WOMEN'S ROLES IN SOUTH ASIA.   Term Paper ID:23381 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: National & cultural restrictions on women physically, sexually, socioeconomically & psychologically in Philippines & India.... More...

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Paper Abstract: National & cultural restrictions on women physically, sexually, socioeconomically & psychologically in Philippines & India. Paper Introduction: Women and National Identity in South Asia In attempting to circumscribe the feminist and even ideological contributions which women in South and Southeastern Asia have made to their respective countries, there will first need to be an overview of the concept of nation itself. Even the common phrase "love of country" underscores a concept of "eroticized nationalism" (Parker in Anderson 12). What analysis of the feminine within cultural space will assist in revealing is the high degree of contradictory status which nations, especially those of South and Southeast Asia, impose upon their female citizens. Emphasis in this research will be given to tracing out this split of contradictory status opened up by a conjoined feminist and ideological/cultural analysis of women's status as it is displayed in South and Southeast Asia. Stylistic Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Women and National Identity in South Asia In attempting to circumscribe the feminist and even ideologicalcontributions which women in South and Southeastern Asia have made to theirrespective countries, there will first need to be an overview of theconcept of nation itself. The early consideration ofhow nationalism has traditionally been an eroticized category indicatesthat the pattern of restricting women's intellectual and libidinal force iscenturies old. More interestingly, Guerrero-Nakpil indicatesthat these four types are actually "mirror images of one another" (Guerrero-Nakpil in Anderson 117). He is a man whose wife is leaving him andhe appears to be making advances or inuendos for the future toward Abha(Divakaruni in Anderson 259-61). (1994). Having been born within a culture and aclass which endorses pre-arranged marriages, Abha has not been as quick asher friend Meena to see that maybe a new culture demands a rethinking ofold traditions. Feminism underscores the contradictory status which women of Southand Southeast Asia are still struggling either to accept or to modify. Sometimes the superstitionsfrom the old culture are followed in a new culture without understandingwhy these practices ever were followed. Statistical estimates indicate that bythe year 2 more than 2 million Filipinos will be living in the US. Sheimmerses herself within these experiences rather than being automaticallyrepelled by them as she had before (Divakaruni in Anderson 254-5). (1991). This traditonal operationalized role forwomen, especially as it is manifested in South and Southeastern Asia standsin for the coded term "resolution." Women's conventional association with beauty accounts for a highpercentage of her stylized manipulation as a nationalist symbol. Even the common phrase "love of country"underscores a concept of "eroticized nationalism" (Parker in Anderson 12).What analysis of the feminine within cultural space will assist inrevealing is the high degree of contradictory status which nations,especially those of South and Southeast Asia, impose upon their femalecitizens. Divakaruni's narrative is skillfully plotted. Making feminist sense of international politics. Withironic wit Divakaruni allows Abha to begin exploring these feelings afterher husband mischievously informs her that her best friend Meena is havingan affair (Divakaruni in Anderson 233). In China, including parts of SouthernChina, when a young girl was 6 she would be taken to a foot-binding stool.To soften her feet, a child's feet might first be soaked in a broth ofboiled monkey bones. One of the cleverest passages in the entire short story is howDivakaruni demonstrates Abha's paradoxical and ambivalent relationship toher new culture. From this perspective, the shared resolution of Corey, Gabriella,Leonor and Imelda are to be seen as nationally directed whether marryingwho your parents choose for you as in Leonor's case or functioning as "anoverachiever who kept impossible workaholic hours and was Marcos's "secretweapon"" as was Imelda's case (Guerrero-Nakpil in Anderson 117). In contrast, the next day whenMeena's husband Srikant comes over unexpectantly, he verbally tells how herbeautiful she looks in the robe. By adopting a sensitive andbewildered voice for her