Changes in gender stereotypes :

Who’s Tarzan? Who’s Jane?

Aditha DISSANAYAKE

Remember the story of Cinderella? Remember who brings her out of her life of hardship and rags into a life of riches? Who else but Prince Charming.

Remember The Beauty and the Beast? Remember how the Beast - the violent, insulting, sometimes physically aggressive, male is finally tamed by his beautiful, self-sacrificing victim? Like in 'Pride and Prejudice', so too in this fairy tale the heroine finally discovers that all the Beast's aggression had only masked his sensitivity and love for her; in fact, his cruelty and violence were the proof of his love.

In other words, in most classical fairy-tales as well as modern day romance novels, the Damsel in Distress is saved by Prince Charming, who promises her a married life of status, wealth and happiness. The heroine is passive: Through no fault of hers, she has been hurt by circumstances; helpless and powerless, her redemption comes when a man steps into her life.

Meanwhile, in the stories that belong to the Beauty and Beast type the man is cynical, distrustful of women in general and exceptionally so towards the heroine. She undergoes a series of emotional and physical humiliations (often humbly), before realizing that he has loved her all along. As does Elizabeth in 'Pride and Prejudice', the heroine wins a husband, (in Elizabeth's case Darcy) who is, again, rich, successful etc.

These stereotypes found in fairy tales and fiction encompass the unwritten 'rules' all of us are led to believe from the very beginning of our lives, defining what is expected of us based on our sex.

This construction of "femininity" or "masculinity" normally begins with the colour of our clothing.

Femininity and masculinity

Traditionally, pink is for girls, blue is for boys. Growing up, as children we are given toys that reinforce these "rules" of "femininity" or "masculinity" and to reflect what our future role in society will be. Girls are given dolls and toy kitchen sets, because one day they are going to be mothers, who will be doing most of the cooking for her children and husband. Boys of course are given chemistry sets and Lego boxes, because they will grow up to be smart, successful, strong and powerful.

Thinking along these lines, psychologists say, society is likely to appreciate a girl for her cuteness and a boy for his achievements. For example, a girl may receive the comment, "You look so pretty!" for the outfit she is wearing. While this compliment is not harmful in itself, repeated over and over the message the girl gets is that she is most appreciated for her looks, not for what she can do. Boys, on the other hand, are praised for what they can do--"Aren't you a big boy, standing up by yourself!" Many parents encourage and expect boys to be more active, to be more rough-and-tumble in their play than girls.

Accordingly when girls and boys become men and women they are expected to be either feminine or masculine in their behaviour. Femininity is defined as being dependent, emotional, passive, sensitive, quiet, graceful, innocent, weak, flirtatious, nurturing, self-critical, soft and accepting. Masculinity, on the other hand is defined as being independent, non-emotional, aggressive, competitive, experienced, strong, active, self-confident, hard and rebellious.

Yet, in spite of these stereotypical roles society expects from us, the shifting of gender roles in the past 30 years has been huge. According to Kathleen Gerson, and Jerry A. Jacobs in "The Time Divide: Work, Family and Gender Inequality" the number of households in the USA where the wife is the sole earner, from 1970 to 2000, jumped from about 4.1 percent to over 7 percent, and has grown since then.

"We are all quite comfortable with the dual-earner household," says Gerson speaking not only for America but for the rest of the world as well.

What the world has yet to come to terms with, though, is how to get over the stereotypical gender roles that still dominates the family sphere.

Thus women-even if they work full-time outside the home-are still perceived as having the primary responsibility for taking care of home and family. Generally, if a child is sick and both parents work, it is the mother who leaves the office, picks the child up, and stays home until the child is well enough to return to school.

Divisions

Researchers have also found that the woman is still the primary doer of housework (although today's men tend to do more housework than their fathers did).

Working mothers do 20 hours of housework each week, compared to working fathers, who do 10.

The tasks considered "male," such as yard work and car maintenance, were sporadic in nature and involved an aspect of leisure. The tasks considered "female" were generally repetitive, and had to be done daily--researchers called these tasks "unrelenting, repetitive, and routine." In addition, women are still responsible for most of the shopping, child care, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and even for how the house looks.

