men and women

I have been studying John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women. Mill discusses in one of his essays marital slavery vs. marital friendship. He argues that women should be brought up to the level of men and should be treated as equals. He was one of the first philosophers to tackle the issue of the equality of women and though his intentions are pure and noble, I feel he got it wrong.

The mere fact that he says women need to be brought up to the level of men indicates that he thinks where men are is where we should all be. Women need to enter the world of men and assimilate. He says women are capable, therefore should be given the opportunities to excel in the areas in which they are gifted yet have neglected to develop.

"...the very things which women are not allowed to do are the very ones for which they are peculiarly qualified; since their vocation for government has made its way, and become conspicuous,through the very few opportunities which have been given."
-John Stuart Mill



Beside women's role in government he focuses on the marriage aspect of our human relationship with the opposite sex. He says women should not be forced to serve their husbands, for the contract of marriage is not to be one of marital slavery but more of a contract of friendship and partnership.

This sounds great, but something is missing from his argument. He has forgotten that men and women are very different. I am one who thinks men and women were created to fulfill different roles in society. We are not all to act the same and be qualified in the same fields. Though a woman is capable of doing that which a man does, it does not mean that that is to be her goal in life. To be just like men would not work. Men and women are indeed equal. Since the beginning of time and creation, husband and wife were in a partnership having been made equal but to serve different purposes.

Roles are interchangeable and one can perform well the role of another but the original intent has been forgotten. Each have strengths and weaknesses therefore we should assume our roles and complement each other. My thoughts may seem too idealistic but if we learned to be content with what we are given then there would be no need to fight for what another has.