from a 16 year old guy. just quit bitching i dont care really its nice that moms care but the reality is you hit 14 and you are just a womanizing monster 90 % of the time trying to get knee deep in anything that moves. just the truth

I have a son and a daughter. My son is the oldest and my daughter the youngest. They are unaffected by the world so to speak at the moment. They're babies; my son is almost 17 months old and my daughter almost 7 months old. They get along like peas in a pod. My son kisses her cheek and hugs her and cries when I take hold of her to play with her. He'd rather take care of her himself. Now.. why can't we feel that men are just here to love us and protect us as my children seem to? My husband loves me and I love him and we share a concept of respect and love for one another. Although we don't seem to agree on close to nothing that's what makes our relationship stronger. Men are not dogs ladies. We make them that way. And if we want to put an end to the whole "men are scum and treat women like dirt" guess what? It's how the mother raises the son. So if my son becomes a pain in the ass it's because I'm the pain in the ass and I really am. LOL.

ohhhh, goodness, Rebecca, thank you for bringing this up - i had never thought about how I would hate for my son to see those types of messages bringing down boys! Hes two but now that gives me something to prepare for because I totally DO see men disrespected all over the place now - it's not done in my house, but if a sign is displayed saying to throw rocks at boys - I would be totally offended. My mother was kind of counseling me and Eric before I gave birth to our son and she brought up how 40 years ago, tv show couples treated the wife like a moron. (we remembered I Love Lucy). NOW, tv show couples treat the man like a dope (we thought of king of queens, and the simpsons). She stressed to us how important it is that neither of us disrespect the other or put each other down. Rolling your eyes when your spouse is trying to talk to you - or even badmouthing your spouse behind their back with your friends is damaging to your relationship. I used to have friends who'd say, "I don't ALLOW my husband to have the credit or debit cards." Even though SHE was a stay at home mom and he was working. Or "My husband KNOWS BETTER than to leave his socks on the floor when he gets home from work." Like he's a child. Like it's not HIS floor - like they're not dropped RIGHT NEXT TO HER SOCKS! ohhhhh, I hate wives like that!!!!!!! If Eric is bringing in most of our income, I will gladly pick up his socks.

The anti-boy tees are awful, but really, who hasn't seen anti-girl tees? And just the fact that there is "prostitot" clothing--boys aren't expected to dress like they are about to go to their night job as a stripper. Here's a taste of a few anti-girl tees: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/03/kidnapping-and-bondage-in... Remember, anti-girl tees are so much funnier when they threaten kidnapping and reinforce the stereotype that girls talk too much (because it's not like girls are ever violently encouraged to be silent). I don't want people to be anti-boy or anti-men. Feminism is the idea that women and men are equal. I believe we should treat women well and men well--and it follows that we should treat girls well and boys well.

Ok, Heather, that is a super obnoxious. I totally agree with you, except about making a gallery manager apologize to your kid, don't make someone with no taste apologize, that's lame. I agree that there's an expectation for boys to be under achieving idiots and slackers, and that we need to work against that. Boys will boys is one of the most dangerous negligent thing a parent can say about their son. We need to expect our boys to be gentlemen not thugs.

This is a very important topic, and I'm glad you chose to talk about it. I agree with all the points made in the clip about treating all people with respect. I take issue, though, with the idea that feminist = man hater. The people that want to prop up the patriarchal underpinings of our society never won a bigger battle than when they somehow put that idea into people's heads. Growing up in the `90s, I thought that, too. I believed the stereotype that feminists were radical. That feminism wasn't necessary anymore, because girls now have the same opportunities as men. That feminists thought that women were better than men. Then I lived in the world some more, and grew to understand that feminism is still needed. I decided to play drums in band, and got told I would never be as good because I'm a girl. I sat in engineering classes dominated by men. I was told that I couldn't have an assignment at work while pregnant because "You decided to have kids right now". Feminism is not a radical idea. It is not about us over them. It is about women having the opportunity to make decisions about how to live their lives without societal disapproval. Dare I say, through equality it is even about giving men those same choices. But I will gladly follow Rebecca into that store to protest that T-shirt. For my nephew, my brother, my husband, and yes - even for my daughter.

The whole feminist/humanist issue is probably a topic unto itself. I'm most definitely a feminist, but for me that means not only do I expect to be treated with respect, but also that I treat others (ALL others!!) with respect as well. It goes both ways, and I agree that sometimes both sides of the coin are not exercised. I like Mindy's statement about parenting your children well. Let's raise 'em - girls AND boys - to feel good about themselves, to realize that if they want to be treated well they must treat others well, and that yep - if they see something which makes them feel bad, they have a right to express their discomfort and ask for change.

@pumpkin- i concur.

I'll be a humanist when women are actually treated equally.