Just a body...

As a mother you revere me, but
only in public, on the roads,
where everyone gets to see me
observe closely, no one does
for that would expose gashes
and cuts from yesterday's blows
expected to deck up as a doll
with make up hiding my scars

this is a society I am born into
 celebrated outdoors and
destroyed indoors.
  with children watching me hit
watching me raped without regret
watching me cook with swollen eyes
puffing into a stove to make it burn
the food, my throat, my lungs, my world

how do you survive, no one asks
I do not even have a name I can relate to
not even seen as an independent soul
my body has been vandalized
my soul has been silenced
my eyes are listless
my womb burns, brighter than the brightest flame
only there is no light here, just blood splattered on the bed

how do I live, some one asks
why do I live is what i am figuring out
then it strikes, if not for the womb,
my life would not make any sense
my mind is what society seeks to crush
those blows on my body are etched as warnings to others
to keep mum and service the phallus is my sole role
my tongue needs to be pulled out
before it can utter words that would shock

I need to be maimed before I strike out
my strength needs to ebb lest I lash out

frail mother, frail daughter
is not some freak of nature
its emblematic of deprivation
starvation, its an abomination
cursed by the same family which brings her to this world
accidentally off course,
who would want a daughter
someone who is condemned to slavery
since the moment she can blink

a world where you can buy me, trade in me,
surrogate me, prostitute me, sell me for my organs
treat me like a walking carcass, ready to feed off me
but then I am also Ganga, Yamuna, Kosi, Narmada
Kali, Sita, Draupadi....several names
yet I remain nameless, faceless
I am but a body
servicing a debauched society...

Crucified....

men are afraid of any woman who makes poetry and dangerous portents
 unable to predict when, for what and for whom she will open her mouth
unable to stitch up her lips,
 they silence her sometimes in the womb,
sometimes through education and mostly through religion

she was an outcast who had the makings of a fiery orator
 who could some sane day run for parliament but
 how could the brahmin elite allow a woman
who speaks or writes amidst them,
 that would be blasphemy
so a nail was driven through her head and
 her coffin set adrift on a wailing river

 she was black and blood thirsty,
so even kali found herself shut in a shrine

 the others who never spoke up
were simply locked up
in homes with families they did not know
with a man they never saw before
expected to remain and breed like cattle
their existence a mere footnote
their language stolen from their throats
 their identities snatched to render them forever dependent.

 crucified to maintain an order
 which ensured they remained forever smothered.
 burdened with the ordained duty to maintain continuity
 they were strangled with a ring, a yellow thread
and sometimes simply stolen from distant lands
 from mothers who would never see their daughters,
sold to debauched desires they would be called whores.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: IMPORTANCE OF GENDER INTEGRATION

To quote Howard Zinn, famous author of the ‘PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS’, “ the demands of the poor may not be just all the while but if we do not heed to them then we may never understand what justice truly means”

The importance of gender equity can be discussed only when a sufficient case for inclusion of women into the decision making process is made and that shall be the standing premise through which the issue of mainstreaming gender in the climate change debate would be looked at.

When Nicolas stern came out with the widely popular 'stern report' that stated that climate change is more of a result of market failure than any other factor and has had the capacity to shrink world economy by 20%, he pretty much laid the basic framework that would be used to address and understand climate change. the fact that climate change was seen as a market failure was a failure in itself in terms of the myopic approach that was involved in the thought process that culminated in this declaration. It is not a surprise that market forces have always been unleashed by the powers of western capitalism on unsuspecting populations in the developing world that have resulted in complete devastation of economies starting from latin America to Africa to Asia.

The one major stakeholder who rarely figures in the discussion on these themes are the women, disaggregated data that show how these very market forces have impacted women are unavailable. In a way the role played by the ‘care’ economy has always been unseen and unrecognised, the results have been cataclysmic for women populations across the globe as policy after policy barely speak about the importance of gender inclusion.