central character, Divikaruni gains exceptionalmilage for feminist concerns. Her fury is hardly suppressed. "Indignantly" sheturns off the tv and begins walking up the stairs. Heindicates no awareness of the possibility of Abha forming a sexual liasionwith Suren. Abha is aroused by the sex-sceneoccurring underwater which she observes on the television screen(Divakaruni in Anderson 243). Beverly Jackson who has researched this traditionstates flatly that "essentially, foot-binding is about sex" (Beyette E1).Women who had undergone foot-binding developed the "lotus gait" whichtightened their pelvic muscles. In "How to catch and keep a man: The image of Filipino women in theads" Pennie S. Foregrounded within thesewomen's dominant characteristics is an incredible ability to sublimatetheir own needs so that others will benefit. She seems to return tothe tv in the hopes that somehow it could help explain the mysteries of sexwhich remain unresolved for her. Onthe one hand, the woman is shown to be central to the culture and itsfuture prosperity. San Juan indicates that to appreciate this phenomenon is to behalfway to resolving the "predicament and crisis of dislocation,fragmentation, uprooting, loss of traditions, exclusion, and alienation" aswell as "tremendous physical and spiritual ordeals" (Aguilar 2 7).Feminist scholars would suggest that this condition of alienation as post-colonial subject who relocates to the US is intensified for women. (1994). She indicates that trying tobe alluring should not be limited to the "right deodorant, a strong gargle,and soft, lustrous hair" (Azarcon in Anderson 9 ). Yet this dream unfolds with a haunting note. Their critical position indicates that itorder for culture to become less divisive between the two sexes, therefirst be a critique of the culture as it currently exists. . Eve Sedgwick observes that the concept of nation varies dependingupon which nation is trying to define itself. She also indicates thatif this practice strikes the modern American as extreme or barbarian, thesame principle of restricted movement underlies the modern use of highheels (Beyette E1). She is a woman inexile who sometimes feels most secure when she can name her nostalgia as alonging for "achara, nata de pina" and Philipine periodicals (Brainard 5).In her essay, "The Minority Writer's Dilemma" Brainard indicates that shecannot begin by assuming a Western readership. This tensionbetween women being constrained by their cultural inscription withindomestic rather than erotic space is at least partially constructed bynationalist concerns. In1992 Filipinos numbered as the largest Asian minority in the US, roughlyestimated at 21% of the total Asian population (San Juan in Aguilar 2 6).San Juan asserts that the status of Filipinos in America is to bedistinguished from that of the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans since only theFilipinos have dealt with the "reality of colonial subjugation" (Aguilar2 6). That night shedreams a wild sex scene which happens under water. Azarcon indicates thatthe hidden message behind these ads is that "women have to be beautiful anddesirable at all times, not to mention nurturing and concerned aboutfamily" (Azarcon in Anderson 93). In Philippine woman in America Cecilia Manguerra Brainard collectsher own thoughts as a Filipino immigrant in the US. Nevertheless, a great deal of the poignancy of herwriting happens when she is willing to reveal her anger about Americanprejudice or political injustice in the Philipines. In "The Filipino Woman: Cory and Leonor, Gabriela andImelda", Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil explores how four famous Filipino womenserve as national icons. Los Angeles.Beyette, Beverly. Yet, conversely, women are repeatedly given verylimited means for their expression of discontent or difference. Bananas, beaches and bases. What is important to note is that this image of womenwith unnaturally tiny feet came to symbolize an artificially-induced formof beauty as well as an individual's class and wealth. What thisscholar does not underscore is that her term "resolution" can bereinscripted to read as a type of a nationalist harnessing of a woman'senergy. All of these experiences prepare Abha towrite her "Dear John" letter which she writes as "Dear Ashok . Berkeley: University of California Press.Moghadam, Valentine M., ed. Asshe does so she begins to see that she is living a life of restraint andconfinement rather than joy. .