152440_A

Final Paper (30 April 2019)

Cooptation of the Political

RATIONALE

The Enlightenment widely transformed the Western hemisphere’s approach to thinking

that shifted towards science and reason. It emphasized man’s freedom and ability to break free

from the hegemonic order that was previously put in place. However, despite freedom being a

concept supposedly inherent in all individuals, one cannot help questioning the scope of this

inclusivity.

Today, while Enlightenment thinking reverberates with the notions of science, reason,

and human rights, there is still a gap in terms of equity and equality women have vis-à-vis their

male counterparts. Efforts have been made to bridge the gap in gender parity, but in some cases,

“bridging the gap” through laws and standards written out for men and transmuting them to

apply to women, are insufficient. It is not enough to simply simulate women’s experiences and

needs based on those of men. Innovation of preexisting conventions catered to men, to

accommodate women may be inadequate in building a society that is more all-embracing. In

many ways as well, this gap is exacerbated with the issue of equal pay, which persists in many

countries.

Despite its reputation as a patriarchal nation with machismo culture imbibed by our

very own President, the Philippines has managed to consistently make it to the top ten of the

Global Gender Gap. A report from 2014 shows that we ranked ninth in gender parity, and made

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it as the only Asian country in the Top 50 globally (Daniels, 2015). However, just this year,

the Philippines saw a drop in their ranking from first to fifth place in the Grant Thornton

International Ltd’s Women in Business report. Nevertheless, they ranked first on the list among

their Asian counterparts (Desiderio, 2019). Despite this, female executives still argue that there

are many barriers that continue to exist with regard to women acquiring the necessary skills for

success in their corporate roles.

There remains a “lack of access to developmental work opportunities (55 percent),

finding time alongside core job responsibilities (51 percent), and caring for responsibilities

outside work, and lack of access to networking opportunities (both at 47 percent)” (Desiderio,

2015). The aspects which deal with with caring for other responsibilities are primarily concerns

of women, proving that gender and time-old expectations imposed on them continue to seep

out from time-to-time. One can surmise that this is significant grounds for companies to pay

women less––because of the latter’s time and resources split with other domestic

responsibilities.

While this is a major step towards equity and equality, the same cannot be said for other

countries where the gender pay gap continues to persist––despite proof that “gender diversity

is good for both nations and business as a whole” (Daniels, 2015). Furthermore, more

deliberate and assertive action must be taken to achieve a society where women have more

senior positions, and receive the pay that their male counterparts would get for the same roles.

Marivic Españo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of P&A Grant Thornton, claimed that policies

which give equal opportunities and biases in both recruitment and in flexible working hours

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and conditions must me rigorously enforced and revisited to ensure effectivity and actual

change to occur (Desiderio, 2019).

Sexual harassment in the workplace has also become a more widely discussed issue

which prevents women from feeling their true incorporation and protection in the companies

they work for. While its existence has coincided with their entry into the workforce and has

since become endemic to it, it is with more contemporary times that people are seeing this as

an issue that needs to be addressed. Resolutions should not be confined to pay-offs or “hush

money” as this reinforces the silence that was expected of them and engineered into the

patriarchal mindset.

Gender-based harassment in the workforce goes hand-in-hand with the issue of equal

pay as well, as its existence is a very real reality that women may face may force them into

positions which devalue their capabilities, on the grounds that they would like to avoid this

from happening in higher-tiered or higher-paying jobs where they will be surrounded by an

even more competitive environment where men dominate the field.

As Immanuel Kant described the Enlightenment as, “Man’s emergence from his self-

imposed nonage” (Kant, 1784) in What is Enlightenment? we see how society continues to

struggle with this today, against the very norms which are manmade. This is the very purpose

and necessitation of interrogating the Enlightenment––to see how far we have come and to

continue to question how far we still need to go.

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OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to uncover the effect of the Enlightenment on women and to see how

developments (or lack thereof) are seen in contemporary society. It seeks to emulate the

interrogation of Enlightenment, by being critical of what is deemed as “acceptable” nowadays.

