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| 2005/09/03 01:38:29瀏覽1067｜回應0｜推薦0 | |
| Centrum for genusvetenskap
Scandinavian Models of Equality Gender, class, ethnicity and the social welfare state Main Instructor Christina Scholten Miia Torikka Gender Relation inside the Family The Familicracy in addition to the Democracy The traditional Chinese wisdom on gender and family relation as compared to the nowadays' western gender equality concept Final Report by Mei, Feng 梅 峰 15 Jan. 2004 Rydsvagen 202A 584 32 Linkoping Tel & Fax: 013-260 886 Mobil: 0736-48 44 92 E-mail: mei.feng@comhem.se Content I. Introduction 3 II. The fundamental difference between Sweden and China 3 III. The present days gender and family situation in the post-industrial society 4 IV. The familicracy over family and the present problem of Europe 5 V. The democracy inside family and the relationship between family members 6 VI. Conclusion 7 VII. Sources 8 I. Introduction As we know that the gender relation play a fundamental role to the present day's biggest problems of the world, such as the family dissolution, fertility rate down, resource overused, big gap between the poor and rich countries. I use the word GENDER RELATION in stead of the ordinary western concept of gender equality to show the traditional Chinese concept as compared to the nowadays' western concept to gender and family. In this report, I want to present the solution which I have founded from the comparison between the East and the West to show the solution to the present problems. The particracy between the state and the party, the familicracy between the party and the family and the democracy inside the family is the main solution that I could have founded as to the problem now. I will use the traditional Chinese concept to analyze the gender relation in the family too, it is the only way that I could imagine to the salvation of the women. II. The fundamental difference between Sweden and China Sweden is a very young country as compared to China, she fight for every existing current "righteous value" with the most dynamo to the extremely extent just like a young man trying to conquer the world for the best. Although this character sometimes is dangerous, however, she also not hesitate to change with their dictatorship cabinet under the perfect democracy regime, for the government take care of the people kindly, so people obey the government mildly too. The example of the recent welfare cut and more conservative attitude to women's body exposure at public could easily show that. But still the young will difficult to be more wise than the old for the experience are too little for them to deeply perceive the consequence done by themselves. Chinese is the only civilization which have lasted for over 5000 years without interruption, she was always the most civilized and technical advanced society before 15 th century. But Chinese is an old conservative man who is difficult to change to the modernity except under the desperate crisis from the western imperialism, however we could still anticipate her brilliant future in the 21 century. Therefore much of the surviving experience from the traditional Chinese wisdom still worth for us to examine the present problem of the world. The saddest thing is that the Chinese younger generation have lost all their traditional confidence from their ancestor, just follow the step of the west without any ability to know that their present problem were even more serious than the West. Fortunately, we still have the unique chance to analyze the old experienced wisdom from our ancestor, and that the West could still not able to solve their present serious problem when they inevitable strict to their ideology of individualism. Confucius said that「禮失而求諸野」, it means that the old civilized culture have already lost, and we even need to learn them back from their ancestor's uncivilized neighbor. Here let me found the old ancient Chinese utopia idea of " 「大同世界」Da Tung world" have realized in Sweden. I do thanks for the experience in Sweden to let me know very much about what a civilized world should be, but I could still perceive with the different personality between the West and the East, and the personality sometime are independent with the civilization. We have a saying in China "「條條大路通羅馬」Rome could be reached from every road", it means that we could be a better society from our own culture, without abandon our own civilization, and learn from the West by carefully distinguish the good and bad and from the need of ourselves. III. The present days gender and family situation in the post-industrial society "For the first time ever and as the first government in the world, the Swedish Government has a female majority; 11 women ministers to 9 men (Dec. 1999)" (Fact Sheets on Sweden, Feb. 2000) "Women still carry the main burden of home chores and child care. This is one main reason why about one third of women with paid jobs work only part-time. Among men, the corresponding figure is only a few percent" (Johnsson, 1999, p. 106) "In 80 percent of all cases, parents continue to have joint custody after a divorce. But this does not always mean that a child lives partly with the father and partly with the mother. In nine cases out of ten, the child lives with the mother" (Fact sheets on Sweden, Feb. 2000) In my point of view, the Swedish women get too much pressure, it could be felt from the high percentage of smoking and fast walking women. Yes, I agree with that men and women should have equal opportunity for vocation, power and education etc., but why should fifty fifty equal percentage in every aspects means "equality". The side-effects show that many Swedish women are force to do something they are not fitted to do by the tremendous unseen pressure from the society. "Household structures are becoming increasingly diverse, in all countries, reflecting the greater degree of choice in lifestyle: to live alone, with a partner or with other individuals; to stay single or marry; to remain in/terminate relationships and subsequently divorce/remarry/cohabit; to