(Divakaruni in Anderson 272). Yet half-way up thestairs, she feels compelled to return. Recent feminist and ideological criticism has become focused on howto expand choices for women. Now Abha is prepared to begin accepting her sexuality upon her ownterms. Identity, politics and women.Cultural reassertions and feminisms in international perspective. When the story begins, Abha has not yetrealized that her arranged marriage is no longer acceptable to her. Countries are traditionally identified as femalethereby reinforcing the cultural link between women and the domestic.Significantly, when the cultural status of women is predominantly linked tothe domestic, it is routinely polarized from the erotic. Sedgwick contends thatrelations between modern nations has become both ragged and irrational.She charts the variable factors which now must be factored into definingnationhood by saying: The "other" of the nation in a given political or historical setting may be the pre-national monarchy, the local ethnicity, the diaspora, the trans-national corporate, ideological, religious or ethnic unit; the sub-national local vis à vis the nationalism of its colonies; the nationalism of the homeland may be co-extensive with or oppositional to its imperialism; and so forth (Sedgewick in Anderson 13).Many of these variables influence the status and opportunities available towomen in a given setting. On televisionthe majority of ads are for personal care products. Eventually she clicks into thecable channel and is shocked by its nudity and sex. He does not even seem to notice her.Worse, he tells her that the robe is an unflattering color for her. Even today there are currently at least a million women whose feetwere bound (Beyette E1). Guerrero-Nakpil asserts that each of the fourserves as a "true and complete reflection of the Filipino woman" withCorazon Aquino seen as "housewife and revolutionary president", Leonor "whocounted the world lost for love", Gabriela "who commanded an army of men"and Imelda Marcos who served as "politician and patroness of the arts"(Guerrero-Nakpil in Anderson 117). For her indignation has served asa protection, as a substitute for her confusion. That night she thinks back to the sexualdissatisfaction which seems to have dominated her married life. Theresolution of the four major icons which Guerrero-Nakpil describesironically surface as the same character type. In contemporary America Asian women can be seen struggling to formtheir own distinctive identities. Although thisfact can be interpreted upon many levels, it seems safe to suggest itreinforces how pivotal Meena's transgression is for Abha. Her voice is intentionally both less shrilland didactic than Azarcon's angry critique of Filipino popular culture. (May 13, 1996). "The delicate reminders of atortured past." Los Angeles Times, E1-6.Brainard, Cecilia Manguerra. In an odd way, Meena's ability totransgress, to distance herself from the traditional sexual mores of bothIndian and American culture, forces Abha to re-examine her own life. (Divakaruni in Anderson 256). (199 ). The State of Asian Americans.Boston, MA: South End Press.Anderson, Benedict et. Azarcon writes with derision. Analyzed collectively, these womenreveal the same nationalist principle: "Corey's strength and Gabriela'sindomitability are merely the reverse of the flexible Imelda and thesubmissive Leonor" (Guerrero-Nakpil in Anderson 117). Philippine women in America.Quezon City: New Day Publishers.Enloe, Cynthia. If Brainard attempts to offer a restrained view of what Asian womenin exile experience, the writings of Indian fiction writer Chitra BanerjeeDivakaruni are much more explosive. As she watches Meena and Ashok dancegracefully at a party, she is able to examine the problem from a distance(Divakaruni in Anderson 248). In fact, the contradictory attitude toward womenin a given country can often be traced in part to the contradictory mannerin which nation is therein defined. Nowwhen the "playboy" editor Suren Gupta makes small sexually suggestiveovertures to her, she does not withdraw. Next a cotton bandage would be wrapped around eachfoot. Concepts of homeland are often imposedupon the feminine. Her careful analysis of Filipino popularculture indicates that women are restricted to very few choices in theirdaily lives. al. Here women are usedas an indication of social status or monetary success. As the "feet were rebound, tighter and tighter", over the next twoyears, the child's smaller toes would be "broken and forced flat againstthe soles" as the arches fell and the heels were drawn forward (BeyetteE1). Shewanders into the den and turns on the tv. Emphasis in this research will be given to tracing out thissplit of contradictory status