Are we in an age of Post-Feminism? Hardly!
The twenty-first century seems to have certified the death of all kinds of –isms. Last time I checked, we are now post-feminism, meaning moving towards a critical study in not just the female sex, but also other sexes and genders. I am not here to disagree with the validity of critical studies of sexuality as a discipline: I would fight and yell until I am out of breath to assert it as a legitimate field of study (theory) and action (practice). On the other hand, one ought to not yet certify the death of feminism: as much as some of us might not like it, we still need feminism, whatever that might entail.
And here we do not need to talk about all the fine details as to what “feminism” really is. I would like to take this idea as generally as possible: it is to assert the e-quality of females in our society that is saturated with the male gaze; it is to treat all sexes and genders with the same sense of respect. That, to me, is essentially what feminism is: let us not (yet) worry about the fine details, for it hardly makes a difference to the public outside of the academy. You see, disrespect for females within our culture is so prevalent that I don’t even think arguing within the different schools of feminism would help to turn the situation around.
I am inspired to write this brief article after reading a piece of news from Mingpao (the local Chinese newspaper). In Hong Kong, a certain lecturer spoke at a talk in front of 2000 high school students of tips to take the Hong Kong secondary school public examination. Among the many tips and clarifications that this lecturer gives, some of his examples are outrageously sexist. Here is an example (in translation):
“I once received from a female student an essay. Her essay is very beautifully written. She writes that the reason she is late for school is because she was pulled to a back lane and was raped; she then writes about how her clothes were ripped apart, showing her snow-white…[this is a blank to be filled in by the audience] But students should not write like that.”
Other examples include explaining a Chinese character in terms of how to pick up girls and one that puns on “balls”, which, in Cantonese, doubtlessly conjures up the imagine of boobs. I don’t know about you, but I was entirely disturbed by these examples. But apparently, according to at least one student, the lecturer “was not being over the line, since his expressions are closer to that of teenagers’; at least his lecturers are not as boring as our school teachers’.
What does this tell us about Hong Kong’s society? Feminism still has some work to do in order to make up for the lack of respect that mainstream seems to have in general for the other sex. For one thing, I don’t think it is funny to pun on picking up girls, as if picking up girls is just a joke. I don’t think that rape is funny either. Moreover, what is up with the boobs? I don’t think conjuring up the image of groping something is funny either. How can anyone with any sense of justice, decency and respect even conceive any of these lines as “not being over the line”?
But the fault is not in the student’s acceptance; nor is it really in the lecturer’s choice of words. The fault is on the system, on the society, of continuing to allow these things to happen, and for continuing to think the same, old, disrespectful ways about women.
And don’t think that this is strictly a Hong Kong problem. Canada is not really doing any better. All you have to do is look around you: at bus and TV advertisements, in the various kinds of mass media being mass produced and mass consumed. Outside the academy, I am not entire sure how far we have come to in terms of respecting females: the male gaze has always been there, and it is still there. If we do not do anything about it, it will continue on to be there.
And here we do not need to talk about all the fine details as to what “feminism” really is. I would like to take this idea as generally as possible: it is to assert the e-quality of females in our society that is saturated with the male gaze; it is to treat all sexes and genders with the same sense of respect. That, to me, is essentially what feminism is: let us not (yet) worry about the fine details, for it hardly makes a difference to the public outside of the academy. You see, disrespect for females within our culture is so prevalent that I don’t even think arguing within the different schools of feminism would help to turn the situation around.
I am inspired to write this brief article after reading a piece of news from Mingpao (the local Chinese newspaper). In Hong Kong, a certain lecturer spoke at a talk in front of 2000 high school students of tips to take the Hong Kong secondary school public examination. Among the many tips and clarifications that this lecturer gives, some of his examples are outrageously sexist. Here is an example (in translation):
“I once received from a female student an essay. Her essay is very beautifully written. She writes that the reason she is late for school is because she was pulled to a back lane and was raped; she then writes about how her clothes were ripped apart, showing her snow-white…[this is a blank to be filled in by the audience] But students should not write like that.”
Other examples include explaining a Chinese character in terms of how to pick up girls and one that puns on “balls”, which, in Cantonese, doubtlessly conjures up the imagine of boobs. I don’t know about you, but I was entirely disturbed by these examples. But apparently, according to at least one student, the lecturer “was not being over the line, since his expressions are closer to that of teenagers’; at least his lecturers are not as boring as our school teachers’.
What does this tell us about Hong Kong’s society? Feminism still has some work to do in order to make up for the lack of respect that mainstream seems to have in general for the other sex. For one thing, I don’t think it is funny to pun on picking up girls, as if picking up girls is just a joke. I don’t think that rape is funny either. Moreover, what is up with the boobs? I don’t think conjuring up the image of groping something is funny either. How can anyone with any sense of justice, decency and respect even conceive any of these lines as “not being over the line”?
But the fault is not in the student’s acceptance; nor is it really in the lecturer’s choice of words. The fault is on the system, on the society, of continuing to allow these things to happen, and for continuing to think the same, old, disrespectful ways about women.
And don’t think that this is strictly a Hong Kong problem. Canada is not really doing any better. All you have to do is look around you: at bus and TV advertisements, in the various kinds of mass media being mass produced and mass consumed. Outside the academy, I am not entire sure how far we have come to in terms of respecting females: the male gaze has always been there, and it is still there. If we do not do anything about it, it will continue on to be there.
posted by Tristan at 6:49 a.m.
1 Comments:
I definitely agree with your entry. In reference to your comments about respect, I'd like to add that it's not just a matter of how women are talked about or shown in advertising: it's also a problem of physical safety.
I've been repeatedly catcalled by men in slow-moving cars at six in the morning, who circle the block before coming back to yell more obscene comments.
I've been followed by men I don't know late at night who are angry that I won't tell them where I live when they ask because they are "the nice ones" and I should know that.
I've stopped going to straight bars because so often I woke up the next day with bruised breasts due to completely-unconsensual violent gropings from strangers.
And a friend of mine was raped a few years ago in front of a number of witnesses at a party in Vancouver, and although her rape kit came back positive and she had a date-rape drug in her system, the police let the rapist off (which happens frighteningly often).
When all of these sorts of experiences are happening to women on a regular basis, I think it's fairly clear that feminist action is still very much needed.
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