The weight of tradition sits heavily on all our shoulders, from the subtlest forms of enculturation to the most stringent social codes, all encourage us to lose truth in favour of habit or convention; as Blake wrote, "The establishment of truth depends on destruction of falsehood continually."
We all possess the faculties for self analysis along with the ability to change our modes of thought and behaviour, in reality the stumbling block when it comes to the conscious avoidance of sexual or other forms of roleplay, is our fear of deviance, the fear of disapproval from those around us, along with anxieties based on the abandonment of our histories, our Individual experiences. Shere Hite outlines the visual codes our society perpetuates, "The fact that men are allowed so little leeway in forms of dress while women can wear all kinds of things, shows the value that men and the male system place on conformity, showing membership in the 'male' group, because only by abiding to the rules of conformity can one prove he is part of the 'male' club, or the official ruling elite. That Is why men adhere so strongly and with such pride to these forms, who would ever catch a man wearing a skirt, no matter how liberal?"
Hites' words are not without humour but they still ring true, and if mon cling so fiercely to traditional forms of dress, Imagine the ferocity with which they hold onto Internalised norms and roles. It follows too that women are simlarly attached to ideas and values that tie in with their position as the subordinate sex. "The individual reflects and embodies the ideals of a society," wrote Beauvoir, hence if a society is based on male sovereignty we all perform the elaborate rituals of reflecting men or myths surrounding masculinity-"Sexuality is co-existence with existence." Sartre & Merieau-Ponty. Even those of us who avoid the traditions of Heterosexuality are forced to comply with the norm by becoming apologists for their very existence. In patriarchal societies we all become apologists if we cannot compare entirely with preconceived stereotypes, if we are not masculine males or feminine females we are classed as failures. Discrimination is a profound and subtle sickness that has lodged itself deep in the subconsciousness of men and women as well as the structure of our societies. This makes it one of the hardest sources of Inequality to fight because it grips women from within and without,"Even when her rights are legally recognised in the abstract," wrote Beauvoir,"Long standing custom prevents their full expression in the mores. In the economic sphere men and women can almost be said to make up two castes." The past enshrines the past and in the past all history has been made by men which is why it's so difficult for us to dispute male sovereignty, ultimately women have no egos. Florence Nightingale was aware that, "Women have no means given them whereby they can resist these claims for attention and centrality made upon them by men."
Humanity then, is considered male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being, we are all aware of this situation but what are the costs, the effects of repression on women? To begin with, women fight a constant battle against their internalised view of themselves as weak and powerless, this image of the female sex is repeatedly strengthened in our iconography, in the media, and in advertising. This leaves very little room for self expression or creativity, hence the gradual fading of a young womans' hopes as she takes over the repressive processes her parents and superiors have demonstrated and carries them out on her own behalf.
"Man, the sovereign, will provide woman, the liege, with the material protection and will undertake the moral justification of her existence; thus she can evade at once both economic risk and the metaphysical risk of a liberty in which ends and aims must be contrived without assistance. Indeed along with the ethical urge of each individual to affirm his subjective existence, there is also the temptation to forego liberty and become a thing. This is an inauspicious road for he who takes it, passive, lost, ruined becomes henceforth the creature of anothers' will, frustrated in his transcendence and deprived of every value." Beauvoirs' description of female objectification is echoed by the 1700's writer Mary Wollstonecroft, "She was created to be the toy of man, his rattle, and must jingle in his ears whenever, dismissing reason, he chooses to be amused." It is not difficcult to see where our energy is diverted to, in such a servile position it is obvious that our abilities are seriously impaired - "Energy is the power that drives every human being. It is not lost by exertion but maintained by it, for it is a faculty of psyche. It is driven to perverted manifestations by curbs and checks. Like the motive force that drives cars along the highway, when it meets with an obstacle it turns to destructive force and shakes its source to pieces. It is not hard to point out to the averagely perceptive human being that women have plenty of the destructive kind of energy, but far fewer see that womens' destructiveness is creativity turned in upon itself by constant frustration. Nervous diseases, painful menstruation, unwanted pregnancies, accidents of all kinds, are all evidence of womens' energy destroying them." Greer, The Female Eunich'.
It is no wonder women suffer more mental illnesses and forms of depression than males and are also more likely to suffer eating disorders, or tranquiliser addiction, and their sense of worth is for the most part attached to the 'Female sphere', responsibilities confined to aesthetic decoration (Body), or the home and the unique and prolonged responsibility of bringing up children. Even verbal expression is curbed as Dale Spender found in her research in 'Reflecting men'. She found that in her recorded tapes of mixed conversations it was unknown for a woman to talk for more than a third of the time; more importantly women who had only received 20% of conversation time believed they'd received their fair share. When Spender attempted to talk for 50% of the time the men she spoke with found her rude and aggressive, yet her research revealed that men interrupt womens' speech frequently, usually with the line "What you really mean is..."
None of us are free of these forms of enculturation regardless of political or non-political doctrine, this is why men who are theoretically and ideologically in favour of sexual equality fail to put their beliefs into practice. Although capitalism embraces and perpetuates patriarchy it is not confined to such societies, people often attribute change in attitude in this area, to a change in politics but that is not necessarily so.. Fidel Castro, after the Cuban revolution, thanked the Womans' federation of Cuba for bearing arms alongside the men, recognising their contribution towards the revolution, he continued by beseeching them to return to the home."Who will do the cooking for the child who still comes home for lunch? Who will nurse the babies or take care of pre-school children? Who will cook for the man when he comes home from work? Who will wash and clean and take care of things?" Marie Sheard, June 89.
