Misogyny, racism, and politics

As a society, we would like to believe that we have moved away from misogyny and patriarchy. We would like to believe that in today's world, at least overtly politicians would refrain from making blatantly misogynist and patriarchal comments. No. Unfortunately, we are not even close. Not only do politicians, including the mainstream and popular politicians, make misogynist and sexist remarks, but they also benefit from such remarks, That's the reality we are living in even today, some battles that their grandmothers had won, or at least we thought that they have won, the granddaughters are forced to fight them all over again. For this, we can't just blame these misogynist politicians, people who support such individuals are equally responsible for perpetuating misogyny. The truth is that even today many don't feel that misogyny and patriarchy are bad, rather there are many who used to feel bad that these things are attacked and most politicians were trying to stay away from being labeled as misogynist and sexiest, now, these people are happy that such statements not only don't harm politicians but benefit them and are being made blatantly and confidently. 

The reality is that gender equality is still a distant target. We have achieved a lot, but these achievements have also resulted in a strong pushback and resurgence of racist, sexiest, and misogynist behavior. When power acquired through gender, racial, or social dominance starts slipping away people don't take this lightly, they start making privileged arguments like meritocracy and try to label social justice as another form of racism. This is not new and we should not be surprised by such behavior. The surprising factor is that even after knowing not that distant history of racism and sexiest, people fall for it. They do not understand or maybe do not want to understand what they are risking by encouraging such a blatantly racist and misogynist agenda. It is utterly surprising to see when people who call themselves supporters of individual freedom ask for the abolition of women's reproductive rights. It is surprising when people who claim to support the free market question the existence of immigrants who work hard and most of the time earn less than minimum wage. It is surprising to see people who claim that they are not misogynists question someone's capabilities just based on their gender or biological motherhood. These things are happening in front of us right now, and there are many who are encouraging this behavior. Populism has its own place in politics, but misogyny and racism cannot be populist policies in any civilized society. I don't buy the argument of populism when misogyny and racism are part of it.

I don't care what's your political affiliation, it doesn't matter whether you are a conservative or liberal, if you are not bothered or concerned about this openly racist and misogynist behavior then you are risking whatever progress we have made so far in our fight against racism and gender discrimination. You are taking this country back to the era when racism and gender discrimination were a norm and not an exception. I hope you won't call any country with such a blatant form of discrimination great even if it's your own country. So, if you want to make America great, then, I am sure you don't want to go back to any era when racism and misogyny were more rampant than they are today. Let's move forward and to move forward we must challenge misogynists and racists, no matter which party they belong. If you put your country before your politics and political party, you will agree with me and challenge such people even if they are from the political party you support, and I hope you put your country before your politics. If not, then elections are won and lost, but the country and its values would lose every time such behavior finds mass support. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic.

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com 

Misogyny is the product of religion

Religion is one of the oldest enterprises humans are engaged in. All religions are man-made. I am purposely using the phrase "man-made," because they all are conceived by men Don't believe me, verify yourself, the easiest way to verify is to glance at some famous books from any religion and check the gender of the authors of those books. Therefore, all religions are misogynist as they are conceived through the mind of men of that era who were shaped by the misogynist society of that respective era. Even religion like Hinduism that makes tall claims about worshipping female gods and giving women higher status was and still is cruel and barbaric towards women. Claiming to worship female gods and treating women like humans and not like property are totally different things. In all countries where women are treated better compared to any point in human history, it is because of modern laws and not because of any religion. Rather, in some places where tremendous progress was made, there is a pushback on women's rights citing religious beliefs as one of the reasons. Religion is always used to curb women's rights but never to expand them.  

I know this is a sensitive issue and will ruffle many feathers. Believers of all religions will feel hurt and will argue that their religion cares about women and it is the other religions that are responsible for all mistreatment offered to women. This is an expected and age-old reaction by all religions whenever the topic of misogyny is raised. Also, worshipping or having female gods or prophets, or trying to protect women by sheltering them, or giving them higher or special status (and in return restricting their freedom) are usual lame excuses offered by all religions to laminate their real agenda of controlling women and their bodies. No religion has shown courage so far to apologize and accept their mistreatment of women, they all do offer some lame excuses or even shamelessly justify the injustice delivered to women. It is not that the history of misogyny associated with every religion baffles me but the impunity and shameless defense of that history by their believers, even today.   

Convincing women that religion is good for them is one of the greatest marketing scams of human history, there is nothing equivalent to this scam. I also must mention that product like religion is necessary for many people, it provides them some comfort and solace psychologically, and it was the only option in the era when there was no other help available for any mental health-related issues. The availability of other resources that can calm our nerves is one of the reasons why religion is losing some ground, but it is still one of the strongest forces that control the human mind and behavior. Therefore, it is important to analyze and scrutinize all of them and force gradual changes. Many religions have mended their ways silently without accepting any wrongdoings, this is good and definitely a step in the right direction, but still not enough, they also need to acknowledge their contribution to misogyny and apologize. They can at least do this much for all the suffering and mistreatment directed toward women in the name of that religion. I hope women will take up this cause and make them accountable.

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com