By bringing forth the question of gender in relation to conventions and structures, this paper

remains critical of how these existing institutions continue to deter minorities solely on this

basis.

It now includes the questioning of existing conventions and structures that hinder the

entry of women in the overall landscape in society, especially in the workforce. It also wishes

to uncover possible solutions to remedy the injustice and inequality women face.

Thea (Introduction): Cooptation of the Political

My group’s issue which my Thea has stemmed from was the Invention of the Political.

We claimed that because of the rate of theorizing, we are misled into thinking that we are

creating something entirely new. In reality, the things which we think we create ourselves are

actually just patterns or reactions to what has previously been put in place. The Invention of

the Political makes one think that what we create is fresh or novel, but this path to create has

already been set forth for us.

Women have long been excluded from public domain for centuries, and are instead

confined to domestic spheres, while men are the “movers and shakers” of exterior discourse.

Nowadays, inclusion has combatted this. While a number of efforts have been made in

contemporary times with regard to making a more inclusive society, many existing conventions

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are still patterned after men’s needs, and this is less visibly seen, especially by those who

implement it.

As women have now become part of the workforce in contemporary times with an idea

of a more “equal” shot at the same jobs as men, the results are not as evident in terms of salary,

and even in terms of treatment and basic respect which is mistranslated into harassment. There

is this reinforced belief that women are not actually as free to create their own destinies because

of the ones already predetermined for them. There is a promise of “newness” with opportunity

for the marginalized, but the promise actually holds no value for them to have equal footing.

Cooptation is a tool or strategy used by the elite to feign cooperative practices for

seekers of change. Through cooptation, these seekers of change work with the elite and think

that they have experienced developments in doing so. However, this is merely a façade as they

do not receive any new advantages. Sometimes, this cooptation is successful, and seekers of

change aim to make new compromises in order to advance their positions, to little or no luck.

Cooptation maintains the natural order put in place and preserves the stability of the

organization (A Dictionary of Sociology, 1998).

There is a discrepancy in levels of satisfaction as cooptation enhances status

differentiation and arouse feelings of maltreatment when members of a group do not receive

“a ‘fair’ share of the collective benefit” (Lawler, 1983, p. 89). Theoretically speaking,

Cooptation of the Political is an ongoing phenomenon where gender is a main concern. And in

most settings nowadays, this is a very real and pressing concern. Gender-based discrimination

is further translated and concretized in terms of the positions women can enter, how much pay

they will receive for these jobs (in contrast to their male counterparts), and how they will be

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treated whilst they are merely trying to do the work they have earned. It is an ongoing process

with many roadblocks––realities that men, who are in advantageous positions because of

convention, do not have to worry about.

The Cooptation of the Political further illustrates that nothing new is being created,

because women, or the minority, are given a false idea that they have benefitted from the

change that they have long sought after. However, when the organizational structure employs

cooptation as a strategy, it proves that there is nothing new actually done to give reparation to

the injustices that gender-based discrimination holds. The Political would rather maintain its

stability, which both directly and indirectly benefits the majority––the men. When it appears

that there is actually some form of change, it is merely in the form of a temporary fix––a

patterning after standards of men, or a law or rule that does not actually hold any real value.

This Cooptation is pure deceit disguised in the form of change.

Theorein (Location): Reinterpretation of Politics

Hegelian thought from Philosophy of Right illustrates the distinction between the public

and private spheres as a unified entity. Hegel emphasized the importance of individuals being

members of a family unit, which is further solidified with the birth of a child. When children

are fully grown and the cycle repeats, the man of the house returns to his public duty as a

member of civil society or government, while the woman is to remain in the private domain of

the home––and to find fulfillment in this. These writings are actually very anti-feminist, as they

echo the narrative that women have their lives written out for them already.

