Dave, it is really indefensible to say that women have lost more than they have gained through emancipation and feminism, in any measure or respect. Yes, our lives can be tough; but were they harder when we were considered property, couldn't vote, were denied education, had no choice but to work as unpaid servants in the home, were expected to obey our husbands at all times, rape within marriage was considered an impossibility, we were told what to wear and how to behave? Of course not. Yes, there are prices to be paid for our freedom; I have often said, as a working mother within marriage and, more recently, as a divorced single parent, that all we ever seem to do - as women, as families - is trade one set of compromises for another. You just have to hope you find the one that works best for you and your family. But one of the problems women face in trying to balance all the demands and priorities in their lives is that the men in their lives do not necessarily accept their fair share of the burden of housekeeping and child-rearing (present company excepted, I'm sure). Studies show, as a small example, that something like 75% of housework is still done by women, even in households where both partners work. In my marriage (to someone who would have considered himself quite enlightened politically and socially) I did 100% of the cooking and about 90% of the domestic work - whether I was a stay-at-home mum, working part time, studying for my degree, or trying to maintain a full-time career. It wasn't feminism that made life hard - it was being married to a man whose mother had basically raised him to believe that boys don't do housework, and if he ignored it long enough, someone else would come along and clean up after him. Of course, it was also my fault for letting him behave that way for 15 years.

Some men may feel "threatened by the 'new woman' and use rape to regain some of the lost power". But not only are the victims of rape not to blame for this - *neither is feminism*. If a man takes out his own feelings of inadequacy and resentment on a woman, the fault and blame lie squarely with him, not with her.