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Abstract:
The aim of the case study is to understand the meaning of feminism in privileged setting. The assumption in this case study is that Symbiosis is a privileged setting where people are exposed to modern liberal ideas and are in financially stable position to lead a comfortable life. The attempt of this case study is to trace the roots of patriarchy in such a setting and understand the factors behind it. The case study also attempts to understand the role of gender constructs in enabling the perpetuating patriarchy and how this issue can be overcome.
Keywords: Feminism, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Rights.
Abstract:
The aim of the case study is to understand the meaning of feminism in privileged setting. The assumption in this case study is that Symbiosis is a privileged setting where people are exposed to modern liberal ideas and are in financially stable position to lead a comfortable life. The attempt of this case study is to trace the roots of patriarchy in such a setting and understand the factors behind it. The case study also attempts to understand the role of gender constructs in enabling the perpetuating patriarchy and how this issue can be overcome.
Keywords: Feminism, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Rights.
Abstract:
The aim of the case study is to understand the meaning of feminism in privileged setting. The assumption in this case study is that Symbiosis is a privileged setting where people are exposed to modern liberal ideas and are in financially stable position to lead a comfortable life. The attempt of this case study is to trace the roots of patriarchy in such a setting and understand the factors behind it. The case study also attempts to understand the role of gender constructs in enabling the perpetuating patriarchy and how this issue can be overcome.
Keywords: Feminism, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Rights.
Case Study: To understand the meaning of Feminism in
Symbiosis Viman Nagar Campus
By Anuraag Srivastava (16060441002), Bidisha Ghosh (16060441006), Evelyn Pamela Tete (16060441012) Abstract: The aim of the case study is to understand the meaning of feminism in privileged setting. The assumption in this case study is that Symbiosis is a privileged setting where people are exposed to modern liberal ideas and are in financially stable position to lead a comfortable life. The attempt of this case study is to trace the roots of patriarchy in such a setting and understand the factors behind it. The case study also attempts to understand the role of gender constructs in enabling the perpetuating patriarchy and how this issue can be overcome. Keywords: Feminism, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Rights. Introduction Charles Fourier first coined the word Feminism in 1837. Feminism can be defined as a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for women. However feminism has been defined in a number of ways by many scholars. As researchers, our idea was to first put forth what we think Feminism is. We came up with the following definitions: Feminism can be defined as a theory which believes in equality of man and woman and proposes to dismantle the gender stereotypes which encourages patriarchy (Anuraag) Feminism is equality of the sexes and is aimed at uplifting both men and women. (Bidisha) Feminism is a theory that believes in equality of men and women (Evelyn) To understand the meaning of Feminism, it is important to not only understand what feminism is but also look into various factors like perception of feminism, identification with the word, upbringing of the participant, culture, gender roles, education and the region the participant belongs to. Methodology The methodology used for this case study was taking open ended interviews. The questions were designed specifically for two sets of participants- students and faculty. The questions largely followed the following pattern: 1. What according to you is Feminism? 2. Do you consider yourself a Feminist? 3. Have you faced any discrimination owing to your gender in the region you belong to/in your workplace/in Pune city? 4. Do you think the images that primary education brings us with helps to strengthen the gender constructs that society has created and helps perpetuate patriarchy? 5. Do you think certain traditions that are discriminatory towards woman, for example, woman not allowed to enter temple premises in certain places, be allowed to continue or do you believe that reformation and education is needed even when it comes to culture? 6. Do you support the concept of paternity leave? 7. Do you think men feels pressurised to act certain way because of how feminine qualities are looked down upon both in men and women? For eg, Men are told not to be expressive. Do you think this only worsens the effects of patriarchy? 8. Would you judge someone who chooses to be a house husband? 9. Are you open to dialogue about feminism and gender roles in your class? These above questions led to other question as per the participants answers, the findings of which will be presented in the next section. Findings 1. Definition Various definition came up in the interviews which largely fell in the following categories: 1. Unequal means of achieving equality. 2. Equal rights and equal status for both the genders. 3. A stereotyped word which does not pay consideration to the differences that exist between a man and woman. 4. In Indian context, gender equality but the equality is largely over exaggerated in the context of any nation outside India. 5. Extremist outlook where one gender, in this case, female look to overpower male. 6. A concept that needs to be internalised, focussing on woman empowerment. 7. Empowerment to make decisions for oneself, to lead ones life the way they want to. 8. Feminism is freedom. 9. Equal rights for all marginalized community. 10. Representation of both the sexes ensured because of Feminism. These definition covered two extremes, with some people considering it to be an extremist outlook, even likening feminism to what can be termed as matriarchy while others considering it to be ill informed movement trying to justify equality between men and women even though they believe that it is not the reality. Some believed that regional context is needed to truly understand the meaning of feminism while others stuck to definition that advocates for equality. Another interesting facet that came up was that feminism is not just limited to women but it is a movement to emancipate and give voice to all the marginalized communities who have been victims of patriarchy including the LGBT community. 