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#31973

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Any form of sustained stimulus is proven to cause changes in brain chemistry and form; this applies to any and every stimulus present around us and is responsible for certain conditioning. The type of conditioning that happens is largely responsible for creating memories and opportunities which decide the kind of life a person lives. Continuous exposure to stressful and discriminatory or oppressive situations leads a person to live in high alert, which is mentally and emotionally very taxing.

In case of women, almost every single woman faces some kind of discrimination before she is even ten. Such kind of exposure to unfair situations may lead women to doubt themselves, to overwork themselves to just prove their worth, all of which have very harmful effects in the long run. Due to the patriarchal structure of our society, women have to work themselves to the bones to achieve their dreams and even then, they are not taken seriously and seen as intimidating bossy women. Whereas men never have to face the gender discrimination obstacle and are respected after they achieve their goals. These double standards are highly disturbing and very frustrating for women who work hard.

This often leads to bad cases of imposter syndrome, stress, burnout and so much more. Women are twice as likely to have a mental illness than men, and the constant discrimination they face certainly must have some role to play in it. Right from childhood from being told the toys they should play with to what they should and shouldn’t wear right up to what they should study and who they should marry. These are just some general examples every woman will relate to, hundreds more being experienced by women in their life. Hence, we should be more empathetic to women’s struggles, providing them with as many resources to help with their mental health as possible.

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#31921

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When a child turns five, he starts learning gender roles taught and accepted by society, conforming to them, and receiving reward. This usually conditions children to not deviate from the norms as they arrange themselves in society with conformance with these gender roles. They include things like boys playing with trucks and girls playing with dolls. This is just a minor example, but it slowly grows and matures into broader statements like boys become engineers and girls become either teachers or housewives. Such repeated conditioning of these misogynistic roles and norms ultimately leads to a strong conditioning in accordance with the norms.

Cooking is seen as a woman’s job because if she cannot be the breadwinner of the family, then she has to contribute by cooking and cleaning and taking care of children. For years, when women did not even have the right to vote or work, this was the general make of families. But now the world is changing, and women can be seen working in almost every field as efficiently as men. Today’s woman can establish her self- identity any way she wishes, can make her own choices even regarding marriage and motherhood. But society is still conditioned in a way to conform to the gender roles set centuries ago.

Seen as feminine work, cooking is thought to be a woman’s duty. But when a man does it, it needs to be justified in some way to be accepted. Hence, if men are cooking, that means he is highly educated and learned in the field and much more capable than a regular woman who cooks at home every day. This deeply rooted misogyny arises due to the patriarchal nature of society, less and less value being given to the work women do. This thought should be changed by recognizing women’s efforts and accepting their credibility without questioning and doubting their qualifications purely due to their gender.

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#31831

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Since the dawn of society, femininity and emotions are viewed as weak, and thus women were labeled as the weaker sex. Now being emotional is very easily equated with women. However, we fail to acknowledge that anger is also an emotion which is displayed widely by men, but since it is deemed as a ‘masculine trait’ it is very easily accepted as being natural and manly. The statement that ‘women are so emotional’ has been used incessantly to discredit and demean women and prove that they have no credibility.

Another big aspect noticed is that whenever a woman speaks up or gets aggressive, she is asked if she is on her period, another tool used to discredit her and demean what she was saying in the first place. But the lesser-known fact is that is that during the menstrual cycle is when female hormones look like those of a man. The high testosterone levels make the women act out and irritable- which tells us that it is actually a trait common to men. And yet, when displayed by women, anything and everything becomes weak and untrustworthy and dramatic. This flawed thinking takes roots in the age- old misogyny deeply meshed with the structure of our society.

So, it can be concluded that women are not overly emotional. Emotional Intelligence or EQ is considered to be even more important than IQ these days. All traits shown by women are constantly undermined and looked down upon even though they are completely baseless. Not only is it very frustrating but it results in women having to work twice as hard as men to get recognition for the same work.

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#31753

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Since time immemorial, a woman is thought to be a father’s possession before marriage, and a husband’s after marriage; we see this written in the Manu Smriti as well, the Indian Hindu code of law. So basically, women are not thought to have any autonomy culturally speaking, despite the legal framework. This thought process is what makes women submit to marriage and motherhood and many such crucial phases of life, without having any say in the matters regarding their own lives. So, a woman does not have right over her body, her life, her decisions- everything is done for her instead without taking her will into account.