The monetisation of the global economy and narrow parameters that define growth, the undue importance given to economic growth, the exclusionist principles of the market, the myth of free trade and globalisation have all combined to dis empower women in a manner that has made them all the more powerless and ineffective in influencing major decisions that shape their lives. Women have watched helplessly as the powers sitting far away ensconced safely amidst the rocky mountains or in ski resorts have made policies that have upset their lifestyles without suggesting how they would be able to cope with them.

The fact that climate change debates today do not question the relevance of the economic models that have brought the world to this juncture highlights the inherent limitations of the debate. Rather than trying to understand what economics have pushed us to this situation we are continuing to talk of mitigation under the same framework that led us to this crisis. Further the very models that excluded the marginalised and the poor are being projected as saviours and let me put it this way why the world would never understand why climate change and sustainable development would remain mere terms for the masses, the answer is simple, capitalist economic models backed by policies of free trade and deregulation have been responsible for exacerbating poverty, unemployment and hence exclusion.

Sustainable development is a term that arrived after the Brundtland report came up but the very manner it defined sustainability has thrown up numerous interpretations most of them paying lip sympathy to the term. It is impossible to step up production by 5 to 10 times as the report claims in any sustainable manner that mankind knows. So we have a situation where the very term is seen as an oxymoron that is being further crippled by discussions that are not aiming to address the ‘cause’ of the problem but suggesting market driven solutions to mitigate the effects, the same markets have been at the crux of the problems though not many would acknowledge that as well. Sustainable development has therefore made no more sense to people as may be preamble makes to majority of the Indians. The importance of gender integration is therefore lost on everyone, this has been evident by the representation that gender issues are allotted to in discussions on climate change or development paradigms. The problem also lies in the nature of science that dominates the climate change arena. It is too technical, reductionist and converts nature science into an obscure array of numbers and graphs, what is conveniently forgotten is the fact that when science loses touch with the people for whom it is made to be, then that science is not people’s science.

I would not be quoting numbers to state how big the poor female population is and how many are at the receiving end of inertia predominant at several climate change and G8 conferences, but what I would like to talk about is the fact that slowly their positions are moving to a point of no recovery, the ‘tipping point’ as people would like to call it. The global poor population has over 65% females, the invisible players in the ‘care economy’, whose activities don’t get accounted in the GDP and hence seen as unproductive unless they make a self help group and do some ‘income generating activities’. Saddling women with more work in a situation where the forest that used to provide them with ready firewood is being removed at an alarming rate, the river that used to provide them water for their household is now dammed to supply power elsewhere. Studies show that tribal women in central India now travel upto 7 km to get firewood and water, up from 1.5 km over the last 50 years. Am not even speaking of the security related issues that women have to face in the process. Gender dis empowerment is therefore inbuilt in the very way sustainable development is conceptualised.

The way ahead would not be to go for disaggregated data at all levels but to look for policy level prescriptions that guarantee ownership of factors of production like land, access to the forest resources that the Forest Rights Act,2006 in its un amended form intended to do. The way ahead is to learn from the wisdom of rural women and develop economies on the style of the Gram Swaraj model that Gandhi speaks of in his ‘Hind Swaraj’. That is the true form of sustainability that addresses local issues locally and not by obscure people sitting at even obscure locations.
It’s time to put back control and livelihoods in the hands of the common rural household....

the juggernaut rolls on.....

Dandakaranya is part of what the British, in their White Man’s way, called Gondwana, land of the Gonds. Today the state boundaries of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra slice through the forest. Breaking up a troublesome people into separate administrative units is an old trick. But these Maoists and Maoist Gonds don’t pay much attention to things like state boundaries. They have different maps in their heads, and like other creatures of the forest, they have their own paths. For them, roads are not meant for walking on. They’re meant only to be crossed, or as is increasingly becoming the case, ambushed.

The PWG [Peoples' War Group, earlier name for the Maoists] were not the first evangelicals to arrive in Dandakaranya. Baba Amte, the well-known Gandhian, had opened his ashram and leprosy hospital in Warora in 1975. The Ramakrishna Mission had begun opening village schools in the remote forests of Abujhmad. In north Bastar, Baba Bihari Das had started an aggressive drive to “bring tribals back into the Hindu fold”, which involved a campaign to denigrate tribal culture, induce self-hatred, and introduce Hinduism’s great gift—caste.