Changes

Sociologists say that the massive changes in the workplace with more and more women taking on the jobs traditionally held by men, have happened so quickly men and women are still trying to sort out what the new roles and rules mean to them. Thus, although women are no longer expected to be the keepers of the house, in reality, they are in most families. Although men are generally open to the successes enjoyed by the women they share their lives with, some still find it hard to celebrate a woman's triumphs in her career because they feel it diminishes their own.

Not surprisingly researchers report that 38 percent of working women have a problem with how much household work their husbands do. Women feel they have the right to choose their own career paths, an opportunity few of their mothers and grandmothers had, and then realize that they are still ruled by many of the same old gender role expectations.

The time has surely come to reconstruct what it is to be "feminine" or "masculine". The world would surely be a better place if we could be free to act the way we want, and express the way we feel without being burdened by what we should or should not do according to our sex. Let every individual decide if he or she is Tarzan or Jane.

Especially so, because society's categories for what is masculine and feminine could at times be unrealistic. They may not capture how we truly feel, how we behave, or how we define ourselves. After all, all men have some so-called feminine traits, and all women have some so-called masculine traits. The bottom line is: we are more alike than different.

[email protected]

Empowered Woman of the Year Awards 2012

The Empowered Woman of the Year Awards ceremony forms an important part in the MAS annual calendar and comes under the “Rewarding Excellence” pillar of the MAS Women Go Beyond Programme.

The women of MAS are lauded for their achievements, recognizing and rewarding those who have faced and overcome challenges to achieve excellence, and who serve as role models and inspiration for others. It is one of the most popular events within the MAS Women Go Beyond Programme, bestowing company and nation-wide recognition on those female employees who excel in work and life.

This year's award ceremony was held on November 16, for the 9th year and saw 39 Empowered women from MAS plants in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh being recognized and applauded by an audience consisting MAS Board members, Management, colleagues and family members, as well as special invitees who support the objectives of the programme. The Chief Guest was Prof. Asvini Fernando, President of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians and a board member of the National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka.

Another significant element of this year's awards was the launch of the “Orange Initiative” which will be disseminated to all MAS plants. All present at the ceremony donned an Orange ribbon to pledge their commitment to the prevention of violence against women and children.

Say no to violence

Under the banner of “Say no to violence” against women and children, MAS initiated a campaign which will start on November 25 (the international day for elimination of violence against women) and will continue for 10 days, when all MAS plants will conduct activities to create awareness of this initiative. The 25th of each month will be declared the “Orange day” to keep the message current, not limiting the initiative to an annual event. The colour orange will be used at all plants to symbolize their commitment to eliminate violence against women and children. A significant message which will be carried by 55,000 MAS associates to their families and communities.

Group Director, MAS Holdings, Ajay Amalean speaking at the award ceremony, stated “The MAS Empowered Women of the Year for 2012 make me realize that you don't have to look far for great stories of success and leadership. We have them right here at MAS.

Over the past several years, we have found champions with humble beginnings and, most often, disadvantaged in life. Champions who have risen above the hardships and become empowered women. We are absolutely proud of them. Young, smart, confident women who dared to dream, who dared to set challenging goals, and dared to stay focused in achieving those goals.” This aptly sums up the core of the annual Empowered Woman of the Year Awards.

Record

During the past 25 years of operation, MAS Holdings, under the guidance and direction of Chairman Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean, has evolved from a socially responsible corporate to an organization that is strongly committed to creating sustainable livelihoods for their associates.

The mutual respect and sense of belonging shared has only been further strengthened by the organization's continuous investment in the communities in which they operate.

The pioneering women's empowerment programme - MAS Women Go Beyond - was launched in 2003.

MAS appreciated the importance of women's empowerment and its relevance for employee engagement due to its high ratio of female associates, and its importance within the cultural context of village life often dominated by patriarchal values.

It was a natural progression to extend the culture of empowerment to those individuals who are the backbone of MAS: the women. Of the company's total workforce in Sri Lanka, 90% are women; as are 83% of its overseas employees.

By creating an inclusive programme of women's empowerment, MAS raised the standards of operations within the apparel industry generating a paradigm shift.