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 In Philosophy of Right, Hegel states that “Woman, [...] has her substantive destiny in

the family, and to be imbued with family piety is her ethical frame of mind” (Hegel, 1896, p.

167). In addition to this, Hegel accepts women receiving an education, but still did not think

that they were made “for activities which demand a universal faculty such as the more advanced

sciences, philosophy, and certain forms of artistic production” (Hegel, 1896, p. 168).

It is furthermore insulting to hear his comparison of men to animals, and women to

plants. He makes this distinction on the grounds that our development is “more placid” (Hegel,

1896, p. 168). He thinks that if women were to lead a government (which he probably did not

see in the foreseeable future at the time Philosophy of Right was written), the state would be in

total chaos because of women’s arbitrary inclinations and subjective opinions, rather than

universal needs and demands. (Hegel, 1896, p. 168).

Hegel’s claims undervalued women’s abilities then, and the gendered mindset today

is reminiscent of this, especially now that women have been making their entry as they should.

Instead of addressing the issue from head-on, and seeking to delve into the depths of how

structurally ingrained the gender gap is, band-aid cures are put in place to give women

fabricated solutions to the very problems they claim are detrimental to their experience of

equity and equality.

Despite his attempt to harmonize the private and public realms, he further aggravated

their divisions. Reflections on Hegel’s claims contemporarily unearth the structural limits that

have gone unchanged. Perhaps this is why from time-to-time, it is surprising when women

attempt to assert their power even in the smallest of degrees, like in demanding equal pay, or

demanding for resolutions to gender-based harassment that they face.

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 Immanuel Kant, who was a prominent Enlightenment philosopher, emphasized the

autonomy and the equality of all human beings. In What is Enlightenment? Kant distinguishes

what it means to live in an enlightened age and what it means to live in an age of enlightenment.

He discusses that we live in the latter, and implicit in this is the understanding that the age of

enlightenment is a period of transition (as opposed to fixed and already present freedom).

As such, this work is concerned with the transition man goes through in being

enlightened (Kant, 1896). In this process, there may be the overthrowing of tradition. In

contemporary politics, we continue to live in an age of enlightenment as we are still

transitioning in becoming freer in thought and freer from the structures that restrict us.

Now that inclusivity of women in the public sphere is becoming normalized, it appears

that it is high time to reinterpret and take a second look at certain philosophies that widen the

gender divide. The way convention has worked in maintaining a sense of order and stability

continues to benefit the same group of people it has always benefitted––the men; the patriarchy.

The reinterpretation of convention means that the realities, aphorisms, and belief systems that

were manmade supposed to have been created by philosophers who set the precedent for

Enlightenment thinking, are now outdated.

This can be defined as a reinterpretation of reference models that we once used as

paradigms that were to encompass all genders or members of society. The standards or

references that were modeled on a single gender now have actual detrimental repercussions.

The same can be said in a number of fields. In science, we can see the damaging effect this has

in using an able-bodied male model as an archetype for the diagnoses of diseases and

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prescriptions of medicine. Women are then considered deviations from that norm when they

do not fit into the same mold or category.

It is far less explicit in the workforce, as it makes women think that conventions have

already been interpreted to accommodate their needs and interests. But perhaps, the evidence

of numerous cases of gender-based sexual harassment in the workforce and the existence of

the gender pay gap in jobs that were previously catered to men alone and now hire women,

show that conventions were instead reinterpreted in a way that would make women think that

they have equality and freedom, but instead, it appears to have been just put in place for the

sake of these organizations being more liberal.

Theoria (Problem/Controversy/Gap): Why reinterpret?

Many changes have occurred in building a more inclusive and free society.

Philosophers from the Age of Enlightenment wrote their now renowned works without perhaps

considering or having the foresight that one day women would be able to attain the same rights

in the public sphere as men. This is why there is still much to be done with regard to questioning

preexisting knowledge that has been intrinsic to the very nature of the laws, norms, and ideals

that govern society. The very fact that these are built upon age-old dictates of patriarchal rule

proves that perhaps what we have already created––that which is manmade, needs to be

changed, or interpreted to be more accommodating of the needs of the minority, instead of the

majority.