The first converts, the village chiefs and big landlords—people like Mahendra Karma, founder of the Salwa Judum—were conferred the status of Dwij, twice-born, Brahmins. But this counterfeit Hinduism is considered good enough for tribal people, just like the counterfeit brands of everything else—biscuits, soap, matches, oil—that are sold in village markets.

As part of the Hindutva drive, the names of villages were changed in land records, as a result of which most have two names now, people’s names and government names. Innar village, for example, became Chinnari. On voters’ lists, tribal names were changed to Hindu names (Massa Karma became Mahendra Karma). Those who did not come forward to join the Hindu fold were declared ‘Katwas’ (by which they meant untouchables) who later became the natural constituency for the Maoists.

The perennial problem, the real bane of people’s lives, was the biggest landlord of all, the Forest Department. Every morning, forest officials, even the most junior of them, would appear in villages like a bad dream, preventing people from ploughing their fields, collecting firewood, plucking leaves, picking fruit, grazing their cattle, from living. They brought elephants to overrun fields and scattered babool seeds to destroy the soil as they passed by. People would be beaten, arrested, humiliated, their crops destroyed. Of course, from the forest department’s point of view, these were illegal people engaged in unconstitutional activity, and the department was only implementing the Rule of Law. (Their sexual exploitation of women was just an added perk in a hardship posting.)

Eventually, the forest department fled. Between 1986 and 2000, the party redistributed 3,00,000 acres of forest land. Today, Comrade Venu says, there are no landless peasants in Dandakaranya.

For today’s generation of young people, the forest department is a distant memory, the stuff of stories mothers tell their children, about a mythological past of bondage and humiliation. For the older generation, freedom from the forest department meant genuine freedom. They could touch it, taste it. It meant far more than India’s Independence ever did. They began to rally to the party that had struggled with them.

With the redistribution of land came other responsibilities: irrigation, agricultural productivity and the problem of an expanding population arbitrarily clearing forest land. A decision was taken to separate ‘mass work’ and ‘military work’.

Today, Dandakaranya is administered by an elaborate structure of Janatana Sarkars (people’s governments).

In June 2005, Mahendra Karma [a tribal quisling of the government] called a secret meeting of mukhias in Kutroo village and announced the Salwa Judum (the Purification Hunt). A lovely melange of tribal earthiness and Dwij/Nazi sentiment.

The Salwa Judum was a ground-clearing operation, meant to move people out of their villages into roadside camps, where they could be policed and controlled. In military terms, it’s called Strategic Hamleting. It was devised by General Sir Harold Briggs in 1950 when the British were at war against the communists in Malaya. The Briggs Plan became very popular with the Indian army, which has used it in Nagaland, Mizoram and in Telangana. The BJP chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh, announced that as far as his government was concerned, villagers who did not move into the camps would be considered Maoists. So, in Bastar, for an ordinary villager, just staying at home became the equivalent of indulging in dangerous terrorist activity.

It’s a scratchy recording of Mr Manhar, the then SP Bijapur, briefing a junior officer over the wireless about the rewards and incentives the state and central governments are offering to ‘jagrit’ (awakened) villages, and to people who agree to move into camps. He then gives clear instructions that villages that refuse to surrender should be burnt and journalists who want to ‘cover’ Naxalites should be shot on sight. (I’d read about this in the papers long ago. When the story broke, as punishment—it’s not clear to whom—the SP was transferred to the State Human Rights Commission.)

The first village the Salwa Judum burnt (on June 18, 2005) was Ambeli. Between June and December 2005, it burned, killed, raped and looted its way through hundreds of villages of south Dantewada.

About 60,000 people moved into camps, some voluntarily, others out of terror. Of these, about 3,000 were appointed SPOs on a salary of Rs 1,500.

The remaining hundreds of thousands of people went off the government radar.

