PRIA

We welcome you all to this edition of Gender Views and News. Have you ever wondered why sometimes an 'act' or a 'mannerism' in a person makes us think that the individual is acting like a 'typical male' or is behaving like a 'typical female'? We also associate a term like 'beautiful' with a woman and 'handsome' with a man. What is the reason for this? Women and men are definitely different from each other biologically, which is a difference created by nature; but there is another difference that women and men are initiated into the moment they become members of society, this difference is a result of culture. And it is culture that lays down the standards of behaviour for women and men, the fact that women should be soft-spoken and men should be strong and aggressive. This kind of demarcation is referred to as gender stereotyping. In the contemporary society, everything is interpreted from a stereotypical perspective. The image that the media creates of beauty is of a woman with a 'size- zero' figure. Thus, our attempt is to put forth some such stereotypes that exist within society and to examine how these affect the way each one of us perceives things that take place around us.

Saswati Baruah, PRIA

Society from its very inception has devised different ways of perceiving men and women. While the ideal male was portrayed as strong and courageous, the ideal woman, on the other hand, was portrayed as someone who was as soft and as pretty as a flower. In addition to this, terms like hard and soft, handsome and beautiful, masculine and feminine, blue and pink were used to not only refer to men and women but to also draw a distinction between the two sexes. The word ‘beauty’ for example, always conjured the image of a tall, slender, fair skinned woman who was the ideal woman. But were all women born this way? If not, then why were women expected to appear a certain way? More importantly, who was the one to decide how an ideal woman should be?

It is a concept that has been interpreted differently for men and women, often placing, very subtly, the women on a lower pedestal in comparison to the men. Beauty in women is admired but it also overlooks the fact that besides being beautiful they have intelligence and capability. In fact, beauty pageants are all geared to women looking and appearing to possess perfect bodies – it is not a sign of excellence in anything else. Standards of beauty also exist for men. Emphasis is laid on the man possessing a ‘macho-look’ or fitting (even somewhat) into the image of ‘tall, dark and handsome’. However, there is a difference, masculine beauty is not to appear pleasing to the women nor is it the primary factor, which determines whether the men will be accepted or rejected by the community and society where they live. The aim of appearing attractive among men is to assert their dominance in society, thereby claiming to be the ‘superior sex’. Feminine beauty, on the other hand, is emphasised so that the women appear pleasing to their menfolk and are able to gratify them. Thus in this regard, women’s position has always been inferior to that of men. Let us understand this aspect further by analysing how the concept of beauty has been approached from a stereotypical lens in some of the cultures across the world.

In ancient China, sometime between the 9th and the 11th centuries, the Emperor Li Yu ordered one of his favourite ballerina’s to achieve the ‘pointed look’. By the pointed look he meant that her feet should be bounded so that the tips of her feet should appear like the points of a moon sickle. Once this was done, the Maiden is said to have ‘danced in the center of the lotus, whirling about like a rising cloud’ (Levy, 1966).

In China, small feet signified beauty and during a marriage the male’s parents would give foremost priority to a bride’s feet and then to her face. Her ‘human recognisable qualities’ were her feet. In other words, beauty was not an intrinsic quality; it was something that had to be acquired. It required time, patience and perseverance, and despite facing severe difficulties a woman had no choice but to follow what was expected of her. This was an oppressive custom and various strategies were employed to ensure that women conform to such a practice. Andrea Dworkin in her study observed that during the process of foot binding, mothers consoled their daughters by conjuring up the luscious marriage possibilities dependent on the beauty of the bound foot (Dworkin 1989). Foot binding would also distort the natural lines of a female body, causing a woman’s body to swell up, which was preferred by the men as it was imagined that a so called luscious body was needed by men as it was supposed to fulfill their sexual urge. However, in the present context this is not applicable any more. With the changing times, the trends have also changed and the image of beauty is associated with the ‘sleek’ figure and the anorexic.

Foot Binding is an example of a stereotypical custom that existed in China, where beauty meant having small feet. Across the world, women have been typecast to fit into a particular pattern or a structure constructed by society. This practice allowed men to think that they were much better than women because the women were not able to do anything, not being able to walk. The males also considered themselves to be superior as they had bigger and stronger feet in comparison to the little feet of the women that looked like ‘tiny golden lilies’. Foot binding began with the intention of enhancing feminine beauty, its horrific consequences were never even perceived. But what is so appalling is that even today among the Chinese, it is believed that a woman with small feet is beautiful and will prove to be a perfect marriage partner in the future.

