Dominic Raab: men should ‘burn their briefs’ in protest at ‘obnoxious feminist bigots’
Down-trodden men should ‘burn their briefs’ in protest at the ‘obnoxious bigotry’ of feminists, a Conservative MP has said.
Dominic Raab criticised equalities chiefs for ignoring “flagrant discrimination” against male workers, claiming that men were now getting a “raw deal” in many areas of life.
The 36-year-old MP for Esher and Walton made his remarks in an article on the Government’s plan to extend paternity leave for new fathers, saying that this was an area in which the last, Labour government had let men down.
He suggested that, like the feminists who burned their bras in the 1970s, men should start “burning their briefs” to draw attention to discrimination against men.
In an article for the PoliticsHome website, he called for more family-friendly policies rather than those to promote female workers, saying: "While we have some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, we are blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination – against men.
"From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women.
"One reason women are left 'holding the baby' is anti-male discrimination in rights of maternity/paternity leave ...
"Meanwhile, young boys are educationally disadvantaged compared to girls, and divorced or separated fathers are systematically ignored by the courts."
Female MPs criticised Mr Raab, a former chief of staff to David Davis, the Conservative leadership candidate.
Harriet Harman, the former equalities minister, said: "Women still earn 20 per cent less than men, domestic violence claims the lives of women every week and women bear the brunt of poverty in the developing world."
Nia Griffith, the shadow business minister, called on Mr Raab to "get real and stop being so self-pitying”.
"The reality is that women with very good qualifications time and time again do not get the top jobs and opportunities," she said.
Kate Green, chairman of the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "The equality and diversity agenda put in place by Labour has been hugely important in levelling the playing field for millions of people in the workplace and we need to ensure we continue to build on its success."
Mr Raab, whose wife, Erika works, in marketing for a major IT firm, also said that there was “more subtle sexism" in play in society, which led to men being subjected to broad negative generalisations.
He wrote: "Men caused the banking crisis. Men earn more because they are more assertive in pay negotiations … "Can you imagine the outrage if such trite generalisations were made about women, or other minorities?
"Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots. You can't have it both ways. Either you believe in equality or you don't.
"If you buy into the whole Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus theory of gender difference – with all its pseudo science – you can't then complain about inequalities of outcome that flow both ways from those essentially sexist distinctions."
The MP suggested that it was now "almost taboo" for a man to question whether the "rapidly dwindling" pay gap was down to discrimination, or "genuine choice".
"Britain's not perfect, and we will never eradicate all human prejudice," he went on.
"But, we have reached a stage where the differences between men and women in our society are less reflective of overt discrimination, and more their common challenge of trying to find the right way to earn a decent quality of life for their family, whilst sparing some time to enjoy it.
"That means taking a consistent approach to equality, ditching outdated gender warfare and finding practical solutions to the challenges couples go through together."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... igots.html
Soon no generalisation or stereotype will hold any truth! So you'd think that that would effect how men and women are seen in the work place. Because really that's what it's all about, financial equality! No-one would give a shit about subtle sexism if everyone was paid equally.