It has been over 70 years since Simone de Beauvoir published ‘The Second Sex’ where she discussed women’s lives in France in the 1940’s. Her work which greatly influenced British and American feminism, contained feminist theory of sex and gender that laid the groundwork for feminist thought and action. It was Beauvoir who called for a liberation movement for women as they were the disadvantaged sex who needed to join forces to see change take place. Her work inspired the great feminist activists we have all heard of, such as Kate Millett, Germaine Greer and Betty Friedan. These women were instrumental in bringing about the second wave of feminism, a change of mindset, and in starting conversations about what it means to be a truly liberated woman. Since then, much has taken place surrounding feminism and women all over the world. Feminism, on the whole, has seen four waves with the fourth carrying on into present day with many saying the #MeToo movement in the US and Europe and the #AndNow movements in Canada are part of it. But all this has not brought about enough change; gender equality is yet to be satisfactorily achieved.
The stats
France, Italy and Spain were particularly slow to follow suit when the #MeToo movement began slowly making its way across Europe; they felt the movement was ‘American’ and did not really serve a valid purpose as it was just “a witch hunt.” However, this sparked a huge debate in France as to what can be construed as harassment of women and what could be seen as harmless flirting. In the end, the idea that men should not be held accountable for their harassment due to certain grey areas in the subject matter led to outrage, which subsequently also applied pressure on those within the legal system to take sexual harassment in any form seriously. Despite this, it is quite disheartening that the latest available statistics recorded by French authorities in 2021 showed that more than 67,500 incidents of sexual violence against women had taken place.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales meanwhile, recorded that for the year ending March 2022, 798,000 women had experienced sexual assault. In Australia, the number of victims of sexual assault increased to 32,146 in 2022 – a 3% increase from the previous year. Of this, 26,967 were female victims.
Changing the status quo
Feminism is not just about reducing the numbers of female victims of rape and sexual assault. It is about winning respect for women on all fronts, be it education, the work place, in public and even in the home. Yes, we are doing so much to change how things are from protesting to news reporting, workshops and conferences. Educating our children on women’s rights also happens much more than it used to. But, is this really enough? Perhaps some soul-searching is necessary on this. If you really analyse the situation closer to home, how many of our households have chores segregated by gender? Do we still expect mom to do the laundry and make dinner, all after a hard day at the office? Is dad only expected to change the flat tires in the car and check for gas leaks in the house periodically? Are we expecting a little too much from our women than we do of our men? Statistics actually show that 91% of mothers spend an hour a day at the least, on housework while only 30% of fathers do the same. So, what sort of precedent are we then setting for our children? We are showing them through practice that it is alright for women to shoulder the burden of household work and also hold a full-time job. Add parenting to that and we have a ready-made superwoman who probably has no time for herself to rest, recharge and grow as her own person.
Barbie and beyond
The hype surrounding the ‘Barbie’ movie which was released this summer went beyond the box office records it broke. It propelled a deep message, albeit packaged in a colourful imaginary world and rainbow-tinted play props of “dolls”, both female and male. What the movie did was challenge the stereotypes of what women were expected to be- that they should lose their identity and their essence to be that all-important person at home and work, whom everyone relies on. It challenged the idea that women need to be perfect in every way and should be judged if they fall short as a parent or as a professional. As the actress America Ferreira who plays Gloria, the employee at Mattel, says in the movie, “It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough.”
Let’s bring it home
It’s wonderful that movies like ‘Barbie’ which would have been expected to be a frivolous show of girly gowns and slapstick humour are also challenging how we think. While the movie fluidly weaved in terms like ‘patriarchy’ and ‘cognitive dissonance’ it didn’t make light of them, even though there were many moments of lighthearted banter and comedy. The movie was rated PG-13 because it contained ‘suggestive references’ and ‘brief language’. It carried a strong feminist undertone that could have been appreciated by girls and boys in the ‘tween’ years if their parents had been alright with them watching it.
What this tells us then is that parents, teachers and adults need to have conversations at home and at school about what it is to be a feminist. It does not mean that you believe that women are superior to men; rather, that they are on equal ground and should be treated as such. The conversations should include both girls and boys and should be complemented by action. What this means is that girls and boys should be made to feel that they can do whatever they set their minds to, regardless of gender. That they should share the burdens of household chores and child-rearing when they become parents. That glass ceilings should not exist for women in the workplace. If we show them how it’s done, then that’s certainly better than telling them.
So, the next time someone in your house or community says ‘boys will be boys’ or that ‘she’s a working mom’ check them there and then. Sexist sayings should not exist in the 21st century when we know better. We need to make every moment both inside and outside the classroom a teachable moment on gender equality.
(Anouk De Silva)