Today, even though society has progressed, women are still expected to fulfill the elder’s expectations of marrying and producing an offspring and being good homemakers. This thinking is deeply flawed as it takes away the power of decision of making which in deeply damaging to the woman’s self- esteem. Not only that but is a violation of basic human rights of autonomy of self and body. Motherhood is a serious and big decision which has serious implications. It is life changing for the father mother and the child equally; if this large change is brought upon by coercion, it turns out to be extremely disruptive for the child and the family along with the mother who goes through so much during childbirth.

Such a sensitive decision should be approached with rationality and should be the decision of the mother solely due to the harsh effect it has on her body. Hence, yes motherhood should definitely be the choice, and that too of the woman to make when she feels ready enough to bear this heavy responsibility.

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#31751

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Throughout the many years, psychologists have examined the roles of fathers in parenting and development of the child. According to Youn-Soo Roh and Sonam Yang (2013), “actors of role awareness and role action are mutually complementary as a whole, and father’s role awareness is regarded as an important variable of parenting participation (Son and Yoon, 2011).” Phares and Compas (1992) , Doherty, Kouneski, and Erickson (1998) are just some examples of comprehensive psychological studies done on a father’s role in child’s life. All of the studies ultimately reach the same conclusion that co- parenting proves to be a positive influence on a child’s life in the long run as compared to just the mother taking care of the child. So, if this is the case, then why do we as a society think of child rearing as a mother’s job?

If we think from a biological perspective, the mother carries her child for 9 months before birth, and nurses the child for the next several months as well; hence the mother definitely plays an extremely important role in making sure the child remains healthy. This may be reason why the responsibility of bringing up the child is given to the mother. But the other reason, if we look closer, may be that women were thought incapable of doing anything else- they were deprived of the opportunity as well. Today in the modern world, even though women have proven themselves to be more than capable to work, child rearing is still deemed their responsibility. This stems from the thought that a woman’s life purpose is to give birth and raise the child. However, the modern woman has the power of choices and does not have to conform to such age- old patriarchal traditions.

Today, co- parenting should be promoted more than ever, the father’s role and contribution to the household being more than just monetary. This can only happen when children today are taught to break free of the restricting gender roles and make their own informed decisions. This way, we can step into a more equal and peaceful world with harmonious families and individuals.

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#31714

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Since the dawn of society as we know it, the topic of menstruation has gone through many phases. Women being worshipped while they are menstruating to women being isolated and treated with contempt. What is common in between these phases is the fact that all of it was based on misinformation or lack of proper biological knowledge. This not only gave rise to plurality of myths, but also major discrimination against people who menstruate. Some of the myths we hear today tell the menstruators to avoid temples, not touch pickles, to not enter the kitchen, and so many more. These are just myths and only isolate the menstruators in a delicate time.

All the misinformation and misconceptions about periods arise due to a simple lack of education. Menstruation is still a taboo topic in society and women dare not discuss it in front of men. But this thinking is extremely problematic and only leads to further stigmatization of the topic. Education is the key for all members of society to not only be empathetic with the concerns of menstruators but to also respect them for what they go through. In schools, the biology teacher either skips over topics of reproduction completely or barely teaches a small part of the material. This should stop and the students should be given a detailed lesson about human bodies and their basic reproductive systems. This will make them more vigilant and informed about the myths and silence surrounding menstruation.

Lastly, all menstruators should come forward with their troubles and concerns and voice their experiences which will lead to de- stigmatization and normalization of the topic. Menstrual cramps are proven to be almost as painful as, if not more, giving birth which is the most painful thing a human body can endure. But despite this fact, women are expected to be silent about their struggles and endure the pain. Organizations like Boondh, The Project Amara, Allforasmile, EcoFemme, and so many more are working tirelessly towards normalizing the conversation about sustainable menstruation. It is all of our jobs to make use of all resources available to us and educate ourselves and then others about this topic.

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#31681

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In any basic society, there are many divisions and sub- divisions: the basis for this division my differ from region to region. In India, society used to be divided according the varna, then the jati or the occupational category for a person; within this division women were always the lesser gender. This sort of division has proved to be very unfair and problematic in recent years, because it resulted in systematic oppression of certain groups.

While creating a more harmonious society, it should be remembered that the structure of society till now has resulted in certain people being privileged more than others. The most important factor which is usually the deciding factor in many people’s lives is incoming. In today’s consumerist and global world, one’s monetary situation and income plays a big role in our lives. Whether a person will receive a good and quality education is completely dependent on income. Education is the keystone for a harmonious and intelligent society because it broadens our perspectives and makes us ready for our lives ahead.

