HOW WOMEN SHOULD DEAL WITH RACIAL STEREOTYPES?
As we all know, Indian society in ancient times was divided into 4 categories or varna; Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. The Brahmins performed all the pious works of the kingdom and were appointed as Raj purohits. Kshatriya usually looked after the defense and weapons of the kingdom. Vaishya was given the trade portfolio whereas the Shudra’ did all the menial work. The varna or category difference has continued since then, even though we are about to celebrate 75 years of independence, there are traces of these divisions and other vertical reservations still prevail.
The day an infant is born, according to the gender the future is decided or a notion is set. Culture in many instances becomes a hurdle in achieving gender equality. During the rig Vedic era, women were treated on par with men; they participated in many important events and maintained their position. With foreign invasions in India, their culture got amalgamated, and many factors upraised which put the women specifically in derogatory positions like female feticide, sati, no widow remarriage, depriving rights to basic education, etc.
Gender is related to culture in a manner that pre-decided work for both women and men is set. There are least chances of amendment in it. The strong, powerful, and top position work should always be done by men in the society and the caregiver task, doing all the household chores and doing the easier task is kept completely for the women. Now that women's empowerment has seen an upsurge and women are handling many top positions in different sectors, the culture has amended with time. Although at distant places in the country, women are still denied rights to decision-making, face domestic violence, and have less autonomy.
WHERE DOES RACISM ARISE FROM?
The human brain is a living computer, it keeps storing events and incidents since childhood. We tend to connect easily with a sudden accident, or trauma from our past as we have it stored and captured in the brain. There are billions of thoughts running through the brain and information is continuously being transferred through neurons every fraction of a second. Few thoughts are generated within ourselves and few are induced by our surroundings; somebody’s action, statement, etc. can directly affect the way we are thinking.
Memories in the brain are stored according to the person’s need; such as short-term memory or long-term memory. The prime information like remembering a close one’s birthday or the first time you kissed someone is stored in the long-term memory. Minimal information like the guy at the bookstore or cars in the parking area is of no longer use and gets erased easily as they are stored in the short term.
Children usually catch things quicker and remember them for a long time. If in childhood they are brought up with qualities like liking a group of people or disliking a particular caste, they’ll remember the thing and continue to follow it for as long as they survive. The phenomenon of unconscious biasness arises, in this phenomenon if in past one is bitten by dogs, they’ll always have a phobia of dogs, no matter how tamed and friendly the other dogs would be. The same phenomenon applies to people also, with ongoing news, forwarded messages, etc. we start developing a hatred for a particular group of people. Not only does it stop till hatred, mob lynching, and harming the particular community’ people and property also occur.
In hatred, other people forget that humanity is above all and people’s life is more important than proving something or damaging something. Racism if not stopped spreads like a disease with no cure. Correct and accurate information dispersion is the prime responsibility of the family and then after school. If the family is well-educated, they understand the difference between right and wrong, beliefs and superstitions, correct news, and fake news. A well-educated family can help fight taboos, retain equality, and establish a foundation for a classless and casteless society.
WAYS FOR WOMEN TO DEAL WITH RACIAL STEREOTYPES – Usually, women in every corner of the world are considered weak. No matter the 21st century mankind has reached the moon and Mars, and women have not reached equality yet. The physically weak stereotype exists for women along with which racism goes hand in hand. The quote “Beauty with Brains” also gives a boost to racism and racial stereotypes. An African woman can be as intelligent and elegant as an American, Michelle Obama is a live example. Just because of their skin color, a woman should not be limited or rejected. For years, Indian models were also biased because of their skin color but Manushi Chillar, Harnaaz Sandhu, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, etc. arose of all odds and proved to the world that skin color is just a color and not a mentality. Here are a few points to help women deal with racial stereotypes –
· Be yourself – no person can be like you, like a woman, like a fearless person. It takes a lot of guts and effort to come out of all kinds of racism, casteism, and sexist ideologies in society. For a woman, from the day she is in the womb to her tomb, she has to keep fighting society, family, and the workplace. Quitting should never be on her list. A woman can reach any place and scale any peak she decides, all she needs is to be herself and never look back to the trauma of society.
· Fight right – it’s not necessary that every woman shall face such racism and casteism in her life. If she is a privileged person, with a powerful background, she may not understand the grief of a woman undergoing racial stereotypes. In this situation, such privileged and powerful women should come out and openly show their disbelief at racial stereotypes. A woman can be the best aid and support for other women. As strong women make other women stronger. Fighting the right way can help eradicate many evils from society just the way sati, child marriages, etc. were eradicated.
· Ask for help – it’s not a weakness to ask for help from a family or friend or colleague. It’s always better than ending up with a therapist when the situation turns worse. Women have an immense amount of self-respect; they can rush anywhere to provide aid except themselves. When evils like racial stereotypes arise in one’s life, instead of tolerating and sitting back, women should find self-help groups, NGOs, and private organizations that work in this direction. A group can help create a huge impact against racial stereotyping people.
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