8th - Kaipara Konnection - Dargaville.BIZ
8th - Kaipara Konnection - Dargaville.BIZ
8th - Kaipara Konnection - Dargaville.BIZ
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“Man may have discovered fire, but women discovered<br />
how to play with it.” -- Candace Bushnell<br />
Why Some Things Must Never Change.<br />
The march of progress goes on irrespective of how much we would sometime<br />
prefer to see it grind to a halt for a while or at least let us have some control<br />
over the process. Reflecting back on the social changes over the last 40 years<br />
there have been some dramatic shifts that have occurred. One of the most<br />
obvious has been the change in the role of women in all facets of New Zealand<br />
society. No longer seen as principally the house-maker and housekeeper<br />
in a relationship, today it the norm to see women in professional roles in<br />
government and business that were once deemed to be the preserve of the<br />
male of the species.<br />
The sociologists tell us that this change in values was brought on by the 2 nd<br />
World War – particularly in the United States, where the shortage of able<br />
bodied men for the factories which were producing the necessary weapons to<br />
conduct the war meant that women were forced to move into a new territory.<br />
Rosie the Riveter became the model for the 1970’s feminist movement which<br />
saw women such as Germaine Greer taking a prominent stage in moving<br />
women away from traditional roles and values. Her book – The Female Eunuch<br />
– became a best seller in 1970 and turned her into a household name – not always complementary. People either loved<br />
or vilified her. There was no midway point.<br />
With this change in the attitude towards women – at least in most parts of the Western World – came many other<br />
profound changes that are still bedding into place today. Gone are institutions such as the New Zealand Women’s<br />
Royal Army Corps, (WRACS) , Women Police Constables (WPC’s) in their black skirts, black stockings, and shoes<br />
with white shirts and a tie. Women now serve in all Army Corps at the front line while the New Zealand police have<br />
completely shed their male oriented traditions including the tall “bobby’s hat (cant be worn with long hair) and become<br />
“unigenderised”.<br />
Unfortunately these changes have not been able to change the basic “construction” of men and women - although<br />
some would like to claim otherwise. It is sad to see young teenage boys and young girls forced into gender neutral<br />
clothing at high school with male/female segregation banned. Watch the young lions in a pride playing. The girl lions<br />
play girl games and the boy lions play boy games. Must not happen in our human, western society, today under any<br />
circumstances.<br />
Any human society which has not embraced this new way of living is incessantly rubbished in the Western news media.<br />
3000 year old societies which still have clearly defined roles for men and women are the focus of criticism and external<br />
pressure to change. Of course too much pressure can’t be applied as we (the Western world) need their oil.<br />
Not everyone is able to cope with changes. For example - a minority of Maori in New Zealand still want to live the 1800’s<br />
and seem unable to recognise that time has inexorably moved on. We do not trade land for muskets, blankets, and rum<br />
anymore and our schools and hospitals are open to everyone born or living here. Travel is done in “horseless carriages“<br />
(motoka) along sealed highways rather than by waka or on foot over rough trails cut through the bush. Cooking is no<br />
New AsiAN RestAuRANt<br />
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73 Victoria Street <strong>Dargaville</strong>. Phone (09) 439 8388<br />
Dine in - Takeaways - Open 7 Days - Licenced