Alright, alright! Before any of you start raising your fists and claiming that I'm against gender equality, read the title closely first though. Nope, there is nothing wrong with it and here's my stand:
Gender equality cannot exist absolutely. It is possible to have gender equality in some areas but not in everything, simply because men and women, by nature, are biologically different to begin with.
People who speak of gender equality as if it should be omnipresent do not realize the absurdity of their sentiments. Often, especially if you are Singaporean, you'd hear discourses such as the following:
Man 1:
"Hey, did you hear about the new campaign for gender equality? Apparently, these women are claiming that it is unfair that man are allowed to..... whereas women are unable to...."
Man 2:
"Is that so? If they really want gender equality, then why don't they ask women to do NS then?"
It is really annoying to hear how people seem to oppose the notion of gender equality by countering them with the existing gender inequalities in our society. They do not understand the need for genuine gender equality. They do not understand the difference between absolute gender equality and gender equality only in particular areas. Most importantly, they do not understand gender equality on a contextual basis.
Here's the truth folks: You can't have gender equality everywhere. This is attributed to the fact that men and women are not biological equals to begin with. Why is it such that men are typically called to be soldiers? Well, research (and more commonly, human observation) has shown that men are generally physically fitter than women and are more capable of making decisions under stressful conditions. (Calm down, note the use of generally to indicate a generalization based on statistics) In addition, men are more likely to be able to manage psychological trauma better than their female counterparts. Now tell me if its fair to expect women to be soldiers that are just as good as the men. (Of course, some are but likelihood is that, you'd have an easier time finding an elite male soldier compared to a female one.) This is just one of the many areas which absolute gender equality cannot take place.
I believe I do not need to demonstrate this with the use of more examples since its ad nausem, to say the least.
Now here's the crucial part: Gender equality can exist in some instances but not in others. The key to achieving gender equality in the greatest number of areas is to identify aspects of the world which gender equality can be achieved but has not been achieved yet.
For instance, many countries around the world still haven't established voting rights for women and in this case, it is blatantly obvious that there is no reason why women should not be allowed to vote. The only contending principle is that the culture in these zones enforce only the rights of the male population. In such instances, I feel it is only necessary for the culture to change (not a culture condemnation but rather a rights integration) so as to come of terms that women can and should be equals to men in some ways too. This is probably one of the many challenges that gender equality will face in this world despite its dynamic nature.
Hopefully this short discussion will raise some awareness on the gender equality issue. I'm not personally prescribing any follow up action to be taken but my purpose here is just to highlight that gender equality can be achieved in some areas but not all. It's as simple as that. So next time, if anyone ever shoots off a poorly thought-through comment to rebuke the lack of gender equality in a particular area, think carefully before agreeing so quickly.
I apologize for the month long hiatus; I've been under much fatigue recently in the last couple of weeks and am going through much change in life. I'll try to upload some material once every 3-4 days or so though. If you've any comments or thoughts to share, feel free to share with me, even privately. I'm open for disagreeing arguments :)
Once again, may the Lord bless you in your week to come.
Matt
I believe I do not need to demonstrate this with the use of more examples since its ad nausem, to say the least.
Now here's the crucial part: Gender equality can exist in some instances but not in others. The key to achieving gender equality in the greatest number of areas is to identify aspects of the world which gender equality can be achieved but has not been achieved yet.
For instance, many countries around the world still haven't established voting rights for women and in this case, it is blatantly obvious that there is no reason why women should not be allowed to vote. The only contending principle is that the culture in these zones enforce only the rights of the male population. In such instances, I feel it is only necessary for the culture to change (not a culture condemnation but rather a rights integration) so as to come of terms that women can and should be equals to men in some ways too. This is probably one of the many challenges that gender equality will face in this world despite its dynamic nature.
Hopefully this short discussion will raise some awareness on the gender equality issue. I'm not personally prescribing any follow up action to be taken but my purpose here is just to highlight that gender equality can be achieved in some areas but not all. It's as simple as that. So next time, if anyone ever shoots off a poorly thought-through comment to rebuke the lack of gender equality in a particular area, think carefully before agreeing so quickly.
I apologize for the month long hiatus; I've been under much fatigue recently in the last couple of weeks and am going through much change in life. I'll try to upload some material once every 3-4 days or so though. If you've any comments or thoughts to share, feel free to share with me, even privately. I'm open for disagreeing arguments :)
Once again, may the Lord bless you in your week to come.
Matt
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