However, there is still much to be done because the existing order is one that has been

built upon by men. This is why it is not merely enough to innovate what they have already

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created. It may now require a radical restructuring or revisiting of what they have put in place,

and a questioning of whether what is interpreted as liberty is actually authentic or just done for

the sake of it. People must now understand that with women having received the education

they were previously denied, they have developed their own agency and autonomy in being

able to think for themselves. They can now identify the injustices they have been facing in

varying degrees.

In contemporary society, the gender spectrum has become so wide and it is no longer

binary. The previous model that was put in place was a dichotomy which no longer exists as

well. When the people in the society change, the ways by which systems function, needs to

change as well. It should be these systems adapting to the changing needs of the people, instead

of the latter trying to fit into the mold that is being offered to them.

Theorema (The New Framing): Re-simulation of Male-Centric Standards

What many mistake about the plight of women is that they wish to usurp power from

the hands of men. This is perhaps why men have been so skeptical in allowing their entry, as

it may cause further inequality. In this regard, the stronghold of organizations is lessened when

they do allow women to take part in the same roles of men. However, it is the women who

have to adjust to their environments. Often times, they are subject to discrimination based on

their gender. They may be ridiculed or doubted for their capabilities, even when they are

already in the positions they have worked hard to reach. In many ways, this proves that there

is still a monolithic understanding of womanhood.

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 Feminism has long been associated with the burning of bras and the rallies or angry

women demanding for abortion rights. But in reality, what it is that women and the

marginalized genders (now that the spectrum has widened) really seek is to be emancipated

from the binding chains of gender, and to gain equal footing in contributing to the ongoing

conversation, especially in the workforce. While they have assimilated in it significantly,

results do not show in terms of how they are deemed unworthy of being paid the same salaries

as men.

This may also be tied to the fact that they have other responsibilities––the expectations

are doubled because of the other supposition that women have to care for their families. Women

must keep up with the demands in both their private and public spheres, which is a worry

inherent to their gender. Sometimes the fields themselves are gendered too. Usually positions

in the corporate world, in science, medicine, engineering, and politics, are still geared towards

men. This is why it poses more of a challenge to women to prove their competence.

Qualifiers are even placed in preceding these job titles, as if their basis was the male

standard: “First Female Scientist,” “Female President,” “Woman CEO.” When women are in

powerful positions, every one of their actions is watched as if they were under a microscope.

A small assertion of power or a clear and loud intonation may immediately be branded as

“bossy.” This further entitles men to thinking that this is still very much a man’s world, and

women are just living in it and testing the waters when they can.

By hiring women in these fields, there is a pretense that the company is adapting to the

times, and acknowledging women’s competence. While this is true to an extent, the behavior

afterwards speaks for itself. What appears to be a change in the system is actually just a re-

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simulation of standards. And these standards which have become the rule, are male-centric.

This is why it seems that there is a misappropriation present from context to context. It becomes

an issue of form over substance, because hiring women may seem like a portrait of equality,

but behind it is the reality that it is a façade. It echoes the deception that there is a recreation of

opportunity, but it is actually a lack. It is merely a re-simulation of the standards set in place

for men and by men, but is one with decreased quality and unacceptable treatment, as well as

decreased pay.

A mere re-simulation of male-centric standards really does not address the problem that

exists because this discrimination and sexism have already been structuralized into norms and

practices. The re-simulation of male-centric standards is insufficient as it lacks the depth of a

newly created reality catered to the minority. Nothing is actually changed because it is just a

replication of conventions that are advantageous to men.

