The Real Impact of Long-Standing Subjugation of Women

Feminist movements throughout the ages have fought against systemic notions that deemed women secondary. While there may have been some progress in getting some legal rights, such as the right to hold property or abolish dehumanizing practices such as Sati, we may still be pretty far from having an equal space for all genders. Women across various ethnicities and social classes still experience marginalization and oppression, which has had a long-standing impact on their identity.

An Overview of Systemic Subjugation 

Despite adopting legal principles to keep in check some basic human rights, crimes against women are still devastatingly pervasive. Sex-selective abortion/infanticide has been a grim reality that only fuels the vicious cycle that puts women at a disadvantage. The violence within the family is usually trivialized and hushed, only to become a public tragedy.  A girl child may be neglected in seemingly benign forms over her brother in nutrition, basic healthcare, and education. 

Rampant sexual violence is not news to any of us. The concept of female chastity is so ingrained in our cultural attitudes that around the mid-1900s, patrilineal societies in south Asia would not send their women to go out and work as they feared they would be viewed as promiscuous, despite the grating poverty in rural areas. Traditional practices such as genital mutilation and even the horrific act of sexual assault reinforce these power structures. Such actions violate basic human rights and propel the idea of inferiority, leading to far-reaching physical and psychological impacts, such as internalization. 

Internalized/Self Subjugation 

While this may not be as easy to detect as the above-mentioned forms of discrimination, long exposure to various intensities of subjugation may lead to attitude changes in both men and women. People may collectively display what are called self-perpetuating stereotypes. As an example, whenever they see a woman who is not good at science, a normative expectation, they may duly note the fact. However, upon seeing a woman who is, they may interpret her as a special case, for instance, the ‘bookworm’ who may not conform to conventional beauty standards. 

Similarly, women may depict an increased state of self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame (self-fulfilling prophecy), internalizing societal expectations. We can see this in some everyday examples and even pop-culture references. For instance, we see many female superheroes dress in outfits fitting their feminine form, which may be uncomfortable, especially if worn during combat. Another interesting example commonly seen in dating is the ‘I’m not like other girls’ culture. Women will often pride themselves in picking conventionally masculine habits, discarding and condescending feminine traits to appear more likable. 

Why does this need to be addressed? 

Sexist notions, coming from both men and women, will only make it difficult to achieve neutrality and access to equal opportunities.  Additionally, regarding the trivialization of harassment, scholars have proposed the Rape Culture Pyramid (in the picture), which indicates how normalizing some seemingly insignificant incidents only leads to a downward spiral of degradation and removal of autonomy, ultimately leading to acts of gruesome violence.

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