In the slipstream of the Salwa Judum, a swarm of police stations and camps appeared.

"Even now I think of Comrade Kamla all the time, everyday. She's 17. She wears a homemade pistol on her hip. And Boy, what a smile. But if the police come across her, they'll kill her. They might rape her first. No questions will be asked. Because she's an Internal Security Threat," says Arundhati Roy

why the north east shall smoulder

When will the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) be withdrawn from Manipur? When will this act leave us in peace? I would not mind leaving this evil world only if I could perform the last rites of my beloved daughter! My daughter was just a delicate girl. Why was she tortured so brutally? Why did they rape her and kill her? My sorrow swells up day after day as the innocent loving face of my daughter haunts me day and night. Such were the heart touching wail of the broken hearted mother of Thangjam Manorama (32) who was, after taken away from home, tortured, in all probability raped, and killed by the 17th Assam Rifles.

Thangjam Manorama , was the daughter of late Thangjam Birahari and Thangjam ongbi Khumanleima (60) of Bamon Kampu Mayai Leikai. When this writer met the family, the Khumanleima said with tear-filled eyes, “It was on the 10th of July 2004, just short of midnight that numerous vehicles of the 17th Assam Rifles parked around our gate. Some of the AR personnel entered our house where-in were only four of us-my daughter. Th. Manorama, my sons, Th. Dolendro and Th. Basu. The security men turned to my daughter and asked her if she was a member of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). One of the ARs slapped my daughter for her negative reply. My sons Dolendro and Basu were also beaten seriously. I still remember the blood from the ear of my son. In addition, they turned to me, an old woman, and offered me kicks and punches. I lost my sense for some moments. After a short unhappy pause she added, “In front of my dimmed eyes, they charged on my daughter with the butts of their guns. Unsatisfied with that, they poured water from her head and continued to beat her black and blue. If all happened in front of our eyes.

“After the severe beating I assisted Dolendro, the Assam Rifles tried to take away our sister. At length, they began to prepare an arrest memo on which they wrote my sisters name and address. The memo was signed by hawaldar G.D. Sureshkumar (No. 173355) and counter signed by rifleman T. Lotha (No. 173916) and rifleman Ajetsing (No. 173491) of the 17th Assam Rifles.

“It was dearly written on the memo,” said Dolendro to this writer, “that nothing illegal was found from my sister at the time of the arrest. She was arrested in normal physical condition under the suspicion of being a member of the Peoples Liberation Army. It was also deceptively written on the memo that, while conducting the search inside the house of Manoram, the A.R. personnel neither destroyed any house hold materials nor tortured any family members. Though it was against the will of the family, the AR personnel forced us to sign a ‘No Claim Certificate” Then the ARs told us to come the following morning to the 17th AR camp at Kangla and to pick up our sister Th. Manorama . They left us at around 2:30 am.

“At dawn the 11th July 2004 at about 5:30 am,” Dolendro said, “the lifeless body of beloved sister was found at Thongngaibam Chingjel near Yaipharok Maring Village situated at the Yairipok Road (which is also known as Ngarian Road). Near the dead body my sister was one hand-grenade and a Kenwood set . In the arrest memo it was mentioned that nothing was with her at the time of arrest. Now, it is subtly proved that the security men purposely but foolishly put such things as to evidence their cock and bull report. Why did they do so?” Asked the brother helplessly, ‘There were not a single empty cartridge but we found some 3 or 4 bullet wounds at the back and navel of our sister.”

“We found severe bleeding from the vagina of our sister,” said sister Th. Inao adding to the heart shocking story, ‘She was stabbed on her right thigh and left arm probably after several torturing cuts. One of her nipples was also bruised and plucked off. Such an unexplainable inhumane act. The bleeding from her private part evidently shows that my helpless sister was repeatedly raped by the Assam Rifles, because there was no evidence of gunshot wounds or stab on her private part. Really , she was raped, raped repeatedly and shot brutally!” insisted Th. Inao.