It does not merely stop at their inclusion. Now the question is, “Inclusion, but at what

cost?” If women are made to deal with workplace harassment, and are cheated of their rights

for equal pay, then there really is no point to their inclusion. Inclusion is in itself a front for

ongoing discriminatory behavior. The reasons for the pay gap can be illustrated in two

categories: voluntary (i.e. working part-time) and involuntary (i.e. socially mandated

discrimination) (Mangan, 2019, p. 318). Most, if not all data suggests that it is discrimination

that causes the pay gap (Mangan, 2019, p. 319). The assumption that men are the main

breadwinners of the family also serve as justification for their larger pay. This justification does

nothing to counteract the imbalance there is.

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Public: Re-marginalized women with the desire for equity

The assumption has long been that women belong in the margins of society, confined

to their homes and made to raise families while their husbands go out to earn an income and

remain breadwinners. But with changing times, women have taken it upon themselves to fight

for their rights––whether it be the right to education, the right to suffrage, or the right to hold

office. We now live in an age where women see that there are other areas where they can

percolate into. Women must realize that they no longer need to adhere to their predetermined

destinies, as was done in the past.

But whether we like it or not, and whether developments have improved the status of

women, men continue to hold the most power in society. The hegemony is patriarchal in nature.

The dictation of rules and conventions typically comes from them. It always has, and it

continues to; however, it does not mean that it must go on. It is imperative for men to

understand that this day and age calls for more women to engage in the public sphere. And

now, it is not solely about their inclusion.

Women are re-marginalized when they are included, but do not receive the appropriate

compensation for their efforts. This leaves them feeling shortchanged, and is the reason they

are doubly marginalized. Similarly, their trust in institutions is betrayed when they are

maltreated once they are already part of the public sphere. This can be in the form of sexual

harassment, and how it “wrecks both personal lives and careers, causing loss of confidence and

emotional damage, and stalling promotion opportunities” (Mangan, 2019, p. 327).

While women as a group are considered marginalized, there still exists a hierarchal

order within this marginalization. The intersection of race, age, class, and upbringing, with

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gender further stratifies an already stratified society. This, of course, leads to even more

harmful consequences. “Sexual misconduct at work remains a debilitating everyday experience

in too many women’s lives––in the developed and developing world” (Mangan, 2019, p. 327).

If this is still a problem in high-profile jobs, where cases have higher chances of being

documented, then the reality is even bleaker for undocumented workers or those in far-fetched

rural areas. Those who work minimum wages in factories or landfills are at even graver risk

for becoming victims of sexual harassment and abuse. “The less control individuals have, the

greater the likelihood that employers or others in a position of power will abuse that power,

often sexually" (Mangan, 2019, p. 327). This in itself, is another form of re-marginalization. It

makes the marginalized believe that attempts to quell discrimination are futile, if with their

mere attempt at inclusivity, they are already deceived.

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Critical Abstraction: Relegation of the Minority

Although women have slowly started assimilating in the public domain, intentionally

or unintentionally, convention still eradicates them from contributing to the narrative or to be

on the receiving end of sexist standards. This continues to reinforce the silencing that has long

existed, that puts a cap on women’s freedom. The freedom they are granted is one that is merely

illusory. They continue to experience relegation in the assumptions that trickle in with regard

to the basis of gender alone.

These assumptions are abstract realities that are not always explicitly said. This is what

makes them even more insidious. When these biases are acted upon, there is no gauge in

measuring how damaging the outcomes can be. The relegation is concretized when the pay gap

exists because it downgrades women’s worth and downplays their capabilities. Women have

not fought long and hard just to come this far. They also did not take it upon themselves to

receive an education only to be expected to take on positions that are less demanding or

technical. Even more so, they did not choose their lines of work only to be treated like pieces

of meat to be ogled at or harassed without their consent.

Relegation of the minority is an abstract reality because it is not always seen as a

problem by those who succumb to it. This is the reason why many things that are second nature

are actually so because of what we have grown accustomed to, without realizing that relegation

is going on in the process. As a minority, they are relegated, but this happens two-fold when

they go through the process once again once they are stripped of their chances at receiving even

the slightest taste of change, according to their terms, once they have already been included in

the narrative.