opened up by a conjoined feminist andideological/cultural analysis of women's status as it is displayed in Southand Southeast Asia. In Divikaruni's clever shortstory, "The Affair", she explores how difficult it is to move away from therestricted puritanical codes of Indian female sexuality toward theseemingly explosive American sex scene. After her husband Ashok informs her that Meena is havingan affair, Abha feels that she must sneak away for a bit and regroup. Divakaruni's fictional narrative strategyin "Affair" is to write from the position of a good but somewhat naiveyoung Indian wife named Abha. Her subjectivity is still drawn too tightly within the web ofconditioned cultural responses. Imaginations and Representations:Course Reading Anthology. Azarcon indicates that in Filipinoculture, even as reflected in their ads, there are two dominant roles forwomen to fulfill: vamp or virgin (Azarcon in Anderson 91). HereFilipino women's interests are dedicated to pleasing others first ratherthan seeking their own pleasure. She isattempting to point out the didactic restraints which Filipino women battlewith daily in their popular culture. Works CitedAguilar-San Juan, Karin, ed. She alsoquestions why even the "voice of authority" must be male about 8 % of thetime (Azarcon in Anderson 91). In her collection ofessays Brainard focuses on how the Filipinos have been stripped of theirfreedom since 1972, how they are attacked by Americans for having noculture, how the first Filipinos settled in the bayous of Louisiana in theeighteenth century, and the poverty embedded in Imelda's soul (Brainard 25,27, 52, 26). Yet she has not yet gained an objectivestance. Sheeven tries half-heartedly to seduce her husband by wearing a sexy robewhich she purchased at Macey's. To understand how nationalized images of womeninfluence a country's inhabitants, specific attention will here be given tothe Philippines. In contrast, she allows him totake her to lunch, to touch her shoulder and her hands affectionately. The author allows Abhato believe momentarily that it is actually her husband Ashok with whomMeena is having the affair. In the dream she isable to feel "blind with ecstasy" as her "mouth opens in a soundless,triumphant cry" (Divakaruni in Anderson 244-5). Yet the cable tv sex scene has activated her id. Yet Divakaruni also writes from aposition which honors restraint. Foralthough the man with whom she swims is clearly her husband Ashok, as sheawakens she recognizes that the face of the woman with whom he hasexperienced ecstasy is Meena's (Divakaruni in Anderson 245). Instead, she experiencesschizophrenia when she must decide which parts of herself to reveal and toguess whom her next story might interest the most (Brainard 9). (1996). Boulder,CO: Westview Press.----------------------- 11 She indicates that this inscription as homemaker and vamphelps to reinforce the general culture's inability to welcome Filipinowomen into non-traditional roles for women. Azarcon indicates thatthe ads which are used in the Philipines encourage a "walled existence" forthe island's female inhabitants (Azarcon in Anderson 91). Jackson reports that "the men said it waslike always making love to a virgin" (Beyette E1). Postcolonialcritiques of immigrant women in the US indicate that they are actuallychained between multiple cultural restraints. Brainard writes not from the position of a radical feministbut as a woman who has married a non-Filipino and is seeking to acclimateto her new country. Ironically, the tv (whichcan be read as a generalized symbol of American culture) has helped torelease her sexually. Stylistic differences between the positions adopted byfeminist rhetoric and women's fiction will also be explored. Meena appears to oprate as her model for a woman who has been inexile, sexually and culturally, who is attempting to redefine herself. Thetradition of foot-binding, a time-honored tradition in China for centuries,helps to illustrate this principle. Although thisFilipino scholar's observation are largely traditional they do underscorethat what Filipino culture prizes in its women is "resolution" whether itis manifested as "extravagance or abnegation, faith, fortitude,intelligence or ingenuity" (Guerrero-Nakpil in Anderson 117). Herthoughts lead her to reflect that her own parents' marriage was undoubtedlyequally unfulfilling upon a sexual level. What this does is plummet Abhainto an in-depth investigation of her own attitudes toward marriage,sexuality and American customs. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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