Gender Inequality: Men are not an exception

A lot has been said and done about women inequality but I was wondering if we could analyse this concept from another angle.

Women are mistreated in large sections of society but being a woman has its perks too. Perks besides getting a whole section to ourselves while using public transport.

Public transport reminds me that we generally view men as aggressive and women as gentle and sensitive. If you really want to put this prejudice to test, ride in the metro in the ladies’ compartment during peak hours (provided you are a girl). The wrath of women pushing and getting mad at each other will remind you of Sunny Deol and the hand pump scene from the movie Gadar. They are as aggressive as him and you can take my word on that.

Both genders suffer from gender inequality, but who's better off?

Firstly, we have a special day called woman’s day when women assert their identity with pride. Have you ever heard of a man’s day? Well, not really. It does exist but who cares!

Considering this at family level, men are by default considered as bread winners of the family and any man who dares to stay home and fulfil household responsibilities is questioned about his manhood.  A woman can however choose to work if she wishes or be a home maker and nobody pays heed to that. In Indian societies, a man never has a choice between home and work. He always has to choose the latter due to societal pressures.

If we consider the cons of being a man psychologically, we will agree that men are generally confined when it comes to expression of emotions. A man cannot express grief or cry in front of others because crying is considered a feminine emotion. So even if he is in an extreme situation, he has to keep his calm as that is what is expected out of him.

Another interesting fact is that when we see two girls hugging or holding hands, we never doubt their sexual orientation but if we see two guys doing the same, well *rolls eyes*. Even colours are gender biased; the pink colour is a big NO- NO for guys whereas girls may choose any colour from the rainbow.

As women, we all aspire to be independent and want to be treated equally as men but I will never understand why we still expect men to pay bills at dates or hold the door for us when we approach it.

Despite being a woman and an absolute feminist, I have tried to highlight petty everyday examples to prove how we benefit due to our gender identity. In fact, I feel that gradually we are heading towards a world of female chauvinism. 

 

So, the next time we whine about how unequal we are, let’s give it a thought!

By Arshiya Munir

The writer is a first year B.A Media & Communication student