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Systemic Mistake: Re-patriarchalization of the Collective Consciousness

The gender pay gap stems from patriarchal structures which dominate the world. These

are deeply ingrained into not only the cultural fabric of nations, but into the social, political,

and economic aspects of them as well. Despite inclusivity and women now being given more

equal opportunities to work the same jobs and positions as men, the patriarchal ideology

reinforces itself when the pay gap exists. It becomes a form of re-patriarchalization.

Furthermore, the levels of dissatisfaction in the workplace may also come from the

maltreatment women experience by either their colleagues or superiors. Inclusion is

overlooked, and now becomes a form by which women can be further abused just because the

dominant party can do so. The stronghold of the patriarchy continues to reinforce itself every

time it successfully demotes women unworthy of the same benefits as men.

Its ideology is likewise bolstered in the collective consciousness of people, which

further allows it to be overlooked and seem as something totally normal. Women can fight for

their right to equal benefits and treatment as men, that actually treats their deeply rooted

problem, but this can only do so much when the collective consciousness is constantly

conditioned to be advantageous to men.

It will not seek to create true and lasting change for the marginalized because it will

keep being content with the conventions that are put in place and therefore, nothing is actually

created to improve the working conditions of women in a society. There will be little to no

chance of women getting their due when those who hold the most power in society are men

who refuse to see the need for this to happen. Our very systems are gendered and biased in

their preferences and this is translated into what they consider to be worthy of addressing.

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Symbolic Picture of Ordered Rule: Hyper-restructuration of Politics

Now that women are learning to see the ways by which they can make a difference as

not merely wives and mothers as they were expected to be, it is time to convince men who

refuse to see this––especially men in power. Many still question the competence and capability

that women have in doing so, and this flows from the created reality that polarizes genders

instead of bringing them together where they can both affect change and both receive the same

salaries and royalties as one another.

The way that politics has been structured is already gendered. The reference point is

always to a man––what a man can do; what a man can contribute; how a man can lead society.

It can be said that restructuring initially took place in terms of first recognizing women as

productive members of Civil Society––and not just within the family. With this recognition,

came more embracing laws which allowed them to receive a semblance of equality. Education

and suffrage both helped them realize what they can do in the public sphere.

However, there still exists the phenomenon of coopting the political when change is

feigned to make women think that there is change. It is not enough now that politics are

restructured, because this was already done when women were granted their right to education

and suffrage. Now, politics must be restructured in such a way that there is a radical change

that uproots the hegemonic power. There must be a turning away from predetermined male

paradigms that do nothing to give women proper recompense.

The stability that cooptation tries to maintain must now be shaken and disturbed. So

must the structure of existing institutions, laws, and ideologies. They must be upturned and

revisited, and compared against with the actual needs that women have. Perhaps, in this way,

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one will be able to see that women do have a say in what they want and need. They have the

capacity to see through what is allegedly put in place for them, and to question and file

complaints when necessary. However, because of the way politics is structured, these

comments or complaints go unnoticed or unaddressed. Hyper-restructuration is needed to speed

up the process, because there is still so much that can and so much that needs to be done.

Change: Renunciation of Unethical Norms

Much of what has been established has benefited a great number of people, but these

are the elite, and the men in power in society, despite the argument that women have already

been given entry in ways thought impossible before. However, women remain on the

marginalized end of the spectrum because many norms which society is already conditioned

to, prohibit them from getting the pay they deserve for their labor.

Currently, women who have tried to penetrate the public sphere are criticized or

doubted because of the prevailing and insidious schools of thought. These may be explicit or

implicit in the form of a paycheck, and the lack of transparency in the actual pay gap. Or they

may even be subject to unwanted advances because norms state that women are docile and

unassertive, and thus, no action will be taken, and this will in turn, strengthen the existing

norms put in place. This is why the norms themselves are the very problem that needs to be

changed or renounced.

