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ASIAN HISTORY & MODERN SOCIETY
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:25:28 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

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WHAT YOU SAY

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ka the anti-communist,

I think you are looking at asia through a western lens. Your post read as someone who has never lived in asia, and doesn't see similar counterparts in western society. DWG all the way.
AC Dropout Friday, April 12, 2002 at 11:08:57 (PDT)

woman--

Let's put things into perspective. Why were women thought so little of in so many Western countries? Or African countries?
Why did western women wear chastity belts? Why does african women receive "circumcision"?

foot binding, concubines, unwanted female babies, etc are all symptoms of generally speaking, poor countries that has yet modernized. Most Asian countries industrialzed after the 19th century, unlike most Western nations. Moreover, western nations had the benefit of enlightened philosophers like Mary Wollstoncraft(correct spelling??) who in turn were influenced by other Age of Reason thinkers. This in contrast to the less enlightened confucian thinkers of asia, is probably the reason why the West developed quickly even though China was far more technologically developed before. West was dynamic, East was stubborn.

Concubinage occurs when women are not empowered to take a stake in her own financial future. The fact that women are not given economic opportunities are also the reason why female infants become "unwanted." Parent's want sons who will provide for them in old age in lieu of social security(which is lacking in almost all developing nations) But generally speaking, this sort of mindset changes as the economy of the nation switches gear from old-fashioned agrarian economy to a more modern manufacturing/service oriented economy where human capital(human brain) is valued far greater. Afterall, in modern economy, the ability to think is weighed far more than the ability to lift heavy objects.

To the credit of communist countries, communism has done a lot to alleviate the discrimination of women, considering the state of women prior to the rise of communism. Unfortunately, old ways of thinking die slow. And of course, communist and leftist ideology has suppressed free market, free way of thinking, in short stifling economic developement which in turn kept the general mass into developing more enlightened view about the status of women.

Going back to the specific of "foot binding", it is only a Chinese custom, as other asian nations find it distatesful, and even in China, the practice is outlawed by the Chinese government. But like I said, the practice persist in the poorer rural regions of China.

The best way to lift the status of women in any country, is to give them a stake, an incentive to empower themselves. In the West, women like Susan B. Anthony rose up and formed political groups by themselves. In asia, however, most civil rights were copied from western systems-- but to the credit of women of asia, asia has far more female presidents and prime ministers in it's history then the West. Even in Cambodia, the famed opposition leader is Aung San Suu Ky is a woman, and the president of the Phillipines is a woman. But when we, in the United States, think about a Woman president, we usually think about it in terms of gender representation, instead of focusing on the specific abilities of the women--this itself probably expresses certain unenlightened thinking in our part here in the West.

Going back on the issues of how we can alleviate the problems of gender discrimination in Asia, I think it's best to focus on the economic development first--look at Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. They are not exactly the pillars of women's liberation movement, but seeing how far they came in this regard in comparison to say 5 decades ago, liberal economy, free markets is the way to empower women. I say, we steer clear away from leftist, socialist ideology that does far harms as proven by the ails of every socialist nations on this planet.

put simply, I believe that Asia on the whole is moving in the right direction--although if we don't look at it with the perspective of history, it certainly looks like a snail pace.
ka the anti-communist Thursday, April 11, 2002 at 10:01:06 (PDT)

Since this forum is about asian history, I'd like to bring up the question of the treatment of women in asian countries throughout the centuries. Why are women thought so little of in so many asian countries? Any thoughts on foot binding, forced marriages, concubines, unwanted girl babies being left in the street to die?
woman Tuesday, April 09, 2002 at 13:11:42 (PDT)

"Singapore is a modern nazi state...they seem to think themselves as Europeans":

Yeah,Singapore is elitist like a nazi state. And what's even worse,they seem to reject Asian clothing and customs (wear those European suits unsuitable for hot weather and eat with knives and forks).
The thing that stinks most is that the rich madmen force their own children to live like Europeans of the Victorian age
and force them to play European music instruments.The spirit of the colonial masters lives on in the rich white- washed Asians.
modern critic Tuesday, April 09, 2002 at 10:14:56 (PDT)

China is the wind that all Asians drink from. Only problem - there's so damn many of them.

The original meaning of the word "koryo" from ancient Corea when translated into modern English means - "promising and dynamic".
Cross-eyed in NYC Monday, April 08, 2002 at 18:25:52 (PDT)

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