2. Perception/Identification Interestingly less than 50% (47.05% to be precise) people identify as feminist. There were four observations made with regards to how people see themselves identifying with Feminism. First, there were people who believe Feminism is a movement aimed to project women superiority to men. These people did not identify as feminist. This group constituted majority of the people who do not identify as one. Second there was a group who believed feminism aims to be movement of equality yet they do not see themselves as feminist. This group showed reluctance to be labelled as one owing to how feminism has received negative connotation. Third, there was a group of people who were unsure about being labelled as feminist as they were unsure about the definition and hence chose to identify as feminist only going by their own definition. It consisted of 14.5% of total interviewed. And fourth, the final group showed strong approval of feminism. This group was 31% of the total interviewed. What was interesting to observe was that there was a large section of people who believed in equality of both the genders but showed disapproval for the term feminism. The reasons given were that feminists have harmed the cause of women more than they have helped. Some pointed about the vested interest and propaganda that goes about with feminism. There were people who believed that women has achieved equality with men in many areas already and legally in many countries. However they continue to fight over trivial matters. Incidentally, majority of the respondents who disapproved of feminism were also women. Some asserted that in the current times it is the men who face much more discrimination than woman and could easily relate to their struggles because of the feminist agenda than woman. Some showed strong disapproval for the western conception of feminism and believed that there needs to be an Indian conception of what feminism is to identify as one. There was a group of people who believed in woman empowerment but claimed that feminism also tries to disempower men at the same time at the cost of women. These perceptions as per our definition of feminism showed deep rooted patriarchy. There was a lack of clarity with regards to definition of feminism observed. It was interesting to note that there was a certain group of people who believed that feminism is equality and then went on to state that even though they support equality, they are hesitant about being labelled as feminist which pointed to the negative identity that feminism as a term has formed in the minds of many. 3. Upbringing/Region of Residence Upbringing plays an important factor in shaping our views about society. We believe that upbringing to a large extent shapes our perceptions of life and gender roles as well largely decides the origins of patriarchy in our perception. One of the assumption that was part of this exercise was that growing up in an environment where both the parents seem at equal footing would instil a sense of perceiving both the genders at parity in every aspect. For most cases, this is true. But again, due to distorted view of feminism, going by our definition of it, there were respondents who even though believed in equality yet did not believe in the word feminism. Most of the respondents noted that the region one is born in plays a vital role. When asked about the condition of women in Saudi Arabia, 100% of the respondents agreed that Feminism is needed in a country like Saudi Arabia where there is lack of woman rights. But some added that India does not need Feminism as compared to Saudi Arabia. There were also a view that there is very little research done on feminism in Indian context and the western idea of feminism cannot fit the Indian society. There needs to be an alternative theory that takes into account the specific conditions related to India to understand feminism. 4. Education, Culture and Gender Roles The idea behind education as a factor came up in discussion after our observation that in primary education there are certain images that are associated with gender which could have subtle negative impact in future. So when a gender is assigned to a doctor, the image is usually of a man while when the nurse is usually shown as a woman in our primary textbooks. When a kid grows up with such images, he or she finds it unusual when he or she sees a male nurse and tends to ridicule it. These kind of gender constructs also play in important role in fuelling patriarchy but also at the same time is an important factor for negative perception of many marginalized communities. There were various opinions received about the education. It was noted that ideas about equality are not just shaped by the formal education received in schools and colleges but also largely moulded by the informal education received at home or through peers. One important point that came up was that right education at an early stage about gender constructs and exposing children to right images could help in weeding out patriarchy to a large extent. Another important consideration is the perception of teachers and parents who are educating the children and in turn shaping their ideas of society. For instance, when in a co-education school, a young boy as a punishment is forced to sit with a girl, it reinforces a negative perception of how the genders are perceived. Hence this kind of sensitization should also be done for the trainers as well. When it came to the topic of reservation, there was a significant proportion of respondents, of about 25% people interviewed, who were against the idea of reservation of woman in education and believed that certain financial factors need to be taken under consideration when providing for reservation. However most respondents agreed that in Indian context, certain incentives like free education for woman can be given to encourage increased participation of females in schooling. A significant 87.5% of respondents also believed that they would be interested in having a dialogue around these issues. Culture also plays an important role in determining many of the ideas that define our perception. When asked about whether cultural practises like not allowing woman in certain temple premises or following a dress code as per religious tenets be allowed to continued just because it so far has been part of their culture even if it is clearly discrimination against woman, most of the interviewed responded by saying it is up to the individual to choose whether they want to continue practise such customs or not. However when quizzed whether information be provided about the various alternatives present to the custom that is being practised, most of the respondents i.e. 87.5% vouched for informed choice where education is provided about all the choices that an individual has with its implication and let the individual then decide whats better for her. Men too felt that there is a sense of conforming to masculinity construct provided by the society that they have felt in their life. Often times they have been either ridiculed for having feminine traits or qualities or any perceived behaviour, for example- being expressive, sensitive or crying to something as mundane as wearing pink, or have ridiculed someone for having these traits. An interesting idea that came up in one of the interviews was to have Masculinity Lab where masculinity as a concept is studied and redefined because it has complementary effect on how woman are perceived in society. There was consensus that emancipation of one gender, even if the male gender was believed to have had more privileges compared to woman by most respondents, would have a trickledown effect to emancipate the other gender too as both the genders and the issues they face are intrinsically linked. Conclusion We understood that there was not a clear definition of feminism that arose from all the interviews. However we understood that every version of feminism is intrinsically linked to the social constructs of gender and the conditioning by the society in form of upbringing, education and culture that people grew up in that has played a vital role in defining individual ideas. What we gathered was that the majority view of feminism was negatively but was also largely complemented by rigid views when it comes to cultural practises and lack of awareness of the actual condition of woman as compared to men in a society. There was a visible hesitance to claim the status of a feminist for even people who championed the cause of equality and strove for the values that our version of feminism strove for.