Gender sensitization is required to tackle pervasive sexism

Gender discrimination and sexism are so pervasive around us that many times we don't even realize it happening around us. It happens so routinely that our senses don't notice and start accepting gender-biased statements and behavior as if it is a normal way of life. The result, we not only start ignoring these incidents but also stop noticing them where we should. As a society and as an individual we need to evaluate things through a gender lens. Such evaluation is needed for the day as we waited too long and allowed gender discrimination to occupy too many areas of our lives. Gender discrimination is there in our homes, our relationships and friendships, movies and books, stories, the workplace, and many other places. All cultures are full of gender-discriminatory practices and rituals. Many want to preserve these discriminatory rituals because they are part of our heritage. I wonder how something becomes right because it has been going on for centuries. Rather, something discriminatory when allowed to exist for long without being questioned gets normalized, and very few dare to question it, such practices require a strong and determined resistance. The good part is not everyone gets normalized to these discriminatory practices, there are some who notice them and dare to protest. These are the ones who force the change or at least initiate the process for change. I am lucky enough to meet with some of these people either personally or through books. These interactions have sensitized me about gender discrimination and helped to realize many of my own privileges because of my gender.

The movement against gender discrimination has been going on for decades. Definitely, our society is becoming more conscious about gender equality, but a lot is yet to be achieved, and in some places, the movement is in the very initial stages. Gender sensitization, which can be defined as the modification of behavior by raising awareness about gender equality concerns, is one of the important ways to make individuals aware of gender-discriminatory practices. Once people become aware of discrimination the hope is they will fight against it or at least they won't follow such practices. I can say this by personal experience, since I became aware of various aspects of gender discrimination I started evaluating things using a gender lens. When I evaluated movies I loved, songs I admired, books, and authors I read while growing up, I realized that most of them failed the gender test. That is, most of these things were heavily gender-biased, they treated men and women in a very stereotypical fashion, and women were always shown as tolerant, sacrificial individuals, who could tolerate any injustice forced on them. Remaining silent, even when put through unjust situations, was considered a virtue for women, and a revolt of any kind was reserved for men. This is why gender sensitization is required to tackle pervasive sexism in our society. More so today because there is no more open gender discrimination as most societies know it is bad and try to project a picture that they are not gender biased. However, this does not mean that gender discrimination is not there, it is more subtle and made to look normal, that is why we need to evaluate things through a gender lens. Our gender lens should enable us to evaluate the books we read or movies we watch to make sure if they do a good job of sensitizing us about gender-related issues. I know some people will make the argument that it's not fair to judge things of the past using today's standards, and this is true, however, this does not mean we cannot call a spade a spade when we realize that it is a spade. Anything, no matter how old or new, if it perpetuates sexism, it is sexiest and we need to call it sexiest and I am glad people are doing this. Gender sensitization is not easy and many will struggle with it as it will challenge their convictions and beliefs, and put them at odds with their culture and traditions. We need to take this challenge, it's tough, but continuing with sexism is not an option we should choose, it was a wrong option yesterday, and it is a wrong option today, let's choose the right option. 

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Why Olympics are special

Olympic 2020 recently concluded in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics (summer, winter, and Paralympics) are the most recognized and celebrated sports events in the world. This is not just because of tradition and glamour, but because of the aspirational aspect associated with it. It is the struggles of Olympic participants and their stories that make this event special. Winning an Olympic medal is a dream of every sportsperson (if it's an Olympic sport), but this is just one part, when people reach that stage and share with the world their struggles to reach there inspires millions. Every participant nation expects to win a medal, no matter whether it's a Gold, Silver, or Bronze, an Olympic medal has a special place and recognition. Winners, as well as non-winners, get famous, sometimes participants miss a medal by a whisker, by 1/10th of a second. Some participants become overnight stars, or some stars take bold steps to highlight issues that people hesitate to discuss, for example, mental health or discrimination.

Every participant comes with his or her unique story to the Olympics, some of them are stories about incredible inspirational journeys. For example, Allyson Felix's comeback journey after her daughter's birth to become the most decorated athlete of the USA, Hidilyn Diaz of the Philipines winning the first Gold for the Philipines, or Neeraj Chopra from India winning India's first-ever track and field gold, even they all won a Gold medal their stories are different and unique. The Olympic medal also offers instant fame to the winners, for example, Neeraj Chopra from India was already doing great in the javelin throw, he was undefeated since 2018 in all the events he participated in, and he topped the qualifying round, but his country only noticed his talent when he won India's first-ever track and field Gold, this is the power of an Olympic medal. Winning is not as important as participating is, some participants even after getting injured or being in the last position complete their event, not for any medal or record but to fulfill their dream of being an Olympian who finished the event. 

I enjoy watching the Olympics just because of these stories, they inspire me, and they give me hope. Many sports like track and field or swimming I don't follow at all, I only watch them during the Olympics and enjoy the drama and action. This year's Olympics were more special as they happened when the world was facing a pandemic crisis. The event got delayed by a year, even though it happened in 2o21, it was called Tokyo 2020, or Olympic 2020. The event is over, it gave the world a lot to look forward to, some athletes like Simone Biles took an unprecedented and brave step to withdraw from some of the events to focus on their mental health. I am sure each one of us looks at the Olympics from a different lens and may have something to share. Like most previous Olympics this Olympics also didn't disappoint, thank you Japan, thank you Tokyo for giving us a chance to witness this amazing spectacle of sports.

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