‘Till now we are lamenting against the deaf ears, though fate has taken our sister, we have decided not to perform her rituals, which is a must for us, until and unless AFSPA is repealed .” Repressing her tears, she added,’ We can’t bear this. Leaving her necessary rites undone is really torturing us silently. Her soul may be wandering here and there, around us. Being her family, we in heart want to perform her rituals.”

“My daughter was a young delicate maiden”, added the bereaved mother who had been crying, “Why did they take her honour? Why did they spoil her virginity? For what reason did they torture her? Why? Why did they kill her?” She cried beating her breast, “I can’t forget the loving face of my daughter. Her smiles are still alive in my mind. Her memories enliven the burning sorrow in my heart. I cannot stop my tear when I see friends in their festive costumes. The photos of my daughter, P. Chittarajan, K. Memita and Jamkhoet Khongsai, which have been at our gate for four years, are now voicelessly praying in the midst of dust. Sometimes, may be contemptuous securitymen or mischievous drunk fellows displace the photos. Such things will go on if the rituals of my daughter is not performed. The only desire left in my broken heart is to perform her rites and leave this world peacefully following the unfortunate soul of my daughter.”

Thangjam Manorama (32 yrs) was born on 25th December 1971. She passed class ten (matric exam.) from Irillbung High School and further completed graduation (BA)from Kumbi College. She assisted her poor family by weaving silk. She earned a little from her hard toil and helped the family’s daily needs but many days were spent with empty stomach. Th. Modon is the eldest son. Manorama, being the second child, is succeeded by sister Inao, brother Dolendro, another sister Ibemcha and the youngest brother Basu. Against the cruel murder of Manorama many civil organisation of Manipur, altogether, launched a general strike through out the state. Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF) called state wide general strike from the midnight of July 12 till the midnight of July 14. Other organizations, the All Manipur Women Social Reformation and Development Samaj, Macha Leima, HERICOUN etc. actively supported the state wide strike.

What happened on the next day after the end of the bandh, July 15,2004 surprised and shocked the world. In the morning at around 10:15 am, Twelve women out of nowhere, stormed at the western gate of the 17th Assam Rifles Kangla and in an unprecedented act, of protest shed their clothes and challenged the security forces to rape them. Facing the AR gate with their bare bodies, they shouted to the Assam Rifles, “If you really have the craze to rape, come rape us’ They raised banners where was written in bold letters, “INDIAN ARMY RAPE US,’ INDIAN ARMY TAKE OUR FLESH.”

That was an unexpected consequence of the custodial murder of Th. Manorama after rape. More than 50 women from different women’s organizations of Manipur came from G.M.Hall and among them, 12 naked bodies marched on to the Kangla gate and cried against the killing of Manorama , “You dogs of AR! Come rape us like you raped meitei chanu (women) Manorama”. They wailed. They shouted, “We are all mothers of Manorama. We stand for our daughter Manorama. Come fulfill your lust. Play on our body. Eat our flesh. Come Indian Army. They continued their complaint against AFSPA will slogans, GO BACK INDIAN ARMY. Withdraw the Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958 from Manipur! “

The protest of the women continued for about 45 minutes. Due to excessive emotion, more than half of them fell unconscious . Being surprised, some AR personnel watched the scene dumbfounded. They stood spell-bound. The scene broke the heart of the passers by. People even shed tears and closed their eyes.

There was no policeman when the women protesters sprang from no-where and staged their tear-provoking scene. Some minutes later, police officials along with Imphal west SP scolded the police officers for there were no women police. Disregarding the polices effort to carry the fainted women, the protesters used private vehicles to take them to hospitals. The women then tried to launch the same protest in front of the Chief Minister Bangaloo. Police arrested some of the protesters and dropped them at the gate of the office of the All Manipur Women Social Reformation and Development Samaj (AMWSRDS0 situated at the palace gate.

As precautionary measures to control the possible drastic situations, the Manipur Government imposed indefinite curfew from 11am of the same day in Imphal East and West district. The D.C. Imphal West also issued orders under section 19 of The Cable Television Network Regulation Act, 1995, prohibiting the transmission of any particular programme including news items. As a result of the unexpected announcement of curfew people in and around Imphal Bazar madly ran here and there Under Commission of Enquiry Act 1952 (60 of 1952) the state government appointed a team to investigate on the murder of Th. Manroama .