fogo/postpone childbearing or have children within/outside marriage or other consensual unions.)" (Drew 1998) The human beings could not live alone, the present family dissolution will definitely create problems for the society in the near future, sex without responsibility will make the human beings back to the animal state at the field and jungle. Human beings should work for survive but not survive for works, the family is the best place to live with geniality. And the extremely individualism will destroy the family, therefore the preasurous life of the human beings. "As this book shows there have been considerable political, economical and social changes throughout the EU, but gender divisions of labor have not kept pace. Although there have been observable shifts from the 'breadwinner'/'housewife' contract to an 'equality' contract, this has served to force women into a dual role, and there is an evident lack of adequate change in men's behavior. Despite their professional obligations do not allow this." (Walby, 1998) "Altered family forms can sometimes exacerbate levels of poverty, particularly for lone parents; individuals who live outside consensual unions and 'no-earner families', and where the state, as in the UK, expects individual 'breadwinners' to provide. ........ Even within two-parent families, Folbre (1994) has noted that mothers are more likely to be disadvantaged, since they tend to spend a higher percentage of their income on their children. Gains in individual rights, particularly for women to bear children outside wedlock, or having preferential rights in child custody, have to be counterbalanced against the 'growing cost of motherhood' (Folbre 1994: 112). There costs are not purely financial and extend beyond obligations for childcare to eldly and other adult dependents. As Charter 2 illustrates 'new terms of endearment reproduce, even intensify, some gender inequalities' (Folbre 1994: 113)" (Drew 1998) In general the request for gender equality actually still make women to be the main sufferer. They play dual role at the family and society, they act as lone parent and take care of the children without father, some of them became lesbian or hooker, they do not have a better job than the men, some women with talent are difficult to find a matched couple. IV. The familicracy over family and the present problem of Europe Europe have progressed so quickly in these few centuries based on individualism, it make them more independent, and consequently more creative. But unfortunately I found the problems now in Europe are also because of it. The political democracy regime is based on the ideology of individualism. Demo is people, so democracy means that the people should govern the country in stead of the king or the aristocrat. that is the reason why women get the voting right so late as Hirdman told as " Entering the labor market, albeit a segmented one, also meant becoming citizens. Female representation in parliament, as well as in local and regional government, increased at a rate proportional to that of women's labor market participation." (Hirdman, 1998) Because people need the power, or so to speak the wisdom to govern, so the word citizen is the way to distinguish whether you are wise enough to decide and govern. The brain could difficult to test, so they use the extrinsical wealth, sex, age, health, religion, race, color, and nationality to abandon the equality of other human beings. That is the reason why gender equality is an overwhelming request from the feminist. The citizen concept still make problems after the women get the voting right, for voting right is the fundamental right to show equality of a human beings in a democratic regime. The German Free Democratic Party want to amend the constitution to let the parents to vote for their children under 18, because the fertility rate down, and the old man ask too much to the government. The most important fact is that the country could difficult to afford to take care of the old citizens any more. In California US, a study from UCLA saying that 460 million non-citizen adult immigrants should have the right to vote although Sweden have done it already. British government want to low down the voting age to 16 too. I want to pesimistic say that the citizen concept will definitely crash as you could know from the tremendorous problems it met. Actually human beings is impossible to have equality as you could easily see from the difference of the wealth, sex, age, health, religion, race, color and nationality for everyone of them. The gender equality is the most clearly impossible object to reach except woman became a man, as you could know from the poll of the parental leave in recent days in Sweden that most women were satisfied with the present situation to have the most leave than men to stay at home to breast nurse their babies. As you know that Sweden is one of the countries that proud of their gender equality so profoundly have already surrendered even when she and the whole EU are still under the situation of great gender inequality. So you do not need to wish the other part of the world that have the most population than Europe to have the possibilily to get gender equality. I am not saying that human being should not request equality, but it must under the premise that it is at the same category and that it is possible to reach. Here I want to introduce a concept that is probably easy to attain, that is the family equality should be more important than the individual equality, for the family equality include the individual equality within the same category. That is to say, the old man in this family compare with the old man in another family and the women compares the equality with the other women, but not the old man compares with the baby, for all of them are human beings. The usual traditional Chinese extended family included different sex, age and health and all these factors are inherent and is impossible to change. So the government should try their best to advocate the family equality to let the uninherent factors under the state such as