Gender Inequality and Mansplaining

I think it is safe to say one thing: that men believe they are far superior to women in many ways.

It is my opinion that the above statement is not entirely correct. Sure, we do have man-dominated industries, but I think in many ways women have risen and proven that they are equal, if not superior, to men. 

Think Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Think J K Rowling, who was the first person to become a $USD billionaire from writing books. Think Emma Watson, who started the HeForShe campaign to encourage men and boys to advocate gender equality at the age of 24. 

I feel that many societies tend to typically credit men for successes and blame women for failures. In societies where male babies are much preferred over female babies, people typically blame women for giving birth to a girl instead. Where is the logic here, guys? Let's just get scientific for a moment. Technically, when you compare sex chromosomes, it is a MALE who has one "X" chromosome and one "Y" chromosome, while a female has two "X" chromosomes. Hence, a female's DNA does not affect the gender of the child born, instead, it is the male's DNA which offers the variation in the child's gender. So why blame (and even punish) a woman for producing a child of the "wrong" gender when the variation is caused by a man in the first place?

Why is it when education opportunities are limited, the boys in the family get prioritised and sent to school first while girls are kept away from school? Why is it that in certain societies, if a husband dies, his wife is also burnt along with his dead body, while if a wife dies, the husband can simply remarry? Why is it that women are often blamed for becoming rape victims regardless of the (usually male) rapist's behaviour? Why is it usually tougher for a woman to get a rank promotion at her workplace? Why is it tougher for a woman to earn a salary equal to her male counterparts? Why does the world put down women so easily? Or rather, why are people allowed to put down women so easily? 

I have captioned the post "Gender Inequality and Mansplaining" for a reason. Above, I believe I have rambled long enough about gender inequality. Now I'll touch on the mansplaining. What IS mansplaining, you may ask. I know, your Oxford dictionary on your dusty bookshelf may not have the word listed, but mansplaining is defined as "to explain something to someone, typically a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronising". This usually refers to a scenario where a man, who considers himself as more knowledgable than a woman simply because he is a man, talks down/over a woman trying to make a (usually valid) point about something. Sounds familiar? For some of you, it could be dad trying to win an argument/discussion with mom about something, where he resorts to using his masculinity to win the battle. For others, it could be your male boss trying to convince you that your male colleague is better suited for promotion, despite you being more qualified, hardworking and punctual than he. And of course, most of us would have watched Tiana (from Disney's Princess and the Frog) being "mansplained" to by the Fenner brothers as to why she should give up on buying her restaurant despite having the necessary money to buy it.

I am not here to hate on men and boys for all this gender inequality. I am here to encourage you guys to learn from these lessons of the past and work towards a brighter future. Fellas, try not to use the typical and much-overrated "I am better/stronger/smarter/etc because I am a man" excuse to win every argument. Instead, try and embrace your other positive characteristics! I'm quite certain that there's more to each of you than just being a man, right? :) You guys could have great attitudes, brilliant brains, amazing capabilities which came about because of who YOU are; because of your personalities. All this has nothing to do with being a man. It comes from within.

Ladies, keep your heads held up high! Next time someone tries to "mansplain" something to you, do not allow yourself to be convinced blindly and put your foot down! Have faith that you CAN achieve, because as of today, a generous number of women have proved to the world (and to themselves) that they are capable of great things. And so are you! NEVER give up in the face of gender-bias which is against your favour, but keep fighting until you get what you deserve. You are AMAZING!  You are talented, you are brilliant, and you have the potential to do something great and prove wrong everyone who ever doubted you!

Thanks for reading my first "original" post guys! :)

(Well the first two belong to me as well but they kind of appeared in my private instagram first?? Hehe.)