Speaking and Listening Women in Society

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Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all I would like to start off with a joke, from the point of view of a man, about driving.

“Driving to the office this morning on the motorway, I looked over to my left and there was a woman in a brand new Jaguar doing 90mph with her face up next to her rear-view mirror putting on her eyeliner.

I looked away for a couple of seconds and when I looked back she was halfway over in my lane, still working on that make-up. It scared me so badly; I dropped my electric shaver, which knocked the donut out of my other hand.

In all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car using my knees against the steering wheel, it knocked the mobile phone away from my ear which fell into the coffee between my legs, splashed and burned big Jim and the twins, causing me to scream, which made me drop the cigarette out of my mouth, ruined the damn phone and disconnected an important call.

Bloody women drivers!”

For those of you in the audience who are easily offended, that was your cue to leave.

Tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the roles of men and women. I will be debating the theory ‘A woman’s place is in the home.’ My view on this topic: NO!

My first topic is Women and History. Over the years, men have made many big mistakes; for example, it has always been men, or men’s direct/indirect actions that have been the cause of many wars, most famous killers have been men, and men have done many atrocious things that women would never have done if they were in charge.

There have been many male leaders and dictators who have caused pain and misery in the world. Adolf Hitler – the man who was responsible for the Holocaust and World War II; Josef Stalin – the leader in the fight against Capitalism and the man responsible for the death of millions of people; Saddam Hussein – the man responsible for thousands of deaths and the Iraqi war. The terrorists we hear about on the news all seem to be male, for example, Osama Bin Laden.

One of the great, male, leaders that has caused misery is King Henry VIII. He created his own Church, the Church of England, because he wanted to re-marry and the Catholic Pope would not agree to it, so he created his own Church and his own Faith, the Protestant faith, which would allow him to re-marry (He married six times, all together). Henry VIII was responsible for the destruction of many Catholic monasteries and the death of many Catholics throughout England.

Men like Hitler and Henry VIII have caused so much pain and suffering, where as some of the great female leaders like Queen Elizabeth I, have accomplished so many magnificent achievements.

Elizabeth I inherited a tattered realm; where dissension between Catholics and Protestants tore at the very foundation of society.

The royal treasury had been bled dry by Mary and her advisors; even so, Elizabeth proved most calm and calculating (even though she had a horrendous temper) in her political awareness, employing capable and distinguished men to carrying out royal prerogative.

"I may not be a lion, but I am a lion's cub, and I have a lion's heart" 
- Elizabeth I

When Philip II, The King of Spain, sent his much-feared Armada to raid England, the English won the naval battle handily, due as much to bad weather as to English naval skill. England emerged as the world's strongest naval power.

Few English monarchs enjoyed such political power, while still maintaining the devotion of the whole of English society.

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During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I did not marry, nor did she bare any children.

When she died, she was remembered as; The Virgin Queen, Good Queen Bess, and Gloriana.

Another great female leader was Queen Victoria.

Victoria's long reign witnessed an evolution in English politics and the expansion of the British Empire, as well as political and social reforms on the continent. France had known two dynasties and embraced Republicanism; Spain had seen three monarchs and both Italy and Germany had united their separate principalities into national coalitions. Even in her old age, she maintained a youthful energy ...

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