Happy New Year of Green Wood Horse! Or shall we call it Year of the Mare for a change?
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| La Jument Verte (the Green Mare), 1959 |
While I have never considered myself a feminist, I have quickly realized to my great dismay that, after thousands of years of brainwashing, manipulation and domination, many women truly believe they are inferior to men or are not good enough for them. Those women can be found everywhere in the world, they come from various backgrounds, and many of them are educated and have a career. So what's wrong with them (shall I include myself)? Nothing, they just lack self-confidence and I am afraid our male-dominated societies have no real interest in empowering them, in spite of countless good-willing speeches. Why? Because a woman who is insecure is more prone to consume products and services that will make her feel more attractive, beautiful, powerful, or younger, happier, etc. than a woman who is pleased with what she is and what she has. The more frustrated a woman is, the more addicted she is to anything that can give her the illusion that she is in control (shopping, diets, TV, gossips, etc.). Just give them bread, circuses and credit cards.
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| Confessions of a Shopaholic |
I think we should be very careful when we promote education as the best way to empower girls and women, as education is useless without inspiration, orientation and motivation. I mean, having skills and knowledge is great but it is also good to understand why you get them and how you will be able to use them, which does not necessarily mean you will become a business or career woman. You also need to be prepared to strive to get your first job, to get paid less than men, to lose your job more easily, and to have more difficulties to be promoted. If you happen to have an entrepreneurship mind (which is not given to everybody), life won't be easier. It is no surprise that some schoolgirls - French and Korean- told me their only purpose in life was to get a husband so that they don't have to work, while other told me they absolutely did not want to have a husband (or even a job). For all of them, there was a sense of inevitable failure and vanity. Wouldn't it be better not to know what we are missing rather than missing what we can't ignore? I know, it is hardly possible to be unaware in those days of ubiquitous social media but it is sad to note that overexposure to information is creating frustration, loneliness, and not-so-paradoxically, narcissism (selfies).
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| Found in the Facebook: Sochi Olympics' bathroom rules no woman would do any of those prohibited things (unless she let her Smarthone falls into the water) |
CNN recently published a piece by Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway and co-chair of the U.N. Secretary General’s Millennium Development Goals Advocates; and Hannah Godefa, UNICEF National Ambassador for Ethiopia, titled Teach a girl, enrich the world. One paragraph particularly caught my attention: "Educated girls and women have smaller families and healthier children, are less likely to die in childbirth, are more likely to see their children survive past the age of 5, are more likely to send their children to school, and are better able to protect themselves and their children from malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, trafficking, and sexual exploitation. Education empowers women, multiplying their economic choices and contributions, and increasing their political voice and influence across the board." While I partially approve this statement (because education cannot explain and solve everything), I am not sure decision-makers and marketers really want to invest in educating girls who will eventually jeopardize their plans when they eventually open their eyes. Conspiracy? Not really, check this article The Problem with Dove.
I have a dream ... let's imagine that one day (don't ask me when), everybody will take for granted the fact that women are not only equal to men but also better than them. Having said that, I must confess that I am completely unable to answer the question When Will Women Rule the World? as I don't want to start this Lunar New Year of the Green Wooden Horse/Mare with depressing thoughts and a headache.
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| Happy Lunar New Year Anyway! |
Last week, I had a very interesting talk with a South Korean girlfriend with whom I share a lot of common traits, starting with a particular wittiness that spares no one, and not even ourselves. Our main conclusion was that women should take care of themselves first, instead of trying to accommodate the needs of the entire world. That would would surely make them less stressed, frustrated, guilty, envious, bitter, and cantankerous, and therefore more able to control their own lives and help the others. This is the same as what you should do in case of plane crash: put your oxygen mask first before helping others. This means that a selfish act can save lives.
One day, a girlfriend who happened to be pregnant told me (half jokingly I am sure), that if she had to have an ugly baby, she would prefer to have a girl rather than a boy. In that case, she would be ready to pay for plastic surgery expenses so that her daughter can be able to find a rich husband who in turn would be able to refund the remodeling costs. This may sound shockingly horrible, but here is a mother who really thinks about the future of her daughter, in a practical way.
I guess mothers should also start with educating their boys ... There's Something Absolutely Wrong With What We Do To Boys Before They Grow Into Men