In revisiting what has been previously brought forth by asking women what they think

instead of assuming the answer, we may build a society with more just and ethical laws that

give the second sex the equity that they have long pleaded for, in this case, translated into the

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work they are capable of putting in. It is necessary that one question the breadth and depth that

our existing laws cover–– Do they give them a fair shot? Do they really aim to protect women,

whether in terms of equal pay, working hours, and a promise that action will be taken should

sexual harassment in the workforce occur? If the answer to both questions is a no, then this

proves that norms are engineered to benefit men.

Now what needs to be done is an addressing of the very root of all of this evil: the norms

themselves. Perhaps now what needs to be questioned is the existence and validity that these

norms have in contemporary society. Just because they have been a reality for all this time does

not mean that it must remain this way, especially when there are people who are suffering

because of it. Many of them are also unethical in that they are grounded on nothing other than

prejudices, assumptions, and the desire to maintain a sense of relegation.

Women’s agency now combats the Hegelian thinking that we are placid in our

development. Movements and demonstrations have been organized to contend with the norms

put in place, as a way to dismantle them. But there is only so much that can be done on the part

of the women, if people refuse to listen. Norms which are unethical need to be renounced

because this will reconfigure the way people think and feel about certain issues in

contemporary society.

This can be on the level of people in Civil Society who may be encouraged to help in

fighting for this cause, instead of siding with institutions. But it may also be on the level of the

institutions themselves. If norms are inherent to the way they conduct and govern, then the

more people will see them as acceptable. It streams down to the various participants in society.

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This is why the norms themselves must be renounced, because only then can there be a clearer

vision of everything we’ve fallen short of because of our allegiance to convention.

CONCLUSION

The legacy that the Enlightenment has left on contemporary society was a period that

probed the limits of authority and power and the effects this plays on society. Now, with more

awareness and an understanding of the deception that can take place when traditional standards

are followed, it is time to be more critical of authority and power.

In interrogating the Enlightenment, one can now see that perhaps the freedom and

equality that were supposed to have been put in place by science and reason were not actually

beneficial to the entire spectrum of human civilization. Rules which favor the majority without

taking into account the plight of the minority are not very beneficial after all. In this regard,

this is why it is incorrect to merely re-simulate standards put in place just for the sake of

claiming that something new is being given to those who ask for it. Standards are after all,

gendered.

Re-patriarchalization in society occurs when this is done over and over again. In line

with this, re-marginalization also occurs because women bear the brunt of the effects that this

has. One step closer to assimilation could even be akin to a few steps back every time they

realize they are being watched intently with an expectation that they will do something wrong,

or every time they must fight for equal pay, or for benefits that will ensure them maternity

leave, and especially when they become victims or workplace gender-based harassment

because there are no laws in place that will ensure the perpetrator gets punished.

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 While these of course vary from case-to-case and from organization-to-organization,

the general rule of thumb is one that favors the men. Because of the developments in thinking,

in education, and in human rights, it is important to constantly revisit systems put in place.

Sometimes, there may just be an appearance of change, but it may just be an illusion with no

real depth to substantiate it. This is especially necessary every time there is an intersectionality

with other factors like race, class, and age that intersect with gender, making the mix even more

complicated, but even more cause for concern. Intersectionality is another cause for

stratification, and illustrates how this issue effects all members of society

Existing norms are perilous because there is no controlling of the extent they can reach

in becoming abusive. However, they do not need to remain stagnant forever. Perhaps now, we

do continue to live in an age of Enlightenment; an age of transition. It is important that this

transition is equivalent to betterment and improvement, instead of regression. Perhaps also

transition means ridding our collective consciousness of prejudices and norms because these

are forms of regression. What might need to be done is to obliterate these norms through

renunciation, especially of those which are unethical. Only then will we be able to achieve a

society where meaningful and lasting change is created and not re-simulated to benefit all

members of society, and demonstrating the inherent freedom each one of us has.

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