven G. Van Valkenburg Founder of Men's Issues Online

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