First Steps Toward Equality

by Jamin Shih

Throughout studying gender and gender inequalities, a question always arises that seems gargantuan and unsolvable. How can gender inequality be rectified? The truth is, it is difficult if not impossible to achieve and even harder to conceptualize the process that would be needed. However, after researching throughout the semester about the plights of various minority groups, it seems that there is a preliminary step that many people miss before attempting to fight oppressive patriarchy. Before we can turn on the system, it is important not to turn on each other.

It seems like an interesting if implausible occurrence but I firmly believe that the way American society is set up, it is significantly easier to turn on individuals or other groups than it is to fix the overarching problem, and that is just what people have done. In this article about male issues with body image, it should become apparent that everyone is in the struggle together, but a comment says it all:

I give absolutely zero shits if guys are struggling with their body image due to media et al. You know why? Because women get it 50x worse. And it will never change.

I do not want anyone to ever feel bad about their bodies-- that is a hell I know very personally and everyday is a struggle. However, until we get a real response to what women go through, I am not throwing my support behind the other gender's problems anytime soon.

It took me a few reads to fully process both the hypocrisy and the ridiculousness of this statement. Here, this woman completely understood and could potentially sympathize with male body image issues, but vehemently did not support the cause- NOT because it was not a valid issue, but because she felt that her plights needed to be serviced first.

This is a kind of fallacious thinking. When searching for gender equality, we cannot simply focus on the parts of patriarchy that harm ourselves. As our readings have shown, privilege does not exist in a vacuum. It is an intersection of many labels. A person can have the disadvantages of being female, but still have the privileges of being white or well-off. A more conventionally attractive person holds privilege over those that are too dark or too pale or even too scrawny or large. If gender equality is to be achieved, it is necessary to pursue equality in all of these areas and stop focusing simply on our own problems.

When various groups fight amongst themselves, the larger problem remains unsolved. This is why it is important to show men how they are harmed by gender inequality as well. It is important to make this issue a human one, not simply a women's issue. Only through the collective power of all individuals can actual change be created. Otherwise, we will stay firmly divided groups that waste time and energy blaming each other for our plights.