How NOT on the Same Page Are We?

Sweden:

A new political party in Sweden says it will abolish marriage if it gets into power. The Feminist Initiative, which expects more than 20% of the vote in next year's election, claims marriage "is not about love, but about ownership". FI founder Tiina Rosenberg, said: "Instead of marriage we want to promote a co-habitation law that ignores gender and allows more than two people in a partnership." But she said in allowing relationships to involve more than two people, the FI did not want Sweden to fall back into a "patriarchal structure" with one man having a harem of women. "A man who lives with eight women in a patriarchal structure, where the man decides and the women obey is not what we are aiming for," said Rosenberg. And in order to encourage men to vote for them as well, the party's all-female board is also calling for the introduction of a six-hour working day.

Denmark:

The Danish government is under attack for paying for its disabled citizens to have sex with prostitutes. The official 'Sex, irrespective of disability' campaign pays sex workers to provide sex once a month for disabled people. The legal guidelines advise: "It could be of great importance that the carer speaks to the prostitute together with the person in their care, to help them express their wishes."

But opposition parties have attacked the regulations, claiming it is an immoral way of spending tax-payers' money. Social-Democrat spokesperson Kristen Brosboel said: "We spend a large proportion of our taxes rescuing women from prostitution. But at the same time we officially encourage carers to help contact with prostitutes."

But Stig Langvad of the country's Disabled Association said the politicians critical of the plan are showing "double standards". He said: "The disabled must have the same possibilities as other people. Politicians can debate whether prostitution should be allowed in general, instead of preventing only the disabled from having access to it."

In Sweden, a brand new political party will get 20% of the vote and can create a discussion about patriarchy that the entire country understands, even those who don’t agree. In Denmark, they’re so beyond providing basic necessities for the large majority of their population that a debate about granting “the same possibilities as other people” means access to recreational sex; here, it means access to a doctor.

Meanwhile, we’re still bickering about condoms and dinosaurs.