REFLECTIVE JOURNAL II

Question: Reflect on the changing role of women in society. Draw on examples from China, the United States and Singapore in your reflections.

From the age of foot binding through the communism of today, the role and rights of women have undergone drastic transformation in China. Women in China no longer have bound feet with them; they have high-heels instead. Chinese women’s status is rising steadily; statistics have shown that they were given more educational opportunities, more job opportunities and more opportunities to allow them to choose. During the early history of the US, a man virtually would own his wife easily and obtain all her property after marriage. US females today can enjoy equal rights as men and choose to have a family, a career, or both. Change was seen evidently from a period when the divorce law stated that the divorced husband should keep control of both children and property, to one which woman could officially sue her husband. It was in the World War II when hundred of thousands of women in Singapore helped to fill the roles of the menfolks who were on battlefields. They worked in fields, took the place of young men in factories and looked after the children and ran homes as the young men fought. Sixty years passed, in July 2007, the Singapore Air Forces launched an exhibition highlighting the contributions of women in the armed forces.

These examples showed vividly that status of women globally had indeed progressed. But what exactly was this change in ‘choice’ behind every woman in China, US and Singapore? Does every woman want this changing role? What relationship does this change has with men in society? Along with the changes in females’ roles, are there any changes in society’s concepts then? What may be the possible consequences of this changing role of women? This reflective journal will be exploring all of above questions.

During class discussion, we brought out the point that gender equality in China means the choice of present generation of women in China to dress against norm, to able to work and to enjoy opportunities given to men which women do not enjoy in the past. Parliamentarian Madam Halimah Yacob, when commenting on Singapore’s rank in the world gender gap index by the World Economic Forum, said, “From our (women’s) perspective, there seems to be no widening of the gender gap... But we will always be mindful of gaps. For example, the lack of women representation in top echelon of companies needs to be addressed.” On the other hand, in Tutorial 4, I wish to highlight a sentence from an American woman: “It’s just a choice she has to make that he doesn’t.” She elaborated using evidence during the 2008 presidential elections: Hillary Clinton had to choose between hiding her womanliness and enhancing it, a decision Barack Obama would never have to make.

What similarities or differences can we see in these three sources? Yes, they want and may have experienced change in their roles, their rights and their responsibilities today as compared to the ‘unfair’ past. But in my opinion, what differs here is the nature of ‘choice’. Chinese women want or are having choices to be similar of men, Singaporean women want or are having choices equal to that of men’s whereas American women may not want but are probably unintentionally ‘having choices more than men’ (quoted from ‘Feminism Now Defined By Each and Every Woman’ by Andrea Tantaros). Now US’s case is very special. I am just wondering, are American women too greedy? They want great changes, and they want to choose. Are they their own obstacle when it comes to taking full advantage of these choices? Saying goes, “With choices come responsibilities”. I certainly feel that the vice versa applies to US women – With more craved responsibilities come more difficult and complex choices. Eileen Conlan, assistant edition at Marie Claire, says, “You hear stories about women who are racked with guilt about not staying home with their kids, and others who feel stunted when they choose to stay home.” Certainly American women today may have to make more decisions than men now. Of course, Singaporean and Chinese women would soon experience this phase, as soon as the fight for equal rights goes out of hand and they start putting pressure on themselves.

How is this symbolic? I would think that the current status women are experiencing right now could significantly portray the extent of change in women’s role in respective countries thus far and represent how much effort on feminist movements, actions and changes had been taken to appeal for gender equality. The Global Gender Gap Report 2007 proves my point: According to the 2007 Rankings, the United States was ranked 31^st out of 128 countries, with Gender Gap Index of 0.7002 (whereby 1.00=equality whereas 0.00=inequality), Singapore was ranked 54^th, with Gender Gap index of 0.6797 and China was ranked 73^rd with an index of 0.6643. This piece of evidence does prove that these three countries do have different status at which gender equality is exercised in them. Progress may be the slowest in China among the three countries, due to the hindrance of traditional beliefs and the strong emphasis of conservatism on Chinese women. Singapore, probably do not ‘suffer’ as much as China though she has many Chinese with her too; we could confidently say that she is influenced by the West too. In US, the extent of the change in women’s role can be said to the most significant as I would think that democracy played a huge factor in this -- the fact that everyone has a say puts gender gap issues forward for open discussions and that might be probably the reason for the fast advancement in her attempt to strive for gender equality. This links back, after all, to the extent of change different women are facing now.