Normal life was severely affected by the general strike called by several civil organizations, which was again supplemented by curfew from the side of the government. Even though curfew was imposed by the state government at the 7 Assembly segment area of Imphal, mobs and serious protests raised in corners of Imphal and the greater Imphal area. Police fired thousands of rubber bullets and the sky was covered with dense smoke from the rain of tear gas shells used by the police to control the angry people. People also pelted stones and used catapults against the police. Sounds of rubber bullets, tear gas, mock bombs and blank fire turned Imphal city like a war field.

There were casualties on both sides. The protest continued for several days. Civil organizations held meira (torch) rallies. Nights were lit by numerous women holding meiras and shouting slogans. Anger rose as police stopped the rallies and lathi charged on those who came out on streets during curfews hours.
C. Upendra Singh, Retd. District and session Judge, Manipur was the president of the Commission of enquiry. The purpose of the COE was to identify the AR personals who were involved in the rape and murder of Th. Manorama and to take up steps to avoid such incidents in future. The enquiry team took a spot report from Yaipharok Maring Village, from where Manorama’s breathless bloody body was found. They have also repeatedly interrogated the family members of the deceased. But, in spite of all there, the commission failed to disclose the truth behind the case of Manorama. It is crystal clear that the government and the Army have intentionally kept the case under lock and key.

The Union Minister of India also made several efforts to lull the annoyed public of Manipur from Manipur, but so far no action has been taken up to satisfy the public. For the complete removal of this act, the civil organisations of Manipur re-organised themselves and formed the Working Committee of Apunba Lup. The representatives of this combined lup (Association) met the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and a positive response was given with a promise to replace AFSPA with another act.

On 30th July, people from all direction rose for a mass rally. Clashes between the police and protesters happened at different corners. Hundreds of protesters were hurt. The Mass rally, which was organized by Apunba Lup of 32 organisations, was blocked by the CRPF, RPF(Raped Action Force), Imphal West and East Commandos, IRB and Manipur Rifles. Many were taken hurt to RIMS and JN Hospital. Casualty departments were filled with injured protesters.

On August 15, at 10 am, Pebam Chittrarajan made another historic protest by burning himself at Bishnupur Bazar. His breath left him on 16th August in the hospital. K. Memita from Lamlai also died due to over bleeding as she was hit with bullet on the leg.

Following P. Chittaranjan’s incident, five members of MAFYF burnt their legs with kerosene oil at the gate of the Chief Minister’s bangalow. Commando buried themselves in driving away protesters who organized dharna (sit-in-protests) and rallies at local clubs. Not only this, the police entered the local colonics and shot tear gas and rubber bullets to threaten the public. In such incidents, one senior reporter of the Sanaleipak Daily Paper, Thiyam Richard Ranjan was beaten black and blue, right at the courtyard of his own house by 2nd MR men. Against the uncivilized act of the 2nd MR, journalist fraternity members, protested in front of the Chief Minister’s bungalow and demanded that the personnel who raised arms against a reporter should be terminated immediately. They added, in their complaint, that AFSPA which has made the security men wild animals should be removed.

The lifeless body of Manorama had been in the RIMS morgue for many days. After post-mortem, her body was cremated by the government at the Minuthong crematorium, declaring the body an unclaimed one. The cremation was without the consent of the family members. The district magistrate issued an order to the Irilbung police O.C. at 5:30 pm to turn the dead body to ashes. The cremation was done with stern security precautions around Minuthong area. But still, the family members are eagerly waiting for the complete removal of the AFSPA from Manipur for the necessary rituals of Manorama to allow the soul to race heaven peacefully. Who will hear the silent prayer of the heart broken mother? Who will stop the tears of bereaved brothers and sisters?

think again

you call it violence when impoverished tribals rise up to demand their entitlements from a state that has always oppressed them and doesnt even recognise them as human beings in the first place.