wealth and the political right of each family to be more equal without having the international factors such as the religion, race, color and nationality to create discrimination among the families. So, I do think that the western democracy concept should have some amendment to different stratum, for the unit of the state is family in traditional Chinese concept, and the citizenship could hardly survive again, so the family vote, and consequently the familicracy should be used at the level over the family. It means that the family should have their own voting figure to decide the party which should govern the state, and over the party level it will then to be particracy. The West should learn the family concept from the East. V. The democracy inside family and the relationship between family members As for the democracy concept, in my point of view, do process important role to the relationship among the members of the family, that is we should have democracy between the family members. The younger generation do not want to live with their parents mainly because of they do not want to live under the rule of their parent, for the privacy problem could be conquered by some technique ways, even they know exactly that it is expensive and unconvenience to live alone. That is Chinese should learn the democracy concept from the West. It is probably difficult to be accepted by the feminist that equality is meaningless inside the family, but it is indeed true that if you fighting equality inside the family, then you had better not marry. In China we say that "「家和萬事興」 the prosperous of the family bases on its genial", so the member of the family should cooperate to fight for the prosperous of the whole family. If the cooperation want to have efficiency, then of course each family member should work the part of their professional and suitable. We also say that " 「男女有別」The men is difference from the women", Man and women have different role in the society, and "「男主外，女主內」Women have the main responsibility at reproduction and care, men have the main responsibility to raise the family", The nowadays' concept of gender equality sometimes force women and men hold the same value without knowing that man could not have the reproduction ability, and that it is the greedy capitalist who force the women to participate the labor market and create this conflict at first. "By threatening or questioning segregation, they also undermined the male norm of society: democracy by stating the irrevocable notion of 'equal value' of the human beings, regardless of race, colour, and sex; and capitalism by its greedy logic of choosing the cheapest labor force, women. The potential for integration as well as its achievement in politics or labor market, were what created and expanded the gender conflict as it clashed against a segregating gender order/regime." (Hirdman 1998) Do the women need to worry about the inequality inside the family? The traditional Chinese Dao's wisdom told us that "「以柔克剛」The sheepish could conquer the gritty" and "「床頭打，床尾和」Sex on the bed stops the fighting beside the bed". The ancient Greek saying also said that "Man seems to be the head of the family, but woman is his neck". All the sayings remind us although woman is weaker than the man extrinsically, but she is the real king of the family if she know how to snaffle her husband. VI. Conclusion The concept of particracy, familicracy as compared to democracy are new to everyone of you, but it still worth to analyze carefully for it come from an experienced culture. The progress of a society need to make thing more dedicated, therefore the western democratic concept have now separated by me into three further categories seems reasonable as well. Finally, I still want to emphasize once again that the western culture of individualism, democracy, education, equality, individual private property, science, etc. are the underground ideas for the realization of the future familicracy, and that is also the reasons why the East is weaker than the West in these latest few centuries. However, the weakness of eastern world doesn't mean that they don't have anything that should not be learned by the west especially when some achievements of Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc are the evidence too. As we could see that there are no perfect method, and all of the methods has their merits and drawbacks, but still we shall try to looking for a best suited way to our own society. And I suggest the reform to the existing situation in stead of a completely revolution, for you could not avoid and even disgust your own tradition. You just need to look for the sick places of your society, and search for the best medicine to cure it. As for the West, they are too proud to learn from the East, some of them even deem themselves as the essence of civilization, against them means against civilization. The pride of them let them totally forget their barbarian ancestors as compared to the civilize East just several hundred years ago. VII. Sources Drew, Eileen; 1998, "Re-conceptualizing families", extracted from "Women, Work and the Family in Europe", edited by Eileen Drew, Ruth Emerek and Evelyn Mahon, Routledge, 1998 "Fact Sheets on Sweden", The Swedish Institute Hirdman, Yvonne; 1998, "State policy and gender contract: the Swedish experience", extracted from "Women, Work and the Family in Europe", edited by Eileen Drew, Ruth Emerek and Evelyn Mahon, Routledge, 1998 Mei, Feng; Jan. 2003, "Familistatism vs. Welfare state, an Utopian Idea of the Family-based Welfare State", Essay to the course "Nordic Culture", Link?ping University, Sweden Mei, Feng; Mar. 2003, "The Family Vote in addition to the Citizen Vote- The Most Important but Missed Article in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child", Essay to the course "Children's Rights and Participation", Link?ping University, Sweden Walby, Sylvia; 1998, "Foreword", extracted from "Women, Work and the Family in Europe", edited by Eileen Drew, Ruth Emerek and Evelyn Mahon, Routledge, 1998 |
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