Well, first, I am female. Secondly, I was brought up in a fairly conservative Christian tradition, which by nature is patriarchal. My whole upbringing was based on the understanding that being female made me somewhat 'less than'. Not just because of the religious association (although there is no doubt this reinforced it) but because that is the way our western culture works. It is patriarchal. This got me thinking...WHY? Why is the foundation stone of society one that favours males over females? Note that my question is not whether this is actually the case. That is not up for discussion...just ask the half of the population that tick 'F' on the forms they fill in. I'm not just talking about the gender pay gap or even domestic violence, although both these issues are BIG and need to be talked about. The fact is that despite some improvements, our society is based on a belief system that is patriarchal.
In certain circles, asking WHY questions can get you into trouble, or at least get you told you 'think too much'...what the? Despite that, I am embarking on a journey to find out WHY and I expect that I will come across some information that will ruffle feathers...open a can of worms. As Oprah says (often!)...'when we know better, we can do better'. My research question is hopefully going to contribute to the world by helping us to do better on the issue of gender equality.
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