Men and women are different, more so than in the obvious physical ways. Men and women think differently, and deal with things differently.
Taiwan, as the lighthouse for democracy and freedom in the Chinese-speaking world, is not doing enough to meet its responsibility to fight for social justice and equality.
It takes a truly confident and progressive civilization to raise awareness and fight for equal rights. Equal rights are not about fulfilling the needs of just one group, but about meeting the needs of others; it is not about self-freedom, but freedom for all.
Whether it is same-sex marriage, LGBT rights, feminism or other social issues, Taiwan has proven to be a truly confident, liberal and free society in including all voices.
Feminism has become a trend and a value that the majority of young Taiwanese want to uphold, but with little understanding of its depths. In Taiwan — known for its traditional Chinese cultural values on family, relationships and duty — feminism has limited moral ground to stand on.
The concern is not about the complex difficulties of changing traditional Chinese family values, because change takes time and perseverance. The concern is for young members of the “Internet generation” who claim to fly the feminist flag, but are acting in opposition of feminist values.
I am a feminist, who acknowledges and accepts the differences between being male and female. It is how nature created us. To many, this “nature” is God. To others, it might be Buddha, or other spiritual figures that people might believe to have destined their gender. To an atheist, it is just nature.
Gender roles do not need to be erased, but society should endeavor to elevate and level the role of women to that of men.
However, Taiwan’s media coverage of women is filled with perverted sexualized language, judgements and imagery. More so are the booming numbers of high-profile, self-proclaimed “feminist” celebrities, who claim to stand for feminism, yet earn popularity and wealth by making perverted physical appearances to fulfill the sexual fascination of men on the Internet.
When female celebrities post on social media to make the daily news headlines by displaying their wealthy lives gained through marriage (or an unlawful affair) to a rich man, inherited family money, or by using their youth, face and bodies to climb the social ladder it distances society from pursuing equality.
Gender equality is not just about sexual liberation for women, which is merely scratching the surface, but about leveling the playing field, with women’s power and responsibility in a family and society matching that of men’s.
Women should not be encouraged by family or culture to value themselves based on their youth or who they “sleep with” (in a marriage or otherwise), to achieve success, wealth and social status.
However, reality is often easier said than done. Pressure within families, media that value women based on their “young age,” “young looks” or “young body figure,” discrimination against older single women or divorced mothers, financial pressure and unequal pay all contribute to gender inequality in society.
Feminism has a long way to go in Taiwan. This generation should be equally responsible to uphold the flag of gender equality both through their beliefs and responsible actions and judgements, to slowly erase the label tagged on young women based on age and sex.
Ichen Sun is a musician and researcher at the University of Auckland.
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