112: Truth on Gender Equality (1)

【The Gap】
“Seeing young women pampered, enjoy ladies-only discounts/specials, smug riding on women-only train cars, make men carry heavy bags, and treated to a fine dinner date all-paid-for. As if that’s not enough, on top of it all when they insist on gender equality, it’s just all too much!”
 
Such voices of frustration are heard here and there, seemingly more so from men in Japan/Asia.
 
What’s particularly startling is that not a small number of men go as far as to say, “Gender equality has gone too far; we now live in a women-privileged society.”
 
And it appears this sentiment can’t simply be dismissed as a recent trend.
 
In fact, nearly a century ago, a nationally popular novelist in wartime Japan called Osamu Dazai voiced a similar frustration, at times using ugly/resentful words. Also, Shusaku Endo, who gained fame a generation after Dazai, toned it down a bit but still voiced bitterness.
 
Considering that these writers are still widely known to this day, it speaks to the fact that the readers back then were fascinated by their opinions, and they resonate with people even today.
 
However, the truth was far from it; actually not even close.
 
To give you an idea, as bizarre as it may sound today, until 1947 under the old civil law in Japan, a legal consent by the head of the household was required for any family member to make their own important life decisions, like whom to marry or where to live. Back then, the head of the household for almost all families was the eldest male, usually either the father or the eldest son who succeeded him. The fact that such an intrusive law was the official law of the land until post-World War II reveals how far the society was from gender equality.
 
What’s more, back in the days, it was quite common for a husband to slap his wife, or hit her on the head. Disturbingly, they called it a “teaching” or “love.” And to our dismay, until around the 1970s, this type of behavior was widely accepted even in pop culture like the manga Sazae-san, an admired family classic since shortly after the war, and popular TV dramas seen by millions of households.
 
And that brings us to today.
 
The law has improved remarkably as it now recognizes domestic violence, indeed a definite step forward. Nonetheless, we certainly don’t register that “Gender equality has gone too far; we now live in a women-privileged society.”
 
Objectively speaking, again, not even close.
 
For example, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index has annually benchmarked the current state of gender disparities across nearly 150 countries worldwide for almost two decades. It’s a multi-dimensional analysis of economic, educational, political, and health indicators looking at pay, executive positions, labor force participation, school enrollment, number of politicians, and cabinet posts, among many other data points.
 
In its 2024 edition, Japan is ranked 118th, a dismal result for a so-called “developed” country. The reality is that Japan is far behind most Asian countries, including the Philippines (25), Singapore (48), Thailand (65), Vietnam (72), South Korea (94), and China (106).
 
And what’s truly shocking is the fact that even the world's No.1 country doesn’t reach gender parity.
 
That is, there’s not a single nation in the world where it’s gender neutral, let alone women-privileged, reflecting the stubborn injustice baked into our societies.
 
With this in mind, it’s simply ludicrous to say, “Gender equality has gone too far; we now live in a women-privileged society.”
 
In the next post, let’s dig in a little further.

Read Next: Truth on Gender Equality (2)【Petty Men】
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Complete Series: Truth on Gender Equality (1)～(6)
[1]   [2]   [3]   [4]   [5]   [6]   
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Read Theme: Discrimination