Woman's prerogative

If we're serious about wanting equality, then we can't keep expecting special privileges.

Female intuition, a woman's prerogative, feminine mystique - it's time to go cold turkey and give them up.

By mysteriously asserting that we know something because of 'female intuition', that we are entitled to the 'woman's prerogative' and that we are these ethereal mysterious creatures of instinct and emotion, we paint ourselves as fickle emotion-lead creatures, incapable of logical thought.

The right to change your mind

A woman's prerogative is her right to change her mind. Surely everyone has the right to change their mind sometimes? In asserting that this is the right of women alone, we suggest that we need it more, because we are more indecisive than our male peers. We are so charged with hormones and emotion that we will make irrational decisions that we later repent.

If we are really so notoriously unstable, then we probably shouldn't be trusted with things like the vote, and we certainly should be driving - think of all the dangerous mistakes we could be making out there on the roads. And there's no need to bother giving us a proper education, since we're so damn intuitive, we can just 'sense' all the things we really need to know.

Is a woman's prerogative the right to change her mind about sex? Again, why should it should be tied down to women? Both genders can be allowed to be a bit fickle.

Women and men are equally capable of making bad decisions on the spur of the moment, and in both cases these can be hormone-fuelled. What's wrong with the person's prerogative - your right to change your mind because you're only human?

Instinct

I'm not suggesting that there's no such thing as instinct, or that men and women are the same. Of course there are differences between the sexes that affect our outlook, personality and behaviour, and maybe women are generally more instinctive than men. Maybe we pay more attention to body language. But if we want to be treated seriously, we have to accept that we have no more (or less) right than men to change our minds, follow our instincts and refuse to be accountable for our decisions.

There are times when our gender will affect our behaviour. In a lot of areas women have it worse than men - mainly periods and pregnancy. And it's right that men (and women) should cut us some slack at these times. But that should be because of the particular experiences and issues we face at that moment, not just because we're women, and therefore a bit flaky.