In 2018, a Thomson Reuters survey ranked India the most dangerous country in the world for women. There’s been considerable revolt against crimes committed against women. Yet, change is slow. In this post, we discuss some ideas that may speed up the change, and thus save Indian women from their plight, once and for all.
On the global stage, anti-feminism is growing
In the past, feminism made some great contributions to women’s rights.
But, today, the consensus among anti-feminists is that it seems more focused on tearing down men than uplifting women.
Some factors that seem to feed anti-feminism are as follows:
- Political correctness – Anti-feminists think that, under the disguise of political correctness, nobody can make a generalizing joke about women, but such jokes are made about men all the time.
- Double standards – Things that are offensive with women as the subject are less offensive or not offensive when men are the subject.
- Misandry – Outraged women either hating men outright, or constantly misreading their intentions.
- Women quotas – Spots reserved specially for women at workplaces etc.
- Feminism in movies and TV shows – Recently, one example is Star Wars fans claiming that feminism ruined the series by making a joke out of the force to glorify a female lead.
I’m not saying that these criticisms are valid. I’m just saying that these criticisms are strongly held by anti-feminists all around the globe.
Why should India care about global attitudes towards feminism?
Because Indians are swarming the internet in more numbers than ever before. Quora, one of the most opinionated platforms in the world, is filled with Indians. So is Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram. The idea that men are victims and women are “bitches” is still widely prevalent in India. This terrible idea gets supported and reinforced by the growing anti-feminism all over the internet.
What can we do?
There are numerous complaints about modern feminism. But they all seem to stem from a single root. A faulty premise.
The premise of modern feminism is that men and women are equal. They most certainly are not. The average man is physically significantly more capable than the average woman. The average woman is emotionally significantly more intelligent than the average man. The point is that both men and women have their strengths and weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses do differentiate them in rather fundamental ways.
So, rather than some magical notion of equality between men and women, the aim should be cooperative harmony between men and women.
The premise of equality is a breeding ground for double standards and incessant rights debates. On the other hand, the premise of cooperative harmony, where both man and woman do not abuse their strengths and both man and woman cover each other’s weaknesses, would truly create a just and threat-free world for both sexes.
Women and men cannot play by the same rules. With some things, men have to be more careful, and, with others, women have to be more careful. It’s just easier if both sexes admit to needing each other for peace and justice, rather than assume that each can stand without the other in a perfectly equal way.
So, let’s start bridging the ever intensifying divide between men’s rights and women’s rights by eliminating the faulty premise of equality, and, instead, inserting the more reasonable premise of cooperative harmony.
This way there won’t be feminist or anti feminist messages. The only message will be this: Do not abuse your strengths and accommodate the other’s weakness.
Once this happens, the endless men’s rights vs women’s rights debates will cease. Indian patriarchal attitudes will then have nothing to feed on. Thus the propaganda-fed solidarity among power-hungry men will dissolve. In the absence of that solidarity, more men will come around to thinking objectively, reasonably and cooperatively about women’s safety issues. In the same way, women will cooperate on men’s safety issues as well.
On a side note, here’s a question to think about: Are women really the inferior sex?
Let’s put aside physical strength. That’s an obvious win for men. But what really defines superiority? I would say it’s overall survivability and not just physical strength.
Studies have shown that fatal incidents involve men far more than women. These fatalities don’t always emerge from violent crime. In fact, a good number of them come from mental surrender. It appears that women are mentally better prepared for survival than men.
There may have been a time when physical superiority made all the difference. But that time is long gone. Today, mental strength is what matters most, and women seem to be winning in that regard. If you ask me, that’s a pretty compelling argument in favor of superiority.
This is just my personal opinion. I’m not a man hater. I’m a man, myself, and I like being a man. I have just observed that, these days, women are better equipped to handle life’s pressures than men. So, if overall survivability is the chief measure of superiority, I don’t think women can be called the inferior sex anymore.
That’s it for this post. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.