Now to my second point: do all women want this ‘changing role’? My answer is no. I believe there are females in China, America and Singapore who do not aspire to be those ‘wonder women’ fighting for success in career and balancing family at the same time. One interesting point I took up from Tutorial 4 was the fact that in many instances, securing success in careers had made women try to appear as ‘manly’ as their male counterparts. Competing toe to toe with men apparently also forced many to be as rough in language and manner as their male colleagues.

My view is that not only do these women’s personalities change, what is more disappointing and unfortunate will be the outcomes of those Chinese traditional beliefs that had been known for centuries. Qualities of women being temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous are slipping away. When emphasis on woman’s skills on job, independent survival and professional training become more and more important, concerns such as aesthetic education and cultural refinement were left at wayside. ‘It’s a shame that when our forefathers overthrew the last dynasty the profound culture and graceful etiquette passed on for thousands of years were also cast away,” Zhang Lehua, director of Youlan Women’s Institution in China, says. Same case goes for America. A study that compared female voices between 1945 and 1993 found that, in the latter half of the century, as young women entered the workforce in increasing numbers, their voices deepened, with the average pitch decreasing about 23 hertz. A question to ponder: if women are fighting for jobs like politicians which majority are men and turning more masculine to suit themselves better now, would it be possible to come to a time when men start to become more lady-like just to fit in jobs like nurses, secretaries or cashiers? Singaporean women are getting more strong-willed these days. From a blog article by an American entrepreneur, he commented, “Strong character is one of the most attractive features of today’s Singapore women. They are even entering the world of politics and are being welcomed with open arms by most of the male politicians. These women know that they need to act like equals to men in order to be seen as equals and are willing to sacrifice (anything) to do so.” Perhaps, they are the inevitable consequences for women themselves for the change in roles.

What relationship does this change has with men in society? Why is this change in women’s roles slower in China than in Singapore or in the United States? Probably, fragile male egos are holding Chinese women back. Probably, it lies in a concept that is unique and infamous in China: Face. Many men cannot accept their wives to have a high status than them. According to a survey done in Beijing, 79 out of 100 men do not want their wives to surpass them their own success. It is very possible for some women to restrain their ambitions to cater to some men’s shallow concerns for saving face, thus the slow change? In the West, there was a popular saying that went, “Men want their wives barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen” in the 1940s. But today those men who put their own egos ahead of being with a woman they like are categorized as a rare and dying breed. It is evident that progress of women in men’s eyes is being accepted. In 1983, Lee Kuan Yew sparked the ‘Great Marriage Debate’ when he encouraged Singapore men to choose highly-educated women as wives. Nevertheless, a match-making agency Social Development was set up to promote socializing among men and women graduates, allowing ‘men’s ego’ to set in as much. In conclusion, men could be either hindrance or catalyst to this change in women’s role.

Along with the changes in females’ roles, are there any changes in society’s concepts then? Yes, in fact, I feel that this change had challenged many outdated concepts. One concept would be that ‘Men call the shots while woman keep the house’. A survey had been done in China and 63% of women do not subscribe to it. Expectable and reasonable enough, we can easily see how urban women in the three countries have strongly developed sense of self-development and identity. ‘Women is not complete without a child’, 70% selected not quite in favour or quite unfavourable. It sets a contrast to the traditional thinking that had been accepted among the older generations of Chinese in Singapore that it is basic responsibility and natural duty of women to bear children. Then the US women argued for equal status in family other than in career. 80% supported strongly that husbands should undertake half of housework in family. I would think that there are increasing numbers of men who can accept this concept. But question is: is this change going to overthrow old concepts entirely as the society gradually revolves?

No matter what, the fact stays: women are changing, women’s roles are changing, and the change in women’s roles is going to change the society by in large.

¶ 8:22 AM