when the state kills it is called maintenance of law and order , when vast tracts of tribal land is taken over to make way for mining corporations and MNC's, it is termed as development.

you have a nation where 50 million people are internally displaced, uprooted and condemned by a nation that is so obsessed with becoming a super power that it has stripped people of the grace of peaceful protest as well,

and off course these 50 million people dont have any relatives in janpath or dont belong to the metros of the nation, they are tribals, indigenous populations and the like, who have been historically targetted and now are given special treatment by the state.....

what is salwa judum and what purification does it talk about...its pure ethnic cleansing and it is a marvellous plot....pitch tribal against tribal...tribal gets killed from either side...and this way an entire generation of able bodied men are removed from the society....its shockingly convenient...inject the poison of violence into the veins of society...put brother against brother...this would make even dalhousie shiver....such is the ingenuinity of the scheme.

for those people who still look at naxals as some gun totting terrorists killing innocents will do well to understand that when the state commits genocide against a section of people, people either get wiped off or decide to fight back....its time people who scoff at naxals come out of their air conditioned homes and visit the region...if they have the spine to do it that is....

think again

liberating the sexes

Masculinity and femininity
On a perfunctory basis, both these terms seem to incorporate a lot of different meaning along with creating different identities as well. There are two ways of looking at this issue, one could personify the traits that are believed to be easily visible and we end up with the physical, morphological divisions.
Such an approach leads us into distinguishing these traits by projecting an image that appeals to some and is looked down upon by others, it is then followed by behavioural attributes that are then tossed around to assuage the wounded pride of some, caress the egos of others, we thus have an entire list of terms like male chauvinists, chivalry, male bashing, male ego and why not let me add the entire bandwagon of feminists to the list as well.
Also this is not meant to exclude the few bodies that are trying to champion the cause of men as well who have been at the receiving end of some female behaviour, which I don’t think would come under the ambit of femininity per se.
Masculinity or femininity is more abstract than what people make of it, it is more circumstantial, more invisible, more intangible than one would like to believe. It is said that circumstances bring out the true traits within us, how we react is more of a measure of the circumstances we have been exposed, at the end we feel comfortable with definitions that stereotype behaviour, it can then be controlled, manipulated and presented, this is classical human behaviour, not being able to define things makes us feel queasy and hence we have literature that tries to eke out a definition for both these ‘traits’.
I refer to them as traits as it is little more than an expression of the true self, the spirit within. For instance, bravery or for that matter sheer guts, risk taking/ entrepreneurial spirit is something that is associated with males or something that has to have a masculine element about it, let us look at the way we caricaturise brave females like Joan of arc or a Rani Laxmi Bai, they are referred to as people who fought as brave as a male, here the effect is to portray bravery as masculine and timidity as may be some feminine quality. Am not being a sexist when I say this, but it is yet again contexts that are defining the way we are made to look at things. Females can be as brave as males and even more than that as well, why are they benchmarked against them for that matter. Bravery or for that matter most attributable male features could as much be feminine as they are masculine.
We therefore need to deal with these themes on a more abstract level rather than subscribe to normative definitions that are arrived at as a measure of convenience or simply to typify certain behavioural traits as male or female. We need to understand that neither of these traits are patents of either sex. Let me take this one to another level , if masculinity or femininity as it is defined mostly morphologically and casually, I stand to subscribe to it for a minute, then where do I place trans-genders, bisexuals, gays and lesbians, we would need to evolve new jargons for them as well, come on that is the least we could do for the equality sake that we are so obsessed with.
If we are to speak about equality, then the first thing we need to do is to quash these very stereotypes that are based on perceptions rather than actualisations. Things that intend to define and constrain need to be addressed first, as these are the very things that form the basis of our arguments or respective positioning on these issues. Gender parity needs to be brought out from the world of definitions to the real world.
Rejection of the current mode of thought process that seeks to straitjacket observable behaviours and make it the birthright of a single sex need to be addressed, questioned before we go ahead with liberating the sexes. Liberation from these very definitions could indeed be a first step.