To be male and to be female in a feminist world

The brain is a very much divided organ, as some say it is a unisex organ and others disagree. Certain studies show that the male brain tends to be larger in size than the females. Such German anatomist, Emil Huschke, is said to have discovered a size difference in the “frontal lobe”, with those of males being 1% larger than those of females. These theories on differences between the male and female brains started circulating since the time of Ancient Greek philosophers (around 850 BC). However, scientific understanding has evolved and new discoveries have been found. Although some findings show the male brain to be slightly larger than the female, there are areas of the brain that appear not to be sexually differentiated. With differences in activation patterns that suggest anatomical or developmental differences (but the source of these differences is often unclear). Sex differences were more evident in the different parts of the brain, as women have been found to have higher activity in the prefrontal and limbicregions. The limbic system being a set of structures in the brain that control emotion, memories and arousal. This can explain why women have a higher susceptibility to stress-prone diseases such as “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “major depressive disorder”. While men, on the other hand, tend to have a distributed network spread out among the cerebellum, which receives information from the sensory systems, spinal cord (along with other parts of the brain) and then regulates motor movements. But i don’t want to focus on the science of the matter. Putting it aside, shouldn’t we agree that whatever the brains look like (male or female), behaviour and performance differences between men and women are predominantly shaped by socialization. Not only does our upbringing guide us in understanding male or female differences, but also our interaction with one another in society. Cultural differences, family opinions, discussions with friends or academic input create the base for one’s knowledge and stance on pretty much everything. Our ideas and beliefs develop over time, and depending on where we grew up, different things hold more meaning and certain things as seen as taboo. Overall, feminism has been seen as a controversial topic in most countries, thus giving it more of an unspoken importance. Tradition is something we tend to hold onto tightly, as it carries the roots of our past into our ongoing futures. How can we continue to move forwards without losing our tradition? Feminism can be seen as a stepping stone into the future, as each “feminist wave” has brought a change, breaking the bonds of the past for women. The first “feminist wave” took place between 1850-1940, focusing primarily on gaining the right for women to vote. This was the West’s first sustained political movement dedicated to achieving political equality for women; the first stepping stone to an equal future for women. Frankly speaking, this was only possibly where men started to see women as more equal rather than as inferior human beings. Changing the perspective in which men saw women allowed a slight shift into the next chapter, adapting to a more equal future. But if we look at feminism from a traditional perspective, can one imply it is killing chivalry? Not only does it indirectly affect tradition, but also creates the impossible illusion of “the perfect man”. This leaves a great weight on the male population, trying to live up to this expectation of how a man should be. So does feminism create a domino effect in the underlying oppression for men? For example, If a man holds the door open for a women, can it be seen as offensive? If she is just as capable of opening the door herself, should she still assume the man in-front of her will open it, as tradition would have it? Should a woman then be expected to hold the door open for men and women? What is and is not expected varies in for all women… so it becomes an unclear and touchy topic. This confusion becomes a prominent issue, making it unclear what men should and shouldn’t uphold as traditional values, without being reprimanded by society. So, is chivalry being drowned over the uproar of feminism? Should we not attempt to live in symbiosis with a changing world and maintaining a certain peace with tradition? Where do we draw the line? When you hear the word “feminist”, do you think of a woman who is against everything that is male? The stereotype of a feminist is typically a radical, lesbian, man-hating woman because society has placed feminists into a category (like everything else). Feminism does not mean that one sex should gain the upper hand, it means both sexes should maintain equality with one another; equal pay, equal rights, equal importance in the world. With technology being a key/main factor in our everyday lives, we have become increasingly globalised through social media. With the ability to view how others live across the globe, we gain an understanding of how different our lives are. Social media controls the lives of most young females, as virtual life starts to trump real life. This surreal, virtual world where “double tapping” to show your appreciation for a picture, or commenting on posts has become second nature to us. The main problem with certain images thrown into the internet today is nudity, as well as out right pornography. It has been made such a conversational topic that Instagram has been made to set a “no nipple” show for females…. but not for males. So here starts the big debate on “Is it so wrong to show off your body if you’re a female” and “why are men allowed to be half naked if women aren’t”? As the world becomes more liberal, we start to question more of the rules and regulations set out by society, but how far will we go? As nudity becomes a more contentious topic, we want to poke it and understand why we cannot do it. Using the analogy of Adam and Eve here, who were born into the world as we all are: naked. They were blissfully unaware, unselfconscious and content. Only after eating the forbidden fruit did they become painfully aware of their nudity. What would you do if you were walking in the park and suddenly became naked? How would you hide… but why would you hide at all? Nudity is not something we should be ashamed of or sexualise, as it is you in the flesh. So why are men allowed to have their torso on full display when women can’t? The main problem here is that women tend to be sexualised no matter what picture they post, what position they pose in or what they say. The issue tends not to be the person in the picture, but those who are looking at it who interpret it as they wish. Simon de Beauvoir talks about a woman not being defined in herself, but relative to man, as the male dominated society created “the other”. She uses this anthropological definition to define the female sex in terms of being the “lesser” (the other) in comparison to males. This is taken from the Hegelian conception of conscious in which self consciousness cannot exist on its own, but through others. Such as the reference to “us” and “them”, which provides a higher recognition to one group. Reinforcing her perception that women were present in a situation, simply to function as an object for men. Thus, reinstating that, in the presence of a “higher” authority, there will always be a “lesser” group in society. This is what feminists have been attempting to change and modernise through each wave. Women and men are different, yes, but neither is lesser nor more greater than the other. In order to co-exist on this planet, we need to embrace the future together.