Stories Old And New

I am going to share two stories inspired by “Barbie”. Although I haven’t watched the movie “Barbie” yet, I accidentally stumbled on the movie reviews on the podcasts I listen (or watch) regularly before going to sleep. They sounded the spoiler alerts in the beginning of the reviews, but that didn’t stop me from listening. So it seems that Ken (and his friends) is being discriminated in the very pink barbie land where women hold all the power. So Ken stages a little rebellion and tries to negotiate a better deal for men.

It is said that “Barbie” is doing surprisingly well in several very conservative countries where men hold all the power and control all the purse strings. I heard that in several Asian countries, there are heated debate on social media about patriarchy and systematic discrimination. Many women watched Barbie several times while many men stormed out of the movie theaters. It is also said that Barbie is very popular in red conservative states in America, which is surprising to some conservative radio hosts who predicted a box office disaster due to its “offensive” content.

Well, I am not surprised that many men are against such a story line. Actually I am not in favor of this story line myself since such an unfair barbie society has never existed in human history and will probably never exist in the future. Not that I am pessimistic of the progress that women are going to make. I am not pessimistic about that at all. I think women are going to do well and do better in the 21st century. However women have never excluded and will never exclude men no matter how powerful women become. Women appreciate men’s attributes and contributions more than men give women credit for.

Men should not be fearful of women’s progress. Actually men should embrace women’s progress, which will liberate both men and women from bitter relationships and financial obligations. Many men are terrified of relationship manipulations by women and they should be. I’ve heard numerous conversations from worried parents, who are afraid that their sons will grow up being “captured” by a man-hunter, and be emotionally enslaved and financially burdened forever. I have to say in the future when women don’t have to count on men for their existence, women don’t need to manipulate men anymore. Actually emotional manipulations take a heavy toll on women’s psychological health too. When it is not worth doing it, women would give it up immediately.

You might feel that what I said above are all cliches that people have said many times before. So I am going to share two stories–just outlines–which are much more realistic than the movie “Barbie” and very likely what is described in the two stories may happen in the future.

Story #1 The Good Old Time and The Good New Time

The good old time that I am talking about is the Japanese society before the 8th century, when matrilineal communities were all over Japan. Women had a much better life in those days. They lived with their own families and never lived with their in-laws. So Japanese girls back then were living in a barbie land. In those days, it was not uncommon for a woman to become the head of the state. Also Japanese women enjoyed a lot of power sharing at home and could choose who they wanted to date with absolutely no interference from their parents. At the same time, Japanese men had all the freedom they wanted–they were not burdened by the role of a family provider or bread earner (actually rice earner or sushi earner). They could roam wherever they wanted to roam, date girls if they felt like it, and pursue their dreams of becoming a samurai if they so decided. Many of them assumed important roles in the village they lived in and there was absolutely no discrimination against men.

However, after the 8th century, Japanese became influenced by outside cultures. The rich people and the aristocrats gradually established patriarchy among their own families. Suddenly the society had a new fashion. The poor people and the Japanese traditional custom were being looked down upon. Women were forced to go to live in their husbands’ home–They were no longer free. They couldn’t choose their date anymore and they were kept as chattel or property by the family of their husbands. And Japanese women’s social status plunged in a free fall.

That continued until today. I have met several Japanese women who came to America to attend schools and they told me stories that were really heartbreaking. I mean the rigid social structure makes it impossible for women to have any power at all in work place or at home. This is why so many Japanese women go to work in Singapore, Malaysia, or other countries because back in Japan, they just couldn’t get good jobs at all. I’ve met several Japanese men, who sympathized with women but they thought the system could not be changed.

So my story will be about two Japanese girls who started a campaign to bring Japan back to the good old days. Kaiko and Aki were the two girls I met before, and they are going to be the heroines in this story.

Story #2 Rewrite All The Rag To Rich Stories

This post is getting too long and I am going to write about this in another post.