Warring claims

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Those objecting to “patriarchy“ often make claims like:
  1. In the past, women were unfairly denied the opportunity to become artists, writers, scientists, etc.
  2. It is a clear sign of discrimination that at present, women make up a small number of the scientists mentioned in history books, the writers in the canon, the artists in museums, etc.
Of course, if point one is true, then the facts cited in point two would be the logical result of that past discrimination, and not really offer any evidence for present discrimination. After all, if women were denied the opportunity to pursue painting, then necessarily we would find very few great female painters. To demand that museums equally showcase male and female painters would be as silly as demanding that symphony orchestras equally feature compositions by European and Native American composers.

But logical consistency is not high on the list of desired features for ideologues’ complaints.

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