Understanding the Meaning of Self Dependence - Essay Example

? Modern Life Modern Life The cultural values and behaviors of most of the cultures have been used to degradethe women in the modern era, including traditionalism, self-reliance, religious fundamentalism and fatalism. These are barriers to modernization for the women folk. Fatalism means practical knowledge of limits, self reliance suggests freedom from dependence, religion is a validation and knowledge is developed outside of metropolitan institutions. (Seitz, 1995, p. 128). In this modern life, women are now working shoulder to shoulder with men, and this progress actually happened gradually. Gradually because there are certain impediments that women had to face to prove their capability and potential to be able to become self dependent; some of which have been aforementioned such as the value of women in existing cultures. Other than external factors, do the women folk even appreciate the value of self dependence themselves? Here, the question being posed suggests that are women an impediment to their own progress towards self dependence? Well, the answer is partly yes, because of the reason is that she is not taught self dependence. (Mill, 2008, pg. 111). Understanding the Meaning of Self Dependence Self dependence simply means to be dependent on one’s own self in order to achieve something such as a one’s goals, aims, desires and the like. Self dependence is a synonym for self reliance. A self dependent person accepts and realizes that fact they are responsible for their lives as an individual. Self dependence is a strong belief that one can face the challenges in life alone with no one’s help and guidance other than oneself. When a person is able to listen to himself, they can trust themselves and move their life according to their will. Women and Self Dependence The word self dependent has been started being associated with women, too. However; women of today do not enjoy the bounties of this term completely. It is partial for them. “If you want a thing done, go yourself; if not, send.” This axiom is clearly and fully valued by most men but not appreciated by the women. It suggests that one of the very last things women are taught, often through a course of miserable helplessness, difficulties, heart burning and pain, is self dependence which boys are taught from their school days till they are grown men. (Craik, p. 27). There are a number of impediments that come in between women and the development of their complete self dependence in this modern world. First basic reason is the way they are brought up, secondly are the cultural values, thirdly the existence of gender disparity at different environments such as educational institutions, workplace environment and the like. Women and Their Brought Up In today’s societies, girls are brought up in similar ways as they were brought up traditionally. That is, they are still told the differences between the female and male gender since they are children. Females are raised to be dainty and lady like, and males on the other hand are raised to be strong and never show weakness. Since the start of their lives, children are taught their different respective roles in the society. For example, girls are made to wear pink dresses and boys are made to wear blue colored dresses. This small differentiation has great and hidden impact on the minds of both the genders. When playing with toys, girls tend to play with dolls and boys tend to play with cars, trucks. Some of it is an inherited quality and some things in them are shaped by the environment. This is also called socialization, in which girls and boys are brought up with different beliefs. All societies have this norm. Women are not considered physiologically equal to men. Males are made to believe that they are predisposed to becoming aggressive. And women on the other hand are made to believe that they are gentle and tender. (Digital Term papers). Cultural Aspects For Women’s Self Dependence Most of the cultures recognize women as belonging to the homes, working at homes and taking care of the children are some expectations from them whereas men are culturally associated with someone as being the breadwinners for their families. They are physically strong so they can be self dependent. And women are tender so they need to be dependent on men. Well, these were traditional thoughts. These days women are also working and have proved to be equal to men in all areas of life. However; these cultural aspects did not completely vanish away and they occur in workplaces, educational places and other fields in forms of gender disparity which is also an impediment. Gender Disparity At work place environments, though women are working, they are also facing certain issues of gender disparity which hinders women’s growth towards self dependence. In many companies and organizations, women applying to certain posts are rejected just because they are women and are considered to be incapable of doing it. Women of today have similar education as men but still they are made to feel inferior to men at workplace. It maybe because men still want male dominance and cannot see any woman going above them in any way. Companies also place advertisements for job posts in a way that depicts and implies gender disparity. They cannot take risks for some posts and do not give women a chance. Moreover, if a woman is married, this status of hers makes her less valuable to the companies. But if a man is married, it isn’t a problem. Why is this case? Aren’t men equally responsible for taking care of family life as much as women are? This is a question to be pondered upon. Conclusion All the above mentioned impediments are actually hindering women to prosper and prove their worth. Women lack only in their physical powers. Otherwise they are as good as men in their mental abilities rather far better. Most women are sensitive and they may take these impediments seriously and don’t fight to move ahead. However; there are millions of examples in which women broke these limits and border lines to prove they can be as self dependent as their male counterparts. Read More