Breaking Conventions
NO OFFENSE WAS MEANT IN THE FOLLOWING TO ANYONE, SOLELY THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE WRITER.
The year is 2021. 173 years from the time the Seneca Falls Convention was held in New York. The Seneca Falls Convention can be viewed as the start of women’s campaign and fight for equality and rights. All the women who upheld the flag of feminism during these times were not only strong-willed and true idols, but were so influential that they have sparked a huge flame among the women in our era. And, I am confident enough to say that they are inspiring a generation of women in the future too. Yet, it is a sad realization that after 173 years, we have failed to accomplish equality as a whole. Time has passed, and the shift that had happened was slow, involving a lot of conflicts and was definitely not steady. It had a great deal of ups and downs.
Speaking of the scenario now, women have now the courage to speak up for themselves and they have the platform to do so. The barriers of communication that exists right now is mainly due to the difference of perspectives of each individual. But, these days it’s not about whether women get to vote or not, nor is it about whether our voices would be heard; it is about the narrow mindedness of the society and how they conformed all sections of it to certain predetermined standards. It is about how women are expected to behave like “women”, men behave like “men” and how the other sexes are determined as “alien” or “inhuman” figures in society. My question is, aren’t they human too? Through the womb of a mother, were they all not born? Do they not understand that we have needs and desires too? More than all these, what I strive to understand and comprehend is why is it that the idea of women and transgenders having a desire to do something with their lives (other than marriage in the case of women, but which is quite ironic because when people want to marry the person of their choice, they have to go through a huge battle of being accepted by the society.) frowned upon? Right now, I am not preaching that all women are good nor that women are superior to everyone. what I am preaching is that all women are human and so are men and transgenders.
In the society,the ideal man or say, ‘purushothamam’, is the man who sheds no tears, carries a strong image of one’s self and are not allowed to show much emotions. Men are expected to be aggressive, to become the bread winner of the household and often is the “boss” of the family. And women on the other hand are meant to be subjected and disciplined to the men (mostly to “their men”), to be too emotional and sensitive to all issues, expected to cover themselves because ‘God forbid! It would be a horror if anybody saw some skin!’, and women are supposed to just cook food and stay at home, taking care of the family. And transgenders, when they try to live like a normal person, who knew getting a job was going to be one of the hardest parts? Everybody drives them away saying that they don’t belong here, and when they ask for money, people say go get a job. It is quite ironic if you ask me. Why is it that everyone has categorized everyone into sections even though they do not want to be there? A man wanting to take up a profession which men usually don’t, or a man who is seen to be sensitive is criticized and scorned upon. A woman, who is aggressive and confident is said to be running her mouth too much and a woman who works out and loves to build muscles is said to be lacking ‘femininity’ and ‘elegance’. And on the other hand, any person who wants to do something that is against the basic gender roles that society has imposed on them, is criticized. What is this system that oppresses everyone and everything? How can one live a peaceful life with the existence of such obtuse systems and mentality? It would be next to impossible to live life fully. Let me ask you this, aren’t men human beings? don’t they get to do what they want? And why are women only meant to be the caretaker and not the breadwinners? Aren’t the men and children a part of that family? If yes, why are women expected to do all the chores in the house? And how come people find men, who are house-husbands a very odd and peculiar thing? Why can’t a person love who they want to love, regardless of their sexuality, skin, creed and kind? Is it a crime to be asexual, a queer or bisexual? Is it bad that a person is attracted to their same sexes? And is it so absurd to just let people be the way they want to be? Why is it that these gender roles are yet to be bent?
We are all born into this economy as human beings, we don’t choose to be seen as otherwise, gender on the other hand, is the creation of society. And as said by Simone de Beauvoir, a radical philosopher and women rights activist, “ One is not born, but becomes a woman.”, identifying the distinction between sex and gender, she says “All agree, in recognizing the fact that females exist in the human species… to be considered a woman she must share in that mysterious and threatened realm known as femininity”, thus, showing us that this world, our so called ‘home’, is actually one that oppresses us as a species and as an entity. In the early stages of these movements, literature was one of the most formidable platforms that women got to express themselves and to assert their demands and pitiable pleas. It was the only way to get the upper hand over the cruel injustice shown upon them. This iniquity of treating women as inferiors to men, of showing them that they are just the other is an evil that needs to be eliminated.
Even though the main focus of this article is on women, the common misconception that feminism is about promoting women and their rights is inaccurate. I am emphasizing this because it is a far more broader and complex nomenclature. It encompasses equality as a whole. Even though it cannot be explained in simple terms, what it comprises of makes this ideology phenomenal. Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal and social equality of the sexes.
People sometimes argue asking, “why do we need feminism in 2021? haven’t we already achieved so much?”. It is true that we have accomplished a lot in all these years, but why should we stop when things are actually taking a turn? Still, it is sad to say that a huge amount of oppression happens in our economy against our women, the members of the LGBTQ community, the Dalit society and even the upper class groups. Everything has become a play of money. The rich survives, leaving the rest to slowly fade away until someone or something backlashes. This ideology of feminism is about promoting the rights of humanity, peace and happiness everywhere;it is the voice of freedom for all; a way to do, be and have whatever you want to do, be or have, in abundance, without causing harm to anybody or anything; emphasizing the importance of loving oneself and those around, is absolutely a phenomenon to engage on. And it is about uniting all sectors of the society, regardless of their classifications. Once this ideology is invoked, one no longer has to worry about judgement and can be at peace. And besides, it is peace and happiness that one strives for at the end. For people to prosper and become their best selves, they have to inculcate this sense of humanity, peace and ambition within them. And with a joint conscience, this earth can become a heaven in itself. It’s time to break conventions.