Gender on the other hand is a personal choice of people, but it needs more acceptance and inclusion. Only an accepting and educated society can be inclusive. Again, education needs money, hence we see the income of a person play out again to define another important aspect of our lives. There is no doubt that an educated society is a peaceful, rational, and harmonious society, but to reach that stage, the economically underprivileged people need systematic and consistent help and support.

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#31656

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Since ages, femininity has been equated with weakness no matter who portrays it. This has its roots in our patriarchal society which places more importance on men and hence values ‘masculine’ traits more. Because of this, all girls go through a phase where the hate the so- called feminine actions like hating pink, glamour and wearing boyish clothes, wanting to be ‘different’ than all other girls. This is due to the internalized misogyny which as the girls grow older unlearn and get used to being independent, making their own choices without considering if men will accept her.

Most movies today are directed by men, as the film industry like most others is male dominated. The portrayal of women we see in this popular media is called the ‘male gaze’. The men direct how the women characters should look, talk, walk, act, and dress only in ways that are pleasing to the men. Hence, what we see the actresses wearing and how we see them is purely based on the director’s male gaze. On the other hand, women are constantly demeaned for their choices, because a woman who makes her own choices and sticks with them is a danger to other men because it takes away their so- called authority.

Hence, the statement that ‘Female actresses should not use their femininity for promotion’ is inherently sexist and implies that femininity is something insulting or impure. If actors showing off their physique and participating in brutal fighting scenes is acceptable, there is absolutely no reason why the same standards should not apply to their female counterparts. We can only change our mindsets as a society by confronting our internalized misogynistic thoughts and teachings and move towards a more open- minded world.

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#31635

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Mansplaining is when a man explains something to a woman in a condescending undertone assuming that he knows more about the subject even if it is related to women. Examples of it can be seen in our daily lives in careless statements like, “Stop whining so much, period cramps don’t even hurt,” or “Let me tell you how to cook this dish properly,”. These two topics in the previous examples clearly show how men feel that they are superior in knowledge than women. It is not only a frustrating experience for women but is also extremely insulting. Consistent experience of this takes a heavy toll on women’s self- esteem and sometimes leads to self- doubt. It is interesting how no matter how much a woman criticizes a man, he never experiences the same thing; this is solely because society has conditioned men to believe that they can never be wrong as compared to a woman who is almost always wrong.

Mansplaining takes its origins from our patriarchal roots and households where men are considered to be more important than women. This is the root from which all the misogynistic thoughts and practices arise. Boy child is preferred even today, girls are not given equal opportunities to higher education, they are often married off sometimes without even considering their wishes, and then they are expected to be ideal wives and mothers. This chauvinism is cause from extreme frustration in women who are not given the right to live their lives according to their own principles.

Today, women can be seen working everywhere from construction sites to corporates. But everywhere we see, men think themselves to be superior and more knowledgeable. Even in cases where the woman might be more informed and qualified to speak on a subject, the man’s views are more respected and sought. This treatment is the resulted of deeply ingrained sexism and egoism. It can only be changed when this patriarchal system is uprooted and the fact that women are no less than men is accepted by every single person.

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#31552

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In the pre- Vedic and Vedic ages, women and girls had equal right to education and choosing their own profession. Women worked alongside men and contributed to the household. Hence, a steady and peaceful balance was observed in that society. Post- Vedic society, however, started getting highly rigid and differentiated based on Varna, Jati and gender. A vertical hierarchy was observed where women did not hold a high status- in fact, they were symbols of misfortune and past misdeeds in the patriarchal society. Women were first the property of their fathers, and after marriage, of their husband. This classification and division of society led women and men both to place immense significance on housework, worship, and submissiveness.

Skip to the modern world, the deeply ingrained thought that the worth of women is solely in their service to men, has been rigid and very difficult to change. Throughout the generations, all women and girls are told the same thing- to train themselves to be good wives and mothers and daughter- in- laws. There is a certain amount of safety in having our lives mapped out for us- and women tend to take this road because if they deviate, society will not accept them. This view has been changing since the past few decades where women are taking long and brave strides to improve themselves and their situations through education. Only through education and true empowerment can women be made to realize that they are independent beings and masters of themselves.

Everybody who has grown up in a certain system grows up to justify it, it is just human nature. It takes time, courage, and efforts to recognize and accept the flaws and take conscious steps towards improving it. I this case, the tradition of patriarchy has been age- old and would need systematic efforts to uproot it’s evils.

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