Writing on
an issue like this, I was really skeptical; not knowing how it would be
perceived. But I felt that it is high time that we get into the depths of this
frequently used term, ‘Feminism’. To understand any movement, it is only smart
to get to know why and how it came into existence
Let’s
acknowledge the fact that from ages the fibers of patriarchy have been woven
into the fabric of human consciousness and consciously or unconsciously we all
fell prey to it. It was and sometimes is, male dominated, identified and
centered. It got so deep rooted that even the most basic of rights were not
made available to women and they were okay with not having the same. The list
of some of those might shock you.
It took a
century for women to be able to hold property on the same terms as men, serve
on a jury, to cast votes, apply for bank loan, become an accountant or a
lawyer, report marital rape, get equal pay (which still is a long way from
equal!), get a safe abortion or buy contraceptives, and in some countries they
were forced to wear high heels to work.
For
centuries, ‘Men go to work and women look to the kitchen & raise children’
was the norm. Only when most men were out during World War I and II, women were
left back home to take care of the house and the household. During these times,
women stepped out for the first time taking on jobs in factories, shops and
offices; that had been off limits previously.
My
research led me to my knowledge about the three waves of Feminism.
·
First-wave
feminism refers to an extended period of feminist activity during the
nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the
United States. Originally it focused on the promotion of equal contract and
property rights for women and the opposition to chattel marriage and ownership
of married women (and their children) by their husbands.
- In the 1960’s started the second wave of feminism. With issues like suffrage advocated in most modern countries, the conversation moved on to the sexism in the cultural society. The scholar Estelle Freedman compares first and second-wave feminism saying that the first wave focused on rights such as suffrage, whereas the second wave was largely concerned with other issues of equality, such as ending discrimination.
- The third wave Feminism started
in the 1990’s, which focused on subjects like homosexuality and non-white women. It also focused on abolishing gender role expectations and
stereotypes.
Third-wave feminism also contains internal debates between difference
feminists such as the psychologist Carol Gilligan (who believes that there
are important differences between the sexes) and those who believe that
there are no inherent differences between the sexes and contend that
gender roles are due to social conditioning.
Here is where we come to the most pivotal part of
the article. Now, you may choose to agree or disagree with me, but that does
not change the fact that men and women are inherently different. They are wired
differently, to react to situations, to express themselves; their emotions, it
is evolutionary.
It
would be a mistake to assume that an evolutionary explanation of gender
inequality is bad news for feminism. Explaining human behaviour does not equate
to justifying it or defending it. But if we want to change our society for the
better, we probably need an accurate understanding of human nature.
Some argue that it is nurture, not nature; and that
can be true as well. We accept the differences and move forward. We acknowledge
the similarities and keep moving along. Of course not everything about us is
different. Think of them as a 6 and a 9, very similar; yet different and simply
positioned differently. But jokes aside, we may find stark similarities between
the two genders as well, that’s only natural too.
Why I talk about men and women being different are,
that sometimes in an effort to make a change, raise our voice and create
awareness, we just start straying away from the actual cause itself. We support equality between women and men at
work place, at home, for attaining higher education, getting equal pay, for
trying to root out social dilemmas, societal evils that women are yet haunted
with. We are talking about equal social, legal, economic, political rights.
Yes, absolutely we are! It is 2020 we need to do away with our toxic traits,
try to remove those strands of patriarchy that has been drilled into our heads
for generations, so that the world we live in and leave behind is more equal,
at least on the gender front.
But then I draw the line here. When did the fight
for equality move towards trying to be better than other? Trying to be superior
and take a sort of revenge for all that went down the past centuries? When did
it turn into a battle of the sexes? When has evil, ever cut out another evil?
Without realizing what the movement stood for, people simply do as they please
and literally throw down a centuries’ worth of labour down the drain. In our quest towards progress and justice in all
areas, including gender equality, let us realize that it requires awareness and
understanding of the forces that have made us who we are.
____________________________________________________________________
Sources:
https://theconversation.com/the-evolutionary-history-of-men-and-women-should-not-prevent-us-from-seeking-gender-equality-88703images are not mine, but taken from Google Search
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