Another unique custom that exists among the Kayan, a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic minority is the custom of wearing neck-rings. It is the women of the tribe who practise this custom. The first ring is placed around a girl’s neck when she is five and these coils keep getting longer and longer; and coiled more tightly round her neck as she grows from a girl to an adult woman.The rings are made of brass and puts tremendous pressure on the shoulders, thereby resulting in a neck which is elongated or ‘giraffe-like’. The Kayans believe that the neck rings are a symbol of the Kayan cultural (tribal) identity and is associated with slender necks. Placing the coils also ensure that the Kayan woman will marry only within her own tribe. It also set them apart from their menfolk. The women with the coils were also thought to resemble a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore.

Although this custom made women look beautiful and unique, it had negative consequences, like resulting in a deformed neck and ribcage, and other medical problems. The tradition of neck rings is an offshoot of an unequal and a biased society, where women have been forced to submit to the demands of the dominating patriarchal system. A woman who tries to remove the neck ring is considered unfaithful and Kayans believe that she would eventually receive punishment for such an act. At present, this practice has also become a major source of livelihood and sustenence for the Kayan community. The brass coils around the necks of the Kayan women have attracted tourists, for whom it is fascinating to see women with such peculiar ‘long-necks’, therefore, they are virtrual prisoners of traditions. The younger generations of Kayan women, whose mothers have been wearing these brass coils throughout their lives, have started questioning this practice and few of them have even discarded these coils. An adverse consequence of this has been, a withdrawal of payments from tourists and a fall in their business.

Such a custom is nothing less than a dehuman act because the women are transformed into objects that exist to serve and satisy men in society. The reason for this to happen is because throughout history, women have been perceived as a man’s personal ‘domain’ and property, that must be guarded. Men have therefore been granted the power by society to control women.

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure that involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury done to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is a common practice in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among certain immigrant communities in North America and Europe. Studies have shown that 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of FGM. In Africa, about 92 million girls age ten years and above are estimated to have undergone FGM. Three million girls are believed to be under the risk of FGM annually in Africa. The FGM is carried out among young girls between infancy and age fifteen, and occasionally on adult women.

(WHO Factsheet, 2008)

This practice is increasingly being recognised as the violation of human rights. It is a ghastly act that violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death. It is one of the worst forms of gender based violence and discrimination inflicted upon women, where the woman’s reproductive and sexual rights become the property of the men.

The cases cited above, depict how over the years woman have been expected to conform to the ideal-typical way, in which beauty has been conceptualized in their respective communities. With changing times, one may argue that such customs will disappear, but it is impossible if inequality continues to exist between the two sexes. For example, the custom of female genital mutilation is a gruesome practice, which has continued for generations and a huge percentage of young girls have suffered from its consequences. The fundamental cause for the presence of stereotypes in our culture emerges from the way we think and act as individuals.

Each one of us has a stereotypical way of understanding things and gender based stereotypes is the most common. Men also conform to such stereotypes, but in their case there is much more flexibility. Men have never been forced to conform to customs like foot binding or wearing brass coils around their necks. There are practices like circumcision and Male Genital Mutilation but the impact that it has on men is not as severe as the impact that Female Genital Mutilation has on women. Moreover women throughout cultures and traditions have been regarded as “impure” and “unclean”, and therefore the emphasis on looking and becoming “clean” and “pure” is associated with being beautiful, which to a great extent also determines their acceptability in society. While women have had to struggle to be acknowledged by society, men have not faced any such barrier. Beauty is not the only criteria for men, but the fact that the men are born men is enough for them to be socially accepted in society.

The most prominent stereotype is the way women are seen as housewives. They are looked upon as the people who should just clean the house and take care of the children. This stereotype has existed for hundreds of years. For example, when you were little didn't you always play ‘house’? Well, in this little ‘pretend’ game, the daddy always comes home from work, while the mommy is cooking or cleaning. Then the daddy would sit down and the mommy would call the children and serve them dinner. The funny thing is that this ‘pretend’ game is really a non-fiction dramatisation of life. Also, the ‘republican motherhood’ is a perfect example of this. The ideal said that women were to stay at home and raise the children to be good, and loyal to the republic. Presently, although women do take more jobs, and do hold many positions of power, this stereotype is still pressed upon the female population. Also, did you know that, on average, for every dollar men make, women only make 60 cents?

Since they have been born, girls have continuously been brainwashed by stories and fairytales of how women are to be housewives and helpless. Take Cinderella for example. This fairytale proves to girls, that being a good housewife will make you beautiful and desirable by all men. The authors obviously thought that women who did not do housework were useless to society, and gave the characteristics of the stepsisters as ugly, rude, and ill-mannered. The stepmother was an independent woman who tried to rule a household without being ruled by a man. The authors failed to show this. As for dear sweet Cinderella, she may have been sweet, and she might have been beautiful, but the bottom line is that, she was submissive and a person who did not have a mind of her own.

Many religions and cultures consider women to be the ‘weaker sex’. Roget's Thesaurus even gives ‘weaker sex’ as an alternative word for ‘woman’. The Greeks, in the myth Pandora's Box, had implied that women were responsible for all the suffering in the world. Plato was convinced that women should be classified as animals because of their lack of intelligence. Aristotle suggested that women were a mistake. And lastly from the Greek culture, Menander had said “A woman is necessarily an evil, but he that gets the most tolerable one is lucky.” Hindus were taught, “A woman must never be free of subjugation or slavery”. The Middle Ages Church had debated over whether women had souls. Lastly, a German proverb states “A woman has the form of an angel...and the mind of a donkey.”

To make it even worse, many famous people in our history had influenced us to think of females as incapable, ignorant creatures. The poet Tennyson said, “Woman is the lesser man”. George Meredith had said, “I expect women will be the last thing civilised by man”. Schopenhauer had described women as “childish, frivolous, and shortsighted”. Nietzsche explained, “When you go to a woman, do not forget to take along your whip.” The French philosopher, Rousseau, had said, “Men need to teach women to be obedient. It was necessary to accustom them early to such confinement, that it may afterward cost them to dear; and to the suppression of their caprices that they may be more readily submit to the will of others”. He had also written, “She ought to learn to suffer injustices and to bear insult of husband without complaint”. Martin Luther King believed that women were secondary to men. Hitler had accused women of being a Jewish plot.

There are stereotypes everywhere in our lives today. We think that our world is completely free of them but of course this is not true. Stereotypes are deeply rooted in people's minds, and together we have to work hard to change how people think.

For the Girl Child (The Sentinel, 29 April 2009, Guwahati) Education has the capacity to liberate women from all social bondage and equips them to take control of their lives. An educated woman is therefore an empowered woman.

Maternal Mortality rate alarming: (The Tribune, New Delhi, 10 May 2009): In India, 78,000 women die each year due to problems arising from childbirth and pregnancy. More than two-thirds of all maternal deaths occur in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam.

Womenomics as global future (The Pioneer, New Delhi, 10 May 2009): It remains a distant dream for women across the globe to be considered an important and integral part of economic and political decision- making process.

50% women voters turned up for the poll (The Tribune, New Delhi, 10 May 2009) The turnout of women voters in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls has been 50.16 per cent in comparison to the 2004, when it was 44.4 per cent.

Gender Studies are a hit in city (The Hindustan Times, Mumbai, 15 May 2009) After years of being considered a “hobby” course, women’s studies seems to have emerged as a serious discipline. TISS women’s studies course gets huge response, other colleges to start course soon.

Parliament can wait, Corporates prefer women (Midday, New Delhi, 19 May 2009) MNCS ask recruiting agencies to maintain a minimum percentage of women in jobs.

Rahul’s young army to spread out, draft more women (The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 21 May 2009) Rahul Gandhi envisages forming groups of youth to work at the panchayat level to facilitate and sensitise the masses on availing “pro-peoples” schemes such as NREGA, the RTI and Bharat Nirman. Each panchayat will have a group of three volunteers with one of them necessarily a woman

Haryana to impart health education to 62k rural women (Financial Express, New Delhi, 26 May 2009): Women across 6,000 villages in the state will be trained under the programme.

Is lipstick feminism at all real? (The Times of India, New Delhi, 31 May 2009) The single, sexually liberated urban Indian woman considers herself a gender activist. “This new movement of pop feminism feeds into liberalism but unfortunately, is, itself contained by it. Just because a group of women feel empowered through tokens of fashion and sex, the world isn’t going to change at large,” says Anuradha Marwah

Govt no to all-women literacy mission (The Tribune, New Delhi, 28 June 2009) The HRD Ministry would actively reconsider changing the title of the National Literacy Mission, so as to take into account the role and participation of men.

Dalits, Muslims for Women’s sub-quotas (The Pioneer, New Delhi, 28 June 2009): Dalit and Muslim bodies have opposed the women’s reservation Bill in its present form and demanded a sub-quota for women from ‘less privileged sections of society’.

Enrollment ratio of female students is on decline (Daily Excelsior, Jammu, 29 June 2009) Over the last decade, the sex ratio in India, in general, and Jammu and Kashmir, in particular, has shown a marginal increase but, the decline in female enrollment in educational institutions continues to be a cause of great concern.

Women turn into protesters: Recent Middle East incidents show that they can lead from the front (New Indian Express, 30 June, Chennai) In a region that reveres men who die in battle, some of the major icons to emerge from Iranian demonstrations have been women. Palestinian women have launched protest’s to free prisoners held by Israel, while Egyptian women have organized labour and pro